Treating chopping board
- Thread starter JonCamo
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Plain mineral oil allowed to soak in, and then the occasional wipe over with a beeswax mixture made by melting a bit of beeswax into some mineral oil works well.
Or something like osmo / other commercial chopping board treatments (which are mostly just mineral oil and beeswax with something like lemon oil to make it smell nice)
Or something like osmo / other commercial chopping board treatments (which are mostly just mineral oil and beeswax with something like lemon oil to make it smell nice)
sploo
Somewhat extinguished member
+1 for mineral oil. Don't use vegetable/olive oil as it can go rancid.
I like Osmo for worktops but personally I wouldn't use anything that dries/hardens to a coat for a chopping board as I'd assume it would just chip and come off over time; whereas mineral oil just soaks in.
I like Osmo for worktops but personally I wouldn't use anything that dries/hardens to a coat for a chopping board as I'd assume it would just chip and come off over time; whereas mineral oil just soaks in.
paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
Wouldn't use mineral oil myself, it's a petrochemical product, never dries, leaches out into your food and doesn't really do anything good !
I leave the wood bare or use a natural, drying oil such as walnut or pure tung that polymerise/chemically harden over time.
Other oils such as olive, sunflower, groundnut etc don't harden over time and can go rancid and/or sticky, or just wash out, although you will find folk who despite the science will swear otherwise !
I leave the wood bare or use a natural, drying oil such as walnut or pure tung that polymerise/chemically harden over time.
Other oils such as olive, sunflower, groundnut etc don't harden over time and can go rancid and/or sticky, or just wash out, although you will find folk who despite the science will swear otherwise !
Thanks folks
So why is it the major constituent of baby oil and also prescribed as a laxative i.e liquid paraffin?
eribaMotters
Established Member
For chopping boards, no treatment is required. After use wipe with a damp cloth and an occasional scrub is all that is needed.
Colin
Colin
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Nothing is best.
I usually use mineral oil for my chopping boards. I usually give them a re-sand every so often to make them smooth again and take out the worst of the cuts I have made in them cutting up veg and fruit! The mineral oil restores the colour for a while and looks nice! I also feel it feeds the wood, but that's only my view.
paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
Not sure what your point is, are you suggesting those uses make mineral oil good for chopping boards ?!!
I've since found out this is probably iroko and read mixed views anout its use as can cause allergic reactions? However can see iroko chopping boards for sale on some sites. If it can cause allergies then presumably it is best I treat it with something that hardens eg tung oil? Or use it for something else.
Stuart Moffat
Established Member
Treat it with good food!
I think it’s just that you can get it in pharmaceutical grade which is virtually inert - so pretty harmless compared to a lot of things we consume on a daily basis.
Back to OP, Iroko can be an irritant but you aren’t going to using the sawdust as a seasoning, any transfer to food would be microscopic and negligible.
Steve Medlock
Established Member
Best to use a food safe oil on chopping boards. IKEA do one.
My point is that just because it is sourced from petrochemicals does not mean it is harmful. It has long been a preferred treatment for butchers' blocks, cutting boards etc. and is widely recommended.
Yeah - it’s mineral oil with a margin added
TheTiddles
Established Member
Mineral oil is very cheap and goes a long way, I did about 50 boards of various sizes with about 400ml of it, so I have 4600ml left, just sitting there…
It dries/soaks in very slowly and isn’t nice and shiny, but you could literally eat the stuff so no risk with it, vegan friendly which beeswax isn’t if you are looking for market limiters.
Whilst refinishing my dining table last week I found out Oli Natura hard wax oil is food safe and that dries much faster and will give a lovely shiny finish too. More expensive but not a huge price and good for everything else you make that needs a hard wax oil finish.
I wish I’d know that when I bought 5-litres of mineral oil.
It dries/soaks in very slowly and isn’t nice and shiny, but you could literally eat the stuff so no risk with it, vegan friendly which beeswax isn’t if you are looking for market limiters.
Whilst refinishing my dining table last week I found out Oli Natura hard wax oil is food safe and that dries much faster and will give a lovely shiny finish too. More expensive but not a huge price and good for everything else you make that needs a hard wax oil finish.
I wish I’d know that when I bought 5-litres of mineral oil.
Ttrees
Iroko loco!
I got some reactions from the stuff before, but that was from the dust.
Had a good zoom in yer face, as I would'a thought your lips would resemble that of a fish,
but not so! (tingling of the lips is the first sign I have got) and irritation around wrists inner elbows and armpits also.
Philippine Mahogany/meranti/red luan seems to be just as bad, if not worse.
Didn't stop me from making a stirring spoon which I used for a good while.
If you look on Bill Pentz's site, (more or less an authority on the subject)
you might see the particle count and how much more contact you have with dust, rather than
say, laying your palm down on some smooth surface.
Though not putting words in his mouth, there's nothing I can recall on this subject of chopping boards or the likes.
Not to say someone couldn't have a reaction with the toxins, but I've never seen any sort of
leeching of oils from any iroko I've seen, compared to some timbers like keruing..
see Bob's post on the other place, titled "Resinous hardwood query"
Had a good zoom in yer face, as I would'a thought your lips would resemble that of a fish,
but not so! (tingling of the lips is the first sign I have got) and irritation around wrists inner elbows and armpits also.
Philippine Mahogany/meranti/red luan seems to be just as bad, if not worse.
Didn't stop me from making a stirring spoon which I used for a good while.
If you look on Bill Pentz's site, (more or less an authority on the subject)
you might see the particle count and how much more contact you have with dust, rather than
say, laying your palm down on some smooth surface.
Though not putting words in his mouth, there's nothing I can recall on this subject of chopping boards or the likes.
Not to say someone couldn't have a reaction with the toxins, but I've never seen any sort of
leeching of oils from any iroko I've seen, compared to some timbers like keruing..
see Bob's post on the other place, titled "Resinous hardwood query"
+1 for Mineral Oil. If you go for food grade you should be fine. As has been pointed out above, it is the main ingredient of Baby Oil, it is used in food and cosmetics and if you drink it it will act as a laxative. The amount that ends up in your food from a chopping board is negligible.
The fear arising from it being a petrochemical derivative is unfounded. The argument that it is not natural and therefore not good for you is invalid. Lots of things that are natural are very bad for you. As an example; don't make your chopping board out of Yew and soak it with laburnum seed oil!
The fear arising from it being a petrochemical derivative is unfounded. The argument that it is not natural and therefore not good for you is invalid. Lots of things that are natural are very bad for you. As an example; don't make your chopping board out of Yew and soak it with laburnum seed oil!
