Sealing Butcher Block Counters/Wood Cutting Boards

[ChefJeff]

Well, for what it's worth....the new counter top (42"x80") is installed, I finished installling the hardwood floor, changed all the hardware, added a new pantry, refinished all the cabinets, and repainted the room. A do-it-your-selfer, temporary kitchen upgrade that will get me over the hump for the next couple of years.

Total project cost: $5800. A mere fraction of the cost of the new kitchen that I had in mind that will now have to wait.

But the bottom line is......The Butcher Block makes the kitchen.

I listened to Fat Guy, and bought the finished butcher block and am sticking to my cutting boards. In hindsight, given this countertop serves dual-pursose as an Island, this is an easy decision.

I went with Boos Brothers and would VERY HIGHLY recommend them.

CheffJeff

[Fish]

How can I keep my white plastic cutting boards white ? Bleach works well, but I really don't like the smell of the stuff (not to mention it's fairly dangerous stuff). Suggestions ?

- S

[mudbug]

It would be difficult by any other method short of not using it at all. How about using different colored cutting boards instead?

[Richard Kilgore]

Soap, water and a scrub brush. Vinegar to take care of the creatures.

[elyse]

You might try leaving it in the sun with lemon juice or salt. Baking soda? Everyone's so crazy about Oxyclean, that might work. I'd just use bleach. Actually, I don't care about stains.

[mudbug]

Ah yes, the sun! Natural bleaching...

[Human Bean]

How can I keep my white plastic cutting boards white ?  Suggestions ?

Um, learn not to care if your white plastic cutting boards don't look pure at the driven snow??

Seriously, as long as they're not spreading contagion and are free of the remnants of previous tasks, what's the difference? The food doesn't care. Nor should you.

Obviously you do care, and the previous suggestions should help.

I also have white plastic cutting boards, and they get stained. You'd think that plastic wouldn't have that problem, but it does. I keep 'em clean and sanitary, and don't care what they look like.

Not a direct answer to your question, but an option to consider...

[Katherine]

I suggest you dilute your bleach so it is at one ounce per gallon. This is much safer on your skin than straight, which can burn you, but is still fully disinfecting. Gloves are still recommended if you plan on scrubbing with it, but what you can do is put the clean board in the sink, splash over the bleach solution and let it soak for a while. Rinse in hot water, and allow to dry. Never leave a board on a damp countertop, this will invariably cause the growth of unsightly bacteria/etc on its reverse side. Store standing up on end.

[essvee]

Use wood, and save one just for chicken. That's what I do. Better for your knives, too.

[Ruth]

Cascade has come out with a product called "Plastic Booster". If your cutting boards are small enough to fit in your dishwasher just put some in the second cup (as per instructions). The stuff isn't cheap but even old plastic boards and containers emerge virtually stain free. For the larger boards squeeze some over the stained areas, scrub it in and leave for a while before rinsing. If you are in the market for a new board look for "Tuff". These boards are made of a type of non - porous synthetic rubber (also plastic I suppose). They are beige in color and do not stain. I have a large one that I keep permanently on the counter as it is pretty heavy. I've had it for about four years and the only signs of use are a couple of shallow cuts from a cleaver. These can be sanded off if I get too many of them.These boards are available in all the restaurant supply stores in the Bowery in New York and, I presume, similar places elsewhere.

[fifi]

Good call, Ruth. I haven't seen the "Tuff" stuff. Sounds interesting. I will look the next time I visit the restaurant supply place that I haunt.

Whatever happened to the research that was showing wooden boards to be more sanitary that plastic? The theory was that either the dehydrating properties of the wood fiber or possibly the lignins in the wood caused bacteria to die off much faster than plastic. I haven't seen anything on that recently.

I don't mean to hijack this thread to that topic since it was started on stains. I don't have any plastic cutting boards but I think I agree with some of the other posters. Stains? Who cares.

[fresco]

Good call, Ruth. I haven't seen the "Tuff" stuff. Sounds interesting. I will look the next time I visit the restaurant supply place that I haunt.

Whatever happened to the research that was showing wooden boards to be more sanitary that plastic? The theory was that either the dehydrating properties of the wood fiber or possibly the lignins in the wood caused bacteria to die off much faster than plastic. I haven't seen anything on that recently.

I don't mean to hijack this thread to that topic since it was started on stains. I don't have any plastic cutting boards but I think I agree with some of the other posters. Stains? Who cares.

It's controversial, but this study at least seems to support the notion that wood, as far as hygiene is concerned, is better than plastic. That aside, wood just seems more pleasant to work on:

http://fp.norex.f9.co.uk/hygiene.htm

[fifi]

fresco... I'm with you. Wood is just more pleasant. I have always just thought that plastic was somehow... I don't know... icky. That is NOT a scientific assessment. Just instinctual. Therefore, I have no plastic cutting boards. When the first research reports came out, I wondered if my instincts weren't correct.

[Jinmyo]

Even the feel of the plastic through the knife blade and the sound is terribly, terribly wrong.

[Nick]

I've had my wood board since around '67. I just clean it with the scrubby side of a sponge and some of the dishwater. Then I wipe it off with clean water and wipe it dry. Only time I pay extra attention is when I've been cutting chicken. Never oil it. Thirty five years and it's still going strong and nobody ever got sick.

[schnitzel]

I use only wood cutting boards.

Wash and use a sanitizing solution when needed.

Rub wood occasionally with mineral oil.

Clorox - Food Safety

[fresco]

I've had my wood board since around '67. I just clean it with the scrubby side of a sponge and some of the dishwater. Then I wipe it off with clean water and wipe it dry. Only time I pay extra attention is when I've been cutting chicken. Never oil it. Thirty five years and it's still going strong and nobody ever got sick.

This is just about exactly my approach. My wife, who is more finicky, insists on scrubbing our various boards down with a bleach solution from time to time. It makes her feel better and doesn't seem to do any harm.

[elyse]

Fish, why don't you try baking soda and vinegar? Maybe the fizz'll work on the stains.

[Bux]

I'd be reluctant to use any wipe on penetrating finish other than one sold specifically as suitable for food preparation surfaces. I've seen mineral oils that comply, I'd doubt that general wood finishes would.

[fresco]

Tung oil can have a pretty strong odor. Since you don't intend to use this for a cutting surface, what about applying some sort of sealer and then a wax finish?

[phaelon56]

I'd be reluctant to use any wipe on penetrating finish other than one sold specifically as suitable for food preparation surfaces.

Just to clarify.... I will NOT be doing actual food prep on the surface itself. I may put a separate butcher block on top of it on occasion or a hunk of granite to knead dough but it will not be used as a surface for contact with food. I was unaware of the issue with tung oil and odor I suppose sealer and a wax finish would be okay. My goal is to have something that will develop a patina of sorts - something to offset the shinier surfaces in the room.

all i know is, that space is *made* for a party. when's the first???

Party? How about when the snow finally melts? Remember - this is Syracuse we're talking about - we get more snow than Buffalo (hard to believe but true). I'l wait until the doors to the deck can be left open and I've finished the nit-pciky details that need attention throughout the house (the unfinished peninsula top is only one of many detail items that needs attention).

[slbunge]

If you want a patina, you need to avoid anything with plasticizers in it (polyurethane, etc.). Real, old-school shellac would patina nicely but it is sort of finicky to apply properly.

Right now, I'd lean toward recommending penetrating oil and routine coats of wax. Butchers wax is regularly available at hardware stores and restoration hardware and is probably the most durable of the commercial waxes that comes in small quatities.

Edited to add: By the way, nice looking kitchen.

Edited December 31, 2003 by slbunge (log)

[budrichard]

John Boos makes a mineral oil called 'Mystery Oil' for its end grain blocks and countertops. It is food grade and it is what we use for our Boos end grain butcher block countertops. Why don't you want to use your butcher block? -Dick

[phaelon56]

Why don't you want to use your butcher block?

It's not that I'm really opposed in principle to using it but I already have a decent size piece of butcher block (about 15x22 inches) that I've been using for years for my basic cutting. It's nicely seasoned, incredibly well oiled and convenient. I'd like to use the peninsula butcher block top as a table area. The great majority of the time I'll be dining alone or with one guest. I expect more often than not to be sitting at the peninsula for meals - would just as soon not do cutting on it.

That said.... I can see the benefits of working dough on the surface on occasion. I'll look into the John Boos products. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Yeah - I like the kitchen too. The kitchen/dining area more or less sold me on the house (not to mention that after moving from NJ back to Syracuse I was stunned by how cheaply one can purchase a nice house).

[McDuff]

I'm making cabinets for my bathroom with a linseed oil and shellac finish. Have a lot of wood in the house finished that way and it will look great after a couple of years. Biggest problem with shellac is that the second you put a wet glass down on it, you get a white ring. Don't think I'd put it in the kitchen.