vegetable oil finish

Ron Jones

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Indianapolis area
I had lunch in a small eatery today, and noticed a display of nice looking cutting boards that were for sale. I couldn't avoid walking over and examining the cutting boards--fairly small, various shapes, nicely done, made with walnut, cherry and maple. They were priced in the 35 to 50 dollar range. They were made by a person unknown to me and were sold on commission. Each one had an instruction sheet for maintaining the board--hand wash with warm soapy water and dry. Then rejuvenate the finish by wiping with a liberal coat of veggie oil and wiping off the excess.:(

Should I have warned the cashier that they were selling potentially rancid cutting boards?:huh:
 
I had lunch in a small eatery today, and noticed a display of nice looking cutting boards that were for sale. I couldn't avoid walking over and examining the cutting boards--fairly small, various shapes, nicely done, made with walnut, cherry and maple. They were priced in the 35 to 50 dollar range. They were made by a person unknown to me and were sold on commission. Each one had an instruction sheet for maintaining the board--hand wash with warm soapy water and dry. Then rejuvenate the finish by wiping with a liberal coat of veggie oil and wiping off the excess.:(

Should I have warned the cashier that they were selling potentially rancid cutting boards?:huh:

Yep.,...cant use them in any food preparation area that is going to be inspected. Can you imagine the bacteria after cutting up one chicken?
 
You betcha! We all have seen the postings that warns of the ill effects of rancid veggy oil. Mineral Oil or Mineral Oil and Paraffin. is a better choice. And of course the articles that discribe why natural is better. No finish is best. :thumb:
 
Bill I fail to see how no finish is best. I cut a lot of deer up during the hunting seasons and raw wood would get saturated with blood and a breading place for fly's. I have a huge maple top butcher block table and I just stripped it and sanded it to get ready for the season. Now I am looking into a new sealer for it this year.
 
Bill I fail to see how no finish is best. I cut a lot of deer up during the hunting seasons and raw wood would get saturated with blood and a breading place for fly's. I have a huge maple top butcher block table and I just stripped it and sanded it to get ready for the season. Now I am looking into a new sealer for it this year.

Here's some interesting reading on wood vs. plastic cutting boards:

http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

It doesn't mention finishes specifically, but it does come to the conclusion that properly cleaned wood boards are less likely to grow bacteria than a plastic one.
 
Bill I fail to see how no finish is best. I cut a lot of deer up during the hunting seasons and raw wood would get saturated with blood and a breading place for fly's. I have a huge maple top butcher block table and I just stripped it and sanded it to get ready for the season. Now I am looking into a new sealer for it this year.

I don't have the literature off hand but from time to time this subject appears and some University out northwest made a test and found that untreated wood is a natural bacterial growth retardant. As for slaying deer, Last season we cleaned and processed 28 Bambi's Ma & Pas so I am familure with the mess, properly hung deer don't bleed that much on the "Chopping Block" Of course we use Corian slabs, as I have a friend, etc. Proper washup gets rid of infestation and around here it is too cold for flies. In fact a couple years ago we had problems keeping the meat thawed enough to slice. Of course if this weather we are having keeps up, we may have a problem keeping them cool...:eek:

Here is my grandson with one weekend harvest
 

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