Cutting Boards... Mineral Oils and what-ever else.

[stosh]

When you have a new cutting board what exactly are you supposed to do to it. I see all these mineral oils and what not out there. Can I just go to the hardware store and buy some mineral oil???

[Tenchiro]

I would think to use peanut oil over mineral oil. But I use plastic boards.

[narlus]

aesthetically i prefer wood boards over plastic, but it's good to have two or three boards suited for different things. for instance, it's a pain in the ass to get rid of garlic and onion flavors on a wooden board (brought painfully home after i ate strawberries sliced on a board for said function. :dead: ). plastic boards you can just pop into the dishwasher which is nice, although they can warp (nothing as irritating as a wobble in yr cutting board).

you can use tongue oil (i think that's what it is called) for wooden boards.

[narlus]

oh, btw you can use mixture of fresh lemon and salt to cleanse wooden boards from garlic/onion flavors. works pretty well.

[pnj]

I use plastic boards.

[bomberz1qr20]

Ikea.

1 large plastic board
1 small plastic board
1 chef's knife
1 paring knife
1 bread knife

$5.99

The plastic boards are thick and warp-free nd the knives actually work well.


I've used grapeseed oil on wood boards before, works fine.

[stosh]

Ikea.

1 large plastic board
1 small plastic board
1 chef's knife
1 paring knife
1 bread knife

$5.99

The plastic boards are thick and warp-free nd the knives actually work well.


I've used grapeseed oil on wood boards before, works fine.
ha the boards I have are wooden ones from Ikea.

[BikeGeek]

The Tung Oil tree is mildly poisonous. It's effects are gastric, intestinal, and weakness. I'd assume the same for the oil.

Mine's untreated. An intersting article that I found on the Alaska Science Forums convinced me that was the way to go.

"The scientist tried inoculating wood and plastic boards with bacteria on three successive days, and not cleaning the boards between inoculations. They maintained the boards under identical conditions of warmth and high humidity, comparable to a busy restaurant kitchen. At the end of the three days, once more 99.9 percent of the bacteria had vanished from the wood boards. The plastic boards were thriving germ farms.

The researchers have no idea what makes wood inhospitable to bacterial growth and survival. They aren't even sure that the bacteria are dying. According to the Science News article reporting their work, Cliver admitted "we've not recovered the little critters' dead bodies." But if the germs are hiding somewhere in the wood, nothing seems to lure them back out again.

The mysterious natural antibiotic effect of wood on food contaminating bacteria seems to work with old wood as well as new, and with every species of wood tested so far. The only thing they've found that does enhance bacteria growth is treating the wood with mineral oil. By sealing the wood, oiling makes it more like plastic. As far as bacteria are concerned, that's a good thing."

[bomberz1qr20]

"The scientist tried inoculating wood and plastic boards with bacteria on three successive days, and not cleaning the boards between inoculations. They maintained the boards under identical conditions of warmth and high humidity, comparable to a busy restaurant kitchen. At the end of the three days, once more 99.9 percent of the bacteria had vanished from the wood boards. The plastic boards were thriving germ farms.
"

There's no mention of putting a plastic board in a dishwasher and blasting it with hot water and clorine detergent. Not even Courtney Love's cooties could survive that.

[BikeGeek]

Not even Courtney Love's cooties could survive that.

Why is Courtney Love sitting on your cutting board in the first place?

[stosh]

There's no mention of putting a plastic board in a dishwasher and blasting it with hot water and clorine detergent. Not even Courtney Love's cooties could survive that.
Bwahhhhhhhhhhhh

[bomberz1qr20]

Why is Courtney Love sitting on your cutting board in the first place?

'Bout to chop the bitch into pieces.

Duh!

[stosh]

'Bout to chop the bitch into pieces.

Duh!
oh man...

[binary visions]

'Bout to chop the bitch into pieces.

Duh!
That still doesn't explain why you'd allow her in your kitchen.

Nothing short of a nuclear detonation will cleanse your house now...

[bomberz1qr20]

That still doesn't explain why you'd allow her in your kitchen.

Nothing short of a nuclear detonation will cleanse your house now...

You assume that my cutting board is in my kitchen, and not my "special clubhouse" down by the meat packing facility.

[Brian HCM#1]

I use olive oil.

[Ciaran]

I use thick glass cutting boards.

[menachite]

When we used to make them we would seal them with Butcher's Wax before shipping them.

[DRB]

When the cat gets backed up we give him a little mineral oil and that flushes him like draino...... not sure I want that on a cutting board.

[DRB]

When the cat gets backed up we give him a little mineral oil and that flushes him like draino...... not sure I want that on a cutting board.
That is the mineral oil.... well the flushed cat...ah.... well.... you get the point

[Silver]

I use mineral oil from the drugstore. It won't go rancid like food oils will, and it's meant to be ingested (if you're backed up, you can use it as a laxative) so I'm not worried about safety.

[binary visions]

I use thick glass cutting boards.
:dead:

You know how horrible that is for your knives, right?

[Silver]

I use thick glass cutting boards.

I didn't notice that before.

Tell me you don't have nice knives...

[Ciaran]

I didn't notice that before.

Tell me you don't have nice knives...

No, I do not have nice knives. I do medieval recreation and have been lucky enough to meet some bladesmiths who make truely nice knives, and swords. After using their products, nothing in the stores that I can afford can compare. Hand forged. Niiiiice.... Here is a link to one of our better bladesmiths... http://www.atar.com/

Also, I like the convenience of glass, and I buy mediocre knives and sharpen them really well. Mainly though, I am not that serious of a cook, and so do not spend money on things I don't have the skills to really use well. Not only that, but my smith friends would kill me if they saw me using a nice blade on glass, rubber,leather, or something like that. I do have specially made knives for cutting leather though. And a really sweet spearhead that a friend made for me.

My nicest blades are fed and cared for very well, and are mostly on display. Though we do occasionally take them out for some fun.

[Silver]

I want a Murray Smith someday...

I need to learn to sharpen first though, and I'm not going to learn using one of his.

[chicodude]

When the cat gets backed up we give him a little mineral oil and that flushes him like draino...... not sure I want that on a cutting board.
http://www.cripplefight.com/smileys/signmuahaha.gif

[Silver]

No, I do not have nice knives. I do medieval recreation and have been lucky enough to meet some bladesmiths who make truely nice knives, and swords. After using their products, nothing in the stores that I can afford can compare. Hand forged. Niiiiice.... Here is a link to one of our better bladesmiths... http://www.atar.com/

Also, I like the convenience of glass, and I buy mediocre knives and sharpen them really well. Mainly though, I am not that serious of a cook, and so do not spend money on things I don't have the skills to really use well. Not only that, but my smith friends would kill me if they saw me using a nice blade on glass, rubber,leather, or something like that. I do have specially made knives for cutting leather though. And a really sweet spearhead that a friend made for me.

My nicest blades are fed and cared for very well, and are mostly on display. Though we do occasionally take them out for some fun.

Still, pony up for a plastic cutting board. You can throw it in the dishwasher, and you're done. No matter how crappy a knife you have, it's going to really suck when you are using it with a glass board.

[Ciaran]

Still, pony up for a plastic cutting board. You can throw it in the dishwasher, and you're done. No matter how crappy a knife you have, it's going to really suck when you are using it with a glass board.

Alright, I'll hit Target tomorrow. So what is a good knife to cook with. Those hand forged things are nice but they don't really make practicle tools. I need something good for the kitchen.

[Silver]

If you want some good kitchen stuff at reasonable prices, check out Lamson Sharp. I really like KAI knives (much more than Wusthof or Henckles, for example) but they are more expensive.

For a boning or carving knife, stamped Forschners are nice. You don't need a heavy forged blade for those tasks.

edit: Oops, the forged Lamson Sharp stuff is pretty expensive. Still worth checking out. Start off with an 8 inch chef's knife, you can do most of your cooking with that. Try a few out and see what you like for balance and handle shape.

[binary visions]

If you want some good kitchen stuff at reasonable prices, check out Lamson Sharp.

I like Lamson Sharp knives. They're not outrageously expensive (though they're not cheap either), and feel very solid.