Caring for your cutting board

There’s nothing like preparing the first meal on your brand new cutting board. The first cut is a bit of exhilaration and hesitation as you draw your knife and potentially mar the beautifully smooth surface of your board. However, each knife strokes sliced across the grain probably equals a future fond memory of creating a delicious meal. At Real Good Goods, we love seeing well-used and well-loved butcher blocks, cheese boards, cutting boards, and the many other names given to the wooden unsung heroes of our kitchens, and we want to help ensure they get the very best care we feel they deserve.

While cooking and eating

While cooking you may not have a chance to wash all of your dishes before serving your meal. Before you sit down to eat, be sure you haven’t left liquid sitting on your cutting board, especially if you just sliced something juicy like tomatoes. Just give it a quick tilt in your sink and slide your knife at a 30-degree angle to swipe any liquid off the surface. Return it to the counter — never put your cutting board in the sink or in standing water. Now go enjoy your meal!

Washing your cutting board

Wash your board with mild soap and water, and stand upright on a rack or dry towel. Allow it to dry completely, probably overnight, before storing or oiling.

Again, never allow your board to soak in water. Pigment from fruit and vegetable may stain the surface. Sometimes this is temporary and it will disappear after a few washing. Soaking the board will not help, and will cause the wood to swell and deteriorate. Minor restoration may be necessary to remove stubborn stains.

Waxing your cutting board

To maintain its beauty and durability we recommend using our Organic Beeswax Board Butter to condition your cutting board. It’s also great for any wooden utensils, spoon rests, cookware, and wooden-handled knives. If you cook regularly, waxing at least once a month is best and only takes a few minutes.

Place a generous amount of board butter on your board. Spread into a thin layer across the entire surface, including the edges. Buff into the grain with a clean, lint-free cloth, and allow it to absorb overnight. Remove any excess with a clean cloth in the morning. If your board hasn’t been conditioned in a while, it may be very thirsty. Give it another coat if the surface still feels dry.

Our Organic Beeswax Board Butter is food-safe, non-toxic, and contains no solvents. Cloths used for waxing may be used multiple times if stored in a clean area, and can be safely disposed of as household waste later on.

Restorations

Cutting boards with deep cuts, chips, stains, or water damage may need some extra care by way of restoration. The resurfacing process for this can involve using a block plane or well-sharpened card scraper to remove the damaged layer. Lighter damage can be sanded with a rough (60-grit) sandpaper. To restore the like-new surface, continue sanding with progressively higher grit sand paper — first 120-grit, then 220-grit, and finally finish with 400-grit.

Our method of restoration at this stage is to bathe the board in oil 2-3 times. There are various types of appropriate and food-safe oils. We have researched and tested many of them and prefer using non-GMO Walnut Oil. Let the board stand upright overnight (8-12 hours) between each bath. The last step is to give it a coat of board butter following the waxing instructions above.

If restoring a cutting board sounds like a lot of work, it’s because it is! If you’re interested in having your cutting board restored, we can help. Contact us and we can assess the damage from a photo and provide you a quote in 24 hours. We have the tools and experience to get your cutting looking new again!

Salvaged maple for our butcher blocks

A great thing about NYC is you never know what's around any given corner. On a cold, rainy day, we stumbled upon a house renovation in SOHO. The workman had cut up what was once a beautiful maple countertop and put it on the curb. We were lucky enough to get to it before the rain swelled the wood.

We took all we could carry back to our shop, and made a series of beautiful maple cutting boards, cheese boards, and butcher blocks. We used the same restoration process that we've discussed in an earlier post, and sealed the boards with our Organic Beeswax Board Butter.

Restoring a butcher block

Think twice before tossing out a cutting board because of a few scratches consider the extent of its damage and having it restored. With a few hand tools, oil, and board wax you could have you board looking like new again. We'll walk you through the process of how we restore cutting boards at Real Good Goods.

First, we inspect the damage. This board has mostly a dry cracked surface, a few deep gashes, and burn marks on one side. Deep gashes and burns cause deeper damage that won't vanish completely, but afterward there will simply be a couple scars of well used board.

Next, we use a card scraper to being the resurfacing. Scrapers are inexpensive to buy and invaluable to own. Just be sure to keep them sharp! This will be the fastest and cleanest way to remove the surface damage. Otherwise begin sanding with coarse 60 grit sandpaper or a industrial strength scouring pad.

The scraper will get the surface to a very smooth surface, and you may stop resurfacing here if you wish. Otherwise, or if you are working with only sandpaper, move on to 220 grit and continue sanding. Finish with 400 grit for the final pass with your sander.

Finally we need to rehydrate and build a layer of protection for the wood from moisture. Bathe the cutting board generously on all side with mineral oil. Let the wood rest between baths for 12-24 hours to fully absorb. 24-hours after the 3rd bath, wax the board. We make our own Organic Beeswax Board Butter, and it's available in our shop. It's important to use organic beeswax for you cookware to ensure there are no pesticide or chemical fertilizers that can leach into your food. Spread a generous amount of board butter across the entire surface of your cutting board. Buff into the grain with a clean, lint-free cloth, and allow to absorb overnight. Remove any excess with a clean cloth in the morning. Repeat as needed.

You're ready to get cooking! Wash your board with mild soap and water, after using and allow to dry completely before storing or oiling. Never allow your board to soak in water or moisture to pool on the surface for long periods of time. When the coating wears off, reapply the board butter again on a completely dry board.