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Kicking Back the Pebbles

A big girl's notes on home - cuisine - travel - life

Cleaning & Conditioning your Wooden Cutting Board

May 28, 2015 - 8 Comments

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

Είναι ένα “κόλπο” που θα το βρείτε σε χίλιες μύριες ιστοσελίδες και μπλογκ: για να καθαρίσετε την ξύλινη επιφάνεια κοπής σας, καθαρίζετε αρχικά τυχόν υπολείμματα με ένα υγρό σφουγγάρι όπως συνήθως, πασπαλίζετε την επιφάνεια με χοντρό αλάτι και χρησιμοποιείτε μισό λεμόνι (πιέζοντας ελαφρά για να απελευθερώνετε λίγο λίγο τον χυμό) για να την τρίψετε καλά. Αφήνετε την “πάστα” που θα δημιουργηθεί να επιδράσει για 5-10 λεπτά μετά το τρίψιμο, κατόπιν ξεπλένετε και τέλος την αφήνετε να στεγνώσει καλά προτού την τρίψετε με λάδι. Το θέμα είναι ότι στις πραγματικά δύσκολες περιπτώσεις (δείτε τους γκρι λεκέδες της δικής μου σανίδας παρακάτω) το αποτέλεσμα δεν θα σας ικανοποιήσει!! Μπορεί το λεμόνι να είναι ικανό αντιβακτηριδιακό αλλά τους εν λόγω λεκέδες δύσκολα τους αφαιρεί! Είχα πολύ καλύτερα αποτελέσματα χρησιμοποιώντας ανοξείδωτο σύρμα (αυτό για τις κατσαρόλες) και ένα απλό απορρυπαντικό πιάτων. Κι ενώ αρχικά φοβόμουν μήπως χαλάσω τη σανίδα μου, αργότερα διάβασα πως συστήνεται ακόμα και η χρήση πολύ λεπτού γυαλόχαρτου εάν θέλουμε να ξεφορτωθούμε βαθύτερες χαραγματιές και μικρο-ραγίσματα.

Δύο πραγματάκια ακόμα: λάδι επεξεργασίας ξύλου θα βρείτε στην ΙΚΕΑ και σε καταστήματα με χρώματα, βερνίκια και προϊόντα καθαρισμού & περιποίησης ξύλου. Μην παραλείψετε να αναφέρετε πως πρόκειται για επιφάνεια εργασίας στην κουζίνα!! Μπορείτε επίσης να χρησιμοποιήσετε έλαιο καρύδας αλλά ποτέ, μα ΠΟΤΕ μη χρησιμοποιήσετε ελαιόλαδο ή άλλο σπορέλαιο. Τα λάδια αυτά αλλοιώνονται από το οξυγόνο της ατμόσφαιρας με αποτέλεσμα τη δημιουργία πολύ δυσάρεστης οσμής, της γνωστής μας ταγγίλας (ή ταγκίλας ή ταγγάδας)!


Meet my scratched & stained wood cutting board… and all these grey-ish marks, not sure where they came from… (maybe because I use it as a trivet for my hot pots and pans?)

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

The lemon & coarse salt method has been blogged and Pinned a bazillion times. Directions, in general, advise to clean with a wet sponge, then sprinkle with salt all over the surface. You use a lemon half with the cut side down to scour the surface, squeezing slightly to release the lemon juice as you go. You let it sit for 5-10 minutes, and then scrape and give a final rinse with a clean wet sponge.

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

I must confess I was not pleased with the results… maybe it would have worked if I had properly conditioned my board beforehand (like you’re supposed to, before using it for the first time) so that it wouldn’t have gotten into such a bad shape? Maybe I should have left the salt-lemon paste sit longer? I later found some site suggesting it has to sit overnight! Or maybe lemon, is just a good idea for an antibacterial treatment only.

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

I decided to use a stainless steel scour pad with my trusty eco-friendly dish soap. I won’t lie, elbow grease is required but such was the case with the renowned lemon half, and that ↑ was all I got!!

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

Things were definitely looking better now! And even though I was, at first,  worried about damaging my board, I later read somewhere that you can even use an extra-fine grit sandpaper to gently smooth away deeper cuts or discolorations.

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

You need to let it dry out completely before you apply mineral oil with a lint-free cloth, following the wood grain. (You can also use coconut oil but never, EVER use olive/vegetable oil. They tend to turn rancid with time and your cutting board will end up smelling nasty!!)

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

You may need to reapply until the wood stops absorbing the oil. Wipe off excess and dry board overnight.

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

How to Clean & Condition a Wooden Cutting Board

If you have used the lemon & salt method effectively, do let me know what could have possibly gone wrong in my case (other than my own suspicions). For the time being, and for really hard stains, I deem it unsuccessful and more of a Pinterest/blogosphere myth!

*images by Athina D. Pantazatou for Kicking Back the Pebbles
athina

Comments

  1. artandkitchen says

    March 21, 2016 at 14:31

    Thanks for your suggestions! I have never used the salt and lemon method, I use soap and the “hard part” of the kitchen sponge; no oil. For my outdoor table after cleaning I use a mixture of 1 part of beeswax mixed with 5 parts of peanut oil. Then I let it adsorb this. I remove excessive wax-mixture with kitchen paper the day after.

    Reply
    • Athina says

      March 21, 2016 at 14:35

      Oooh, beeswax must be amazing for this! Thanks for mentioning it!!

      Reply
      • artandkitchen says

        March 21, 2016 at 14:38

        You are welcome, beeswax is magical!

        Reply
  2. TheoDORA's Kitchen Diaries says

    May 29, 2015 at 17:56

    Very useful information! I love wooden cutting boards and I needed this. 🙂

    Reply
    • Athina says

      May 29, 2015 at 19:02

      Thank you Theodora, I’m glad you found this useful…

      Reply
  3. FoodieWineLover - Gina (Martino) Zarcadoolas says

    May 28, 2015 at 20:45

    Great blogpost Athina, very informative and well-written. Thank you <3

    Reply
    • Athina says

      May 28, 2015 at 20:56

      Thank you Gina <3

      Reply
      • FoodieWineLover - Gina (Martino) Zarcadoolas says

        May 30, 2015 at 06:51

        ❤️

        Reply

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Hi, it’s Athina!

A stalwart bookworm, English & American Literature graduate, EFL/ESOL teacher. I juggled teaching and working as an executive secretary, in a big advertising company and a law firm, for several years. I’m a freelance writer, line editor, and blogger as of lately. Also, a bit ironic by nature but, all in all, quite easy-going. Partner to 1 & mother to 3 cats. I once tried to give up coffee and then swore not to make that mistake again!

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“When summer's end is nighing And skies at eve “When summer's end is nighing
 And skies at evening cloud,
I muse on change and fortune
 And all the feats I vowed
 When I was young and proud.”
—A.E. Housman, verse from 𝘟𝘟𝘟𝘐𝘟, Last Poems (1922)
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#kickingbackthepebbles #blog #bloggergirl #bloggerlife #littlestoriesofmylife #aquietstyle #momentsofmine #sunsetphotography #instagood #travelvibes #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelgram #travelbug #happydays #breakaway #greece🇬🇷 #vacation2023 #instasummer #summer2023🌴☀️
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#kickingbackthepebbles #travelblogger #newblogpost #summer2018 #travelvibes #getoutstayout #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelblog #travelgram #travelbug #breakaway #prague #praha #czech #czechrepublic #europe #gothic #architecture #style #pragueoldtown #pragueoldtownsquare #charlesbridge #praguecastle #stvituscathedral
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“When summer's end is nighing And skies at eve “When summer's end is nighing
 And skies at evening cloud,
I muse on change and fortune
 And all the feats I vowed
 When I was young and proud.”
—A.E. Housman, verse from 𝘟𝘟𝘟𝘐𝘟, Last Poems (1922)
•
•
•
•
#kickingbackthepebbles #blog #bloggergirl #bloggerlife #littlestoriesofmylife #aquietstyle #momentsofmine #sunsetphotography #instagood #travelvibes #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelgram #travelbug #happydays #breakaway #greece🇬🇷 #vacation2023 #instasummer #summer2023🌴☀️
👋🏻 Buh-bye August, hello September! • Mus 👋🏻 Buh-bye August, hello September! 
•
Music: Your Gain – Licensed by: Video Maker – Creator:  Swif7 on Epidemic Sound
•
•
•
•
#kickingbackthepebbles #getoutstayout #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelblog #travelgram #travelbug #breakaway #littlestoriesofmylife #instagood #travelvibes #summer2023🌴☀️
____________________________________
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
____________________________________
#summerdawn onboard (off to the island we go) • #summerdawn onboard (off to the island we go)
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#kickingbackthepebbles #blog #bloggergirl #bloggerlife #littlestoriesofmylife #aquietstyle #momentsofmine #seafront #instagood #travelvibes #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelgram #travelbug #happydays #breakaway #greece🇬🇷 #vacation2023 #instasummer #summer2023🌴☀️
Prague through My Lens • Link to blog post in bi Prague through My Lens
•
Link to blog post in bio: ➡️ kickingbackthepebbles.start.page/ ➡️ Latest blog post. 
•
Music: You Ain't Ready – Licensed by: Canva Pro – Creator: Donell Mase from Epidemic Sound
•
•
•
•
#kickingbackthepebbles #travelblogger #newblogpost #summer2018 #travelvibes #getoutstayout #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelblog #travelgram #travelbug #breakaway #prague #praha #czech #czechrepublic #europe #gothic #architecture #style #pragueoldtown #pragueoldtownsquare #charlesbridge #praguecastle #stvituscathedral
#littlestoriesofmylife #instagood #travelvibes #summer2023🌴☀️
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Sunsets up northward... • • • • #kickingb Sunsets up northward... 
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#kickingbackthepebbles #blog #weekend #afternoon #sunset #sunshine #bloggergirl #bloggerlife #littlestoriesofmylife #aquietstyle #momentsofmine #seafront #instagood #travelvibes #keepexploring #traveldiaries #travelgram #travelbug #happydays #breakaway #greece🇬🇷 #vacation2023 #instasummer #summer2023🌴☀️
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