Equipment expert Adam Ried shares how to care for wooden kitchen tools.
Buy our co-winning wooden spoon:
Buy our winning wood cutting board:
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
If you like us, follow us:
44 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Lots of good info .Thank you I was wondering how to care for the wood.
What if a cutting board has been used countless times, never oiled, and submerged in water for washing? Can I still oil it? I had no idea they needed to be oiled
Q: someone suggested using coconut oil instead of or better than mineral oil, is that true?
I take care of my wood twice a week. I hope it lasts me as long as cast iron 😂
how often do you suggest the wood be conditioned?
Very nice butternut bowl you have there. That spider web grain is unique to the butternut tree. I have been making wood bowls for almost 30 years now. I quit using mineral oil and beeswax years ago. Main reason is the mineral oil offers little to no protection against water. It soaks in and then pretty much disappears. after a couple of days. The bees wax is very soft, and if there is any on the surface, it leaves finger prints. Choice of many bowl turners are walnut oils and carnuba/palm wax. The walnut oil soaks in and then cures and hardens. I prefer the stuff from The Doctor's Woodshop. Only affiliation I have with him is I have found his product to be excellent. There are a couple of others. The salad walnut oils in the grocery store can vary a lot, some cure, and some don't. The walnut oil is heat treated to break down all the proteins that can cause nut allergies. Oh, last coat of oil/wax is applied with a heat gun.
My wife doesn't like the idea of using a petroleum product on our wooden utensils and cutting boards, so I used fractionated coconut oil instead. It works great for making wood butter!
When looking to purchase a cutting board what is the best type of wood and why?
Why do you freaks call rubbing oil on cutting boards and cast iron "seasoning?" Its "finishing" the wood and "blackening" the pan. Seasoning is for food!
Thanks Adam, the cutting board, knives, & utensils are smiling again !
How do you make spoon butter?
Use tung oil in stead of mineral oil, much better and it only has to be applied a few times before the cuttingboard is used and then only once in a few years! Saves a lot of time, work and money.
Good stuff. Thank you
Not being a fan of bleach, I use a bit hydrogen peroxide wiped across the board as a disinfectant. It is odorless, less toxic and caustic.
Go natural for seasoning, use Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil. Mineral oil is a byproduct of crude oil as in the same distillate as the oil in your car and the gasoline.
Good timing Adam, I just purchased my first wood cutting board. Your information is always excellent and very useful. I always watch for new videos from both you and Jack Bishop. Thanks for sharing a great video, keep up the good work.
Thank you for the video. I love America’s test kitchen so many great ideas and solutions. Finally made board butter this week and treated my wooden boards and tools. Being in MB Can (very dry winter air) they loved the treatment.
The comments here, are the best !! I'm getting great tips. Thanks Commenters.
You want a horror story, company I used to work for installed a beautiful set of maple butcher block countertops in a kitchen, months later got a call back for warped countertops, turns out the home owner chopped vegetables directly on the countertop and then used bleach to clean up, all the finish was gone, they were grayish-green color and cupped about 2 inches from being continuously wetted on one the bare area.
I beg to differ. I would absolutely advise against a petroleum source mineral oil on a surface used to cut food. It beads water because it stays on the surface and isn’t truly absorbed into the wood. This over time ends up in the food.
Coconut oil or olive oil works very well. The wood drinks in these natural oils better and the wood ages well. A cutting board does not need to be water proof to age well. Even bees wax is a better option than mineral oil. And you avoid mineral oil in your food.
When you wash a wood cutting board, you have to get both sides wet. Get one side wet and not the other the board will warp. Artists painting on certain papers, like doing a water color bleed technique, and certain hard surfaces know this, that one side wet will warp or curl the that material.
ATK,,ADAM,HELLO, YES MINERAL OIL,IS ALL I USE, INCLUDING MY KNIFE BLOCK, STAY WELL CHERIO,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Excellent advice Adam. I make and sell cutting boards and wooden utensils. I also make board butter. You have the correct ratio at 3:1 oil to beeswax. Most online recipes have 4 or 5 to 1. Your recipe makes a board butter that won’t separate. Handy hint – the board butter is great for moisturizing your hands when they get dry and cracked.
Would food grade walnut oil work as well?
I needed this a week ago when I bought a Proteak cutting board on your recommendation! 😀 I have applied oil now but wondering if I did it too late — i have small fibers/splintery type things coming off my board. I read somewhere to keep seasoning it for a week, but that also I may need to sand it lightly? Any tips?
40 years ago I made an exotic wood grooved cutting board and a massive mahogany and cherry wood butcher block with the help of a true craftsman. I've had them all this time using food safe mineral oil every few months and they look today as the day I created them. The trick he taught me was to warm the mineral oil before application. These days I just bump it into the microwave for a few seconds before application. Thinning it out makes the oil absorb better.
Goddard's Butcher Block Oil works great!
You may want to investigate long term ingestion of mineral oils in small quantities.
I have an odd question. I noticed lots of recipes I am interested in using an iron skillet in the oven. I don't have one but I do have an oven safe all clad skillet. Is it usually necessary to use the iron skillet or can I get by with the stainless steel all clad? I am not afraid of the iron skillet, I just don't have room to store one. Thank you for your help.
Hi folks…
I truly appreciate all the info you put out for us.
It is always helpful.
Thanks again 😊
Water is woods natural for aigh??
I have a good question. How do you get rid of mold spots in the wood products that haven’t been treated before?
Take care of your wood!
🤔
Do I buy (and use) the regular MINERAL OIL out of the Pharmacy ?
Will this have that ‘greasy touch’? Can it be used for wooden plates?
I see peeps cutting meat on wooden boards and it creeps me out…how can it ever be properly cleaned…none of these methods seem adequate..
I do a layer of mineral oil followed by beeswax every month on my cutting board and wooden utensils–and as needed on my rolling pin (where it makes a huge difference). I love when I read reviews for cutting boards and wooden spoons on Amazon and people post pictures of parched looking kitchen tools. What did you think was going to happen?
I bought an Epicurean cutting board because one of the features was that it's dishwasher safe and I really loved that idea. As much as I like nice cutting boards and having a piece of art with function, I can be super lazy and forgetful with special care instructions. Have used the Epicurean for over 2 years putting it the washer with no problems!
Edit: found the review for one of these boards from 8 years ago. Idk if it's the same board as what they tested and I wonder if they made any improvements since then.
Continued from original post: I'd love to see what you guys have to say about it if you ever get the chance because it's a nice cutting board that can take the abuse from someone who might forget to season their board or just don't treat regular cutting boards properly.
And Since witches are burned at the stake, they must be made of wood, since it burns as well. Wood floats on water, as do ducks. Therefore, if the woman weighs the same as a duck, she must be able to float on water, which means she is made of wood, and consequently must be a witch.
I’ve got a bamboo board I’ve been using for about 7yrs with no care whatever. Indestructible.
"If you're gonna take care of your wood…" – Adam Reid, America's Test Kitchen (Feb 2, 2022)
As a builder of cutting boards if you are going to use mineral oil warm it first in a pot set over hot water. This thins the oil and helps it to absorb into the board much deeper.
This reminds me, need to apply mineral oil to my wooden utensils. They get it periodically, but it's time to redo.