On Sat 05 Mar 2005 10:18:16p, Bob (this one) wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
>> I just caught this on the tube, for periodic cutting board cleaning:
>>
>> Make a paste of dry cleanser (such as Comet), and water. Spread it
>> evenly over the cutting surface and allow to dry overnight. Next day,
>> rinse thoroughly under warm water using a paper towel to rub off any
>> excess cleanser.
>
> Essentially, this is concentratedly bleaching the wood and it will do
> several undesirable things: It will raise the grain and make the wood
> rough. It will penetrate the wood and flavor foods cut on it. It will
> pull out any oil that's preserving the wood.

Perhaps so, I never tried it. We've never used cleanser or bleach.

>> Sprinkle wet cutting board liberally with Kosher salt. Scour salt on
>> the board with a half lemon until salt is dissolved. Give a final
>> quick rinse under warm water and let dry.
>
> Jeez, this is harsh and unnecessary. The salt acts as an abrasive and
> the lemon juice is just more of (a different) bleach. This will
> aggravate the first step's injuries even more without adding any
> sanitizing value.

I can't agree with this being destructive. My mother had the same maple
cutting board for her entire married life and beyond, nearly 60 years. She
routinely sprinkled it with salt and rubbed it with a lemon. I have the
board now, and it's no worse for wear, although I don't use it. I don't
like wood. My kitchen moto is, "if it can't go in the dishwasher, it
simply doesn't get used."

>> This is said to sanitize and remove stains.
>
> Sanitizing is a lot easier than that. A 5% bleach solution will do the
> same thing with less damage to the wood. I note that there's no
> instruction about smoothing the wood after the treatments above. This
> advice is seriously suspect. The wood will be showing splinters after
> this procedure.

There is nary a splinter in my mother's old board after countless
salt/lemon scrubbings.

> The best sanitizer and oxygen bleaching technique I've seen and used
> is to spray white vinegar and peroxide from different containers
> simultaneously onto the board surface. Let sit for a few minutes,
> wipe, rinse and let air dry. The combination of the two sanitizes as
> well as or better than bleach. And it's less damaging to the wood.
> Leaves no taste on the wood and no harsh smell in the air.

This sounds like the best solution yet.

> And the boards should be oiled to keep the surface a bit more
> impermeable to liquids. I use any oil but olive but there are
> crusaders who say that it will become rancid and your hair will fall
> out and other dire predictions. They say that only mineral oil will
> do. My experience days otherwise. That works for furniture, not
> cutting boards. I have a pecan wood cutting board in my kitchen that
> my grandfather made more than a century ago and it's been oiled with
> whatever oil was at hand, including olive back in the day. It smells
> clean and appetizing.

Mom always oiled her cutting board after practically every use, or at least
after contact with liquid. I think she usually used vegetable oil.

> When they get rough from all that cutting, a little sandpaper or, for
> those in the restaurant biz, a grill screen will take down the surface
> a tiny bit and restore the smoothness.
>
> That whole argument about whether they're antibacterial still rages
> with neither side producing any convincing evidence. Best to think
> they're not and treat them accordingly. This is one bet you don't want
> to lose.
>
>> Since I use polypropylene and nylon cutting boards, I'll just keep this
>> for reference.
>
> Those boards profit from a dishwashing machine. That's where mine go.
> Come out clean and sanitized.

My poly and nulon boards go in the D/W after every use. I think they're
safe.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974