Question for ya: Do you have a cabinet of cutting boards?
I used to have one. It was a narrow cabinet and I had like a dozen various cutting boards in it that were all pretty terrible.
Last year I pared down my cutting boards to just a few. The most used one is a nice 2-inch thick cherry cutting board. I use it for everything, multiple times a day! I also have a secondary smaller cutting board that I use mainly for meat.
I try not to use a lot of harsh detergents on my main wood cutting board and over the last year I’ve tried a few different ways to clean the sucker.
This is now my go-to way to naturally clean my wood cutting board! It’s really easy to do and you’ll only need a few things!
How to Naturally Clean Wood Cutting Boards
Guys, this is a dirty cutting board. It might not look that dirty, but if you cut everything on your cutting board (cheese, onions, etc.) it’ll eventually start to kinda stink.
So you need to clean it! This is all you need: A lemon, some baking soda, and coarse kosher salt.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of baking soda on the cutting board along with one tablespoon of coarse kosher salt.
Now take half of a fresh lemon and the acid from the lemon will make the baking soda do its thing.
And the coarse salt will literally scrub the board clean while the bubbling baking soda gets rid of any funky odors on the board. Scrub it really well for a minute or so, working the salt and baking soda around the board.
You should end up with a light paste of soda and salt and is pretty gross looking. That’s good!
I like to let mine sit for a few minutes also to really make sure it picks up all the dirt and odors.
When you’ve really scrubbed it, rinse off the cutting board with warm water and dry it with a few paper towels.
Important Step: Oil! Once your cutting board is clean, you need to oil it with a food-grade neutral oil. Personally, I like Boos Mystery Oil, which isn’t actually a mystery. It’s just a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax which is really good at keeping your cutting board nice and clean.
Once you clean and oil your board correctly, you should be able to drop some water on it and it should bead up. The oil is protecting the wood from liquid which is exactly what you want!
In between cleanings, I can usually just wipe off my cutting board with a clean cloth. But every few weeks, this is what I do to keep my wood cutting board looking nice and beautiful.
If you have a funky wood cutting board sitting around, do this immediately! It’s the only way to do it!
Scott
I love this post. I have a big Boos cutting block and have always struggled with the best way to clean it. As always, you are doing home cooks a great service with your site. Thanks so much!
Pete
Once again you have demystified a portion of my life in the kitchen. I love your site and always look forward to your posts.
Jon
This is a great tip! I am curious, we have butcher block counters and a very large butcher block island, all made of oak and maple. We always wipe down with a mild solution of water and Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner and then condition it with mystery oil once a month. Would you recommend this cleaning solution / method over the Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose solution? Many thanks!
Nick
Hey Jon! I don’t think so… I like Meyers a lot also and use that as well actually. I think for counters like that you probably need to get some cleaner in there. Doing this method would probably be more work b/c you’d have to then rinse the counters which isn’t as easy as with a cutting board. If you ever notice any funky smells though, this method is great for odor elimination!
Jon
I was wondering that as well, how I would go about rinsing everything down. Thanks for the quick reply and it’s also nice to hear that you use Mrs. Meyer’s as well. Have a good one! Love your site!
DuckHuntTom
We use this stuff called Walrus Oil to re-finish our cutting board every month or so, it’s a walnut and maple block. It works pretty well and I think oil and wax are important, but the Vitamin E is just extra protection from bacteria growth.
Leon
With my wood cutting boards, once a year i sand the top layer off. It gets rid of not only the smell your talking about but all the knife cuts on the surface. It basically becomes a new cutting board
Nick
That’s a cool idea Leon. You just sand off the top layer with a sander? Thanks for the idea!
Anthony
That’s some fantastic advice, Nick. I knew how to oil my boards (I do it simply with olive oil, it’s cheap here) but not how to clean them in a biological way. Thanks for the tips!