A house is never complete without a kitchen. Nor is a kitchen complete without a butcher board. A wooden butcher board is like a gift from nature because wooden items are easy to maintain, durable and harmless. But easy doesn’t mean ignorable. 

Cleaning the kitchen is an everyday ritual. Tea or snacks, after everything is done, you go through a mental check. Pots? Clean. Plates? Shining. Glasses? Sparkling. And in the process, we tend to ignore an essential soldier of the cookery, the butcher board. Can you imagine that just with a tiny bit of attention, this wooden knight could live on for years and beyond? 

Today, we will share our top 7 tips on how to clean your butcher board with some basic materials available in your house.

Here are seven tips on how to clean your butcher board:

• Daily washing:

A Butcher board doesn’t need any special attention for rinsing. For daily washing, all you have to do is scrub it with hot water and mild dish soap. Even a swipe with a kitchen towel soaked in hot water will do the trick. It can be done immediately after you have used strong spices or herbs on it. This process will remove any lingering scent or stain.

• Sanitizing: 

Expensive chemicals are not for this one. Only with basic components used for cooking, your butcher board can be polished.  All you need is vinegar and water. Mix both ingredients in 1:1 proportion and spray it over the board. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes. This will fight unseen germs and tough blemishes created by beetroot and other colouring substances. But do not rinse it. We have to deodorize it first as well.

• Deodorizing:

Just pull out some salt from the drawer and lemon juice from the refrigerator. Combine the two to make a paste. Rub it gently on the surface and leave it on for a few minutes. Then rinse in hot water. This will scrape off dried leftovers as well as remove the strong smell from foods like garlic and onions, furnishing it with a crisp, gleaming side. 

• Drying:

Veggies, meat or fruits, its usage speaks a thousand words. Hence, it is absolutely necessary that before you put your butcher board away for the day, make sure it is dry. Leaving it wet can increase the moisture in the wood and will cause bacteria and fungi, to settle on it. However grim it may sound, preventing this is painless. All you have to do is wipe the board thoroughly with a paper towel. Doing so will dry the surface and remove futile moisture.  

• Oiling:

While buying this kitchen accessory, you look at its endurance in the long run. If you want to see your board fresh and shining even after a decade, you will have to give it some love. By love, we mean a swash of oil on its surface. That’s right; the oil will give your board a lift that will help it live long. 

So here’s the key, oil your board once a day for a week after you get it home.

Then, once a week as you move onto the first month, continue this process for a year. After that, you can come down to once a month for as long as you own it.

Oiling the butcher board moisturizes the surface that not only prolongs its life but also makes it easier to clean on a daily basis. 

• Products to use:

Vegetable, olive or sunflower oil will oxidize the board and make it go rancid. To avoid that from happening, you can use mineral oil or beeswax. If that is difficult to find, then tung oil and linseed oil can also come handy. These products are natural and won’t let your board produce odd smell or taste and give it a smooth shine covering the scratches. 

• Restoring the old: 

Is it too late before you get to our blog on how to clean your Butcher board? 

Well, it is never too late to start anything. In order to refurbish that darken, dull, used up board, you will need to perform these three easy steps. 

Step 1: Scrape old dried left-outs with a spatula.

Step 2: Using sandpaper, rub out scratches and stains on it. 

Step 3: Oil. 

Using the above options spread the oil on the surface. Due to its prolonged usage, it might be possible that your board will soak up oil. In that case, you can apply more oil and keep applying until the soaking stops. For best results, let the oil sit on the board for a night. 

This process will add lustre and glow up the board.  

A little TLC for your kitchen knight is not that difficult. These tips will keep your board young and mint. Usage of natural home products is easy to clean, within reach and will not react with other cooking elements. 

So if you have been gifted with a butcher board for your house warming party or you enjoy cooking and love to own things that are trendy, smart and elegant, these tips from Ellementry will definitely be functional for you!