I've never made a food idem before, so I've never really looked into this, I have always been told that you use mineral oil on cutting boards, I was recently told that butcher block/spoon oil lasts longer, and someone today told me that there the same thing, if there not is there is diff in preformace? anyone know the answer?
Could be. But you don't use either if you want best results. Mineral oil doesn't cure, so it sequesters oil-soluble inorganic soil and oil-loving organic creatures (like bacteria) from the depredations of detergents. Until, of course, the detergent finally emulsifies all the oil, at which point the piece "looks dull" and needs to be reoiled....
Go bare or go cure.
George - I have a vested interest in this topic as about 18 sf of my counter space is being left au natural for a mineral oil treatment rather than poly. This 18 sf area is for food prep. Everyone else just about everywhere has said that some kind of oil is the best treatment for such a use. I have a feeling that either way (bare or mineral oil) has pluses and minuses. Is it possible that the wood is protected from moisture and possible delamination better with mineral oil than with nothing? Maybe this is enough reason to go with the oil if so.
dwhite
You've got a bad choice to make. It's not good policy at all to use the same board or area for meat prep and then for food which will not be cooked. Cross-contamination is a certainty.
I would have boards for trimming and cutting meat made up to place on areas of the counter where I can wipe with bleach or detergent and feel certain they were not hiding just out of reach. Use the open area to prepare foods which will not be cooked. I would go a drying (curing) oil to help shed moisture, though it will darken the counter a bit. Check walnut oil as a possibility, or one of the oil/wax mixes. Keep some bleach, cut 10:1 in a spray bottle nearby for wiping.
I would also make sure I could replace the entire area relatively easily in case someone left a glass too cold or a pot too hot on it to discolor it.
delamination
Well, I didn't get into details but strictly speaking this isn't a prep table. There won't be any uncooked meat near this counter... all that is in the back kitchen area. The use here is mainly for sandwich prep. The only thing that will typically contact the board is rolls and subs, probably some produce here and there. I'm probably going to poly the counter under the slicer as there won't be any knife work there and the poly will repel any juices you get typically from roast beef in the slicer. On the unfinished part, I will have sandwiches cut and frill picked before they go onto a catering tray, so that is where some knife marks can come into play. It is hard rock maple so I'm told it will hold up.
I probably need some darkening as it would be nice for the unfinished part to somewhat match the parts with poly, which turn a bit yellow. I'll have to check into the drying oils and see.
That's not going to happen with this countertop. The main counter is 3' wide and 13' long. It ain't goin' nowhere! The worn in rustic look is going to have to do in the unfinished section.
thanks again, dwhite
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