Posted: 11/15/2009 1:24:07 PM EDT
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ok guys, some of my wooden cooking utensils are getting a little dry and i would like to sand them and refinish them. i got a spatula, cutting board and maybe another item. anyways... what can i use on them that will be safe to turn around and use them to cook with? can i use boiled linseed oil? i use it all the time on tool handles and if i remember correctly its all natural. plus i like the smell!  thanks |
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Quoted: I use food grade mineral oil (also sold as cutting board oil at the fancy kitchen stores) on my cutting boards. I believe this is the safest and easiest way to preserve wood used for food contact. cool whats the name of the oil? can you buy it at a local hardware store? |
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Basically any mineral oil is safe to use. By this I mean the clear stuff sold in pharmacies and places like Target, Bed Bath Beyond, etc. You will have to constantly reapply this though, but then again it isn't so difficult since you just wipe on, let it sit a moment, and wipe the excess off.
If you want to get fancy, you can use a food safe "salad bowl finish" or "butcher block finish". This will need to be thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. Soak the utensil or cutting board, until you see it seep in the other side. Then you know it's penetrated fully and is sealing the wood fibers. Apply a consistent coat to the other side and wipe off the excess. Do another coat the next day, but this time use a 2/1 ratio of finish to mineral spirits. Allow to dry for three days and wash before use. This method is more time consuming and a bit more involved, but it will last much longer, especially on a cutting board. The simple mineral oil routine is probably your best bet. |
| Agreed, BLO is not a finish you want in contact with food. It will dry eventually, but I don't think it's really food safe. I also agree that you don't want a film left behind, like a varnish; hence my recommendation to thin down the salad bowl/butcher block finish considerably so that it penetrates and seals, but doesn't really leave a film. A very thin layer will wear away quickly and not pose a danger as far as harboring bacteria, but a thick layer will obviously take more time and can and will hold bacteria when cut or damaged. |
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Quoted:
excellent thanks for the info. so is linseed oil a no go? BLO is a NO-GO! BLO has chemical "driers" in it. These driers are typically lead-based compounds. Do NOT use BLO. It is NOT food safe. You could use food grade raw linseed oil but it never really dries, ever, and it leaves behind that linseed oil smell (which I have learned to love but it bothers most people). Why bother. The product you want is mineral oil. That is the proper name. It is an absolutely clear, very low viscosity oil. If you want to be absolutely certain of its safety, buy a food-grade mineral oil at a pharmacy. Yes, a drug store will sell food grade mineral oil. You can also use any vegetable-based cooking oil - olive oil, corn oil, canola oil, ... These will go rancid more quickly than mineral oil and need to be replaced. The thing is, the oil usually washes or wears off before it goes rancid. |