How to Revive Butcher Block Cutting Boards
Butcher Block adds such warmth and character to any kitchen or workspace. But like anything made from wood, occasionally it needs to be revived.
How to Revive Butcher Block Cutting Boards
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We’ve been trying to eliminate plastic cutting boards and replacing them with wooden and butcher blocl ones. If you have any of them yourself, you know how they dry out and start to look a bit tired after a while. It’s not too difficult to clean and recondition them and give them a brand new life.Â
We have a couple of butcher block cutting boards in our house that get used often. Every couple of months I use food safe butcher block oil on them to give them new life. It’s a quick and easy chore, and the butcher block oil lasts a long time and goes a long way.
Apply a fairly generous amount of the butcher block oil with a microfiber cloth and rub it into the wood. The thirsty wood soaks it right up.Â
If you want to remove the scratches, you can use a fine to medium sandpaper to sand them smooth and then use a tack cloth to remove all the dust from sanding. You’ll want to do this before you apply the oil. I haven’t sanded mine before but will have to eventually, I’m sure.Â
Here’s one of our cutting boards. The left side has had the oil applied and the right side has not.
Another smaller one. You can see how the oil brings out the natural color in the wood. It also conditions and preserves it.
I also use it on our lazy susan. The oil will work on any wood. It might take longer to soak into hard, dense woods like maple, but it will still work.
The reconditioned lazy susan. Isn’t she lovely?
A close up of one of the cutting boards. The scratches aren’t noticeable any longer and the wood has a nice, rich hue.
The butcher block oil is completely food safe. It is all natural and can also be used on salad bowls, knife handles, and more. Â
And now that my cutting boards and lazy Susan have been reconditioned, I think it’s time for a snack.
I agree with Cathy, using mineral oil is much cheaper than butcher block oil and does the same thing.
Butcher block oil is mineral oil, but it's FDA approved and is food-safe. It's made specifically for use on food prep surfaces or wooden salad bowls, etc. Maybe mineral oil is too, but I haven't tried it before. Thanks for the tip. 🙂
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I use mineral oil rub it on at night and let it soak in…wipe off excess in the morning….easy peasy!!
We use the butcher block oil from IKEA and rub it in with a soft cloth and a generous helping of course sea salt. Rub & remove!
That's a good tip. I guess the salt really cleans the board well. Thanks for visiting! ~ Angie
Thanks for sharing. I am starting the search for this product right now.
Okay, this is easy and probably obvious to a lot of people, but it has seriously never occurred to me that such a product exists (duh)! So glad you shared, I have two that look… well-loved, haha. Time to fix those babies up!!
Mine are well-loved too but this freshens them so nicely! Thanks for stopping by Adrianne!
Wish I had some butcher block to try this on! The wine and fruit sure look good, but it will take me awhile to get their from NJ 😉
Thanks, Amy! I'll be sure to drink a sip for you! Have a great weekend. ~ Angie