Q: We received a wood butcher block as a wedding present and it gets a lot of use. We wipe it down and scrub it, but it still smells funky. I've tried everything from food-safe soaps to lemon juice. Does anyone have a foolproof trick for getting butcher blocks clean and odor-free?
Sent by Nicole
Editor: If you're not doing so already, rubbing your butcher's block with mineral oil or beeswax will help seal it and make it easier to clean. Doing this once a month or so helps keep it ship-shape. Here are some other reference posts that might help:
• Keeping a Butcher's Block Clean Without Drying it Out
• How to Sand Your Butcher Block to Look Like New
• The Best Way to Clean and Care For Wooden Cutting Boards?
• Beautiful & Useful: Butcher Block Counters
Readers, how do you keep your butcher's block clean?
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Use a bit of baking soda to scrub it down
Lemon or Lime juice do the trick on mine.
Also the Boos website is a great resource. I use their board cream every once in a while to keep my table looking new.
I use scrub mix of lemon juice and salt. Take a lemon half, sprinkle a bit of salt on to board, then use the lemon as a brush and scrub away. Rinse with hot water and dry with a towel.
maybe its more difficult if the odor is already in, so sand it down and after that follow all the tipps to avoid getting in the same position again?
Second the sand down and re-oil. You should be mineral oiling your block after every wash, this not only keeps it from drying out and splitting over time, but will help keep strong odors out as most of these are carried by oils in foods.
Make sure it's cleaned well, then rub it down with wood block oil. I do this about once a month, when I notice odors lingering on the board after I've washed it.
The Kitchn posted these directions for making "spoon butter" -- a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil, great for wood cooking utensils and chopping blocks. I love it. Makes keeping the blocks clean so much easier.
http://www.thekitchn.com/homemade-spoon-butter-165182
I would sprinkle liberally with baking soda and let it sit overnight to absorb any odors. Then scrub with water (or even mix with vinegar) the next morning. Lastly, oil the butcher block with a food-safe mineral oil. I use Howard Butcher Block Conditioner for my wood cutting boards.