The First Thing You Should Do with a New Box of Salt

Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson is a writer-mom hybrid in Minneapolis, MN. Her work, mostly focused on health, psychology, and parenting, has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, Allure, and more. She lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with her husband and two young sons.
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updated Apr 9, 2020
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box of kosher salt on the counter
Credit: Joe Lingeman

You probably already know that you can use salt for other purposes, beyond seasoning your food. Got a small grease fire on your stovetop? Pour salt directly on top to smother the flames. Accidentally drop an egg on your kitchen floor? Sprinkle some salt on top, let it sit for 20 minutes or so, then wipe it right up. Have stuck-on bits on your cast iron skillet? Scrub it with salt!

You maybe even know about our favorite salt trick: Using it as a sort of spa treatment for your wood cutting boards. And that brings us to the point of this post!

See, it’s way too easy to lose track when it comes to routine cleaning and maintenance of all our various kitchen tools. (Do you know the last time you sharpened your favorite knife?) And so we like to pair certain tasks with little milestones to act as reminders. For example, we like to use unscrewing the lid on a new bottle of vinegar as a reminder to soak our kitchen faucets. Similarly, we have a chore that we pair with opening a new box of salt: cleaning our wood cutting boards.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Clearly you’re going to clean your wood cutting board more often (as in, after each use and maybe even between uses if cross-contamination is a concern), but we like to give it a deeper clean every once in a while, generally every month or so. We know you probably aren’t going through a box of salt that quickly, so this is really your oh-my-gosh-I-keep-forgetting reminder!

Every time you open a new box of kosher salt, take a minute to scrub down your wood cutting boards. Just sprinkle the board with the coarse salt and use half of an already spent lemon (to avoid food waste; cut-side down) to scour the surface, squeezing slightly to release lemon juice as you work. Let the board sit for five minutes and then use a bench scraper to scrape up the board. Give it a rinse and you’re good to go.

Read more: How To Clean a Wooden Cutting Board with Lemon and Salt

Do you pair any kitchen chores with little milestones as reminders? Tell us your tricks in the comments below!

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