FAQ about Cutting Boards

Hand wash your cutting board after each use. Let the board dry completely and evenly on all sides. Keep your cutting board well oiled. Depending on how frequently you use your board, you should oil your cutting board at least once a month.

WASH shortly after use. Wash board with mild dish soap, using a scrubbing sponge or rag and warm water. DRY board with towel or set in rack to drip dry. DO NOT lay damp board flat on counter before it has fully dried. DO NOT put cutting board in dishwasher. DO NOT soak in water for prolonged periods.

Guardian Cutting Board Oil is a mix of food grade mineral oil and waxes. When you put oil onto your cutting board, the oil soaks into the wood and reduces the amount of moisture the wood can absorb. A board that is well treated with oil will expand and contract less from moisture in the air or from washing. The expansion and contraction of a cutting board that has not been properly maintained can lead to warping and cracking. Both the oils and the wax sit on the surface of the board where they fill pores and minor scratches. This wax and oil act as a barrier on the surface to prevent microbes from making their way into the wood, which makes washing your cutting board easier. An added benefit is that your cutting boards will resist developing stains and odors.

How to Apply Board Oil: Once per month, treat board with mineral or board oil. START with a clean and completely dry board. SPREAD a heavy layer of oil evenly over the entire board - front, back, & all edges. WAIT 3 hrs to overnight for the oil to soak into the board. WIPE off any excess oil that did not soak in with a paper towel. Your cutting board is ready for use. For additional protection, apply board cream. ​ How to Apply Board Cream: START with a clean and completely dry board. SPREAD a layer of cream evenly over the entire board. WAIT overnight or longer for the cream to soak into the board. WIPE off any cream that did not soak in with a paper towel BUFF board with clean paper towel. Your cutting board is ready for use.

Guardian Cutting Board Oil and Guardian Cutting Board Cream are both made of food grade mineral oils and waxes. Guardian Cutting Board Cream has a higher percentage of wax so it is better at creating a thin barrier on the surface of your board, while Guardian Cutting Board Oil will soak more deeply into your cutting board to keep it from warping and cracking. Oiling your cutting board is a necessary part of maintaining a wooden cutting board, while cream can add an additional layer of protection to better prevent staining and improve overall appearance.

Recommended Oils: Guardian Cutting Board Oil Food grade mineral oil Boos Block Mystery Oil Howard Butcher Block Oil Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil Oils to avoid: Olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, pumpkin seed oil. These and other similar oils can go rancid and cause your board to smell after enough exposure to oxygen and light. Never use: Any oil that is toxic, such as boiled linseed oil.

No

Plain edged knives are the preferred blade for use on any cutting board. Heavy chopping knives such as cleavers can be used on your board -- but with restraint. If you swing hard enough, you will damage the board. Serrated blades can be used, but they will lead to premature wear of the cutting board.

Short answer - decades. The lifespan of a cutting board is extended with proper maintenance and cleaning and shortened with aggressive use. With standard home use and proper maintenance, your boards can last the rest of your life.

Yes, deep cuts and scratches can be sanded out using sand paper.

After prolonged use your cutting boards will develop scratches. Sanding out any deep scratches will make it easier to keep your cutting boards clean. Starting with a cutting board that is in need of oil can make sanding easier. The oil in the board will mix with the saw dust to clog the sand paper quickly. Also start with a clean and completely dry board is mandatory. How scratched your board is will determine what grit paper to start with. In my experience 120 grit sand paper is a good place to start. For edge grain boards, hand sand back and forth in the direction of the grain. For end grain boards, there is no grain direction on the face of the boards so sand in any direction. This is likely all you will need to do. Just a little sanding with made a big difference. If you desire, you may want to do the same sanding again with 220 grit sand paper. Once you are satisfied with the surface, brush as much of the saw dust off with a dry towel. Your board must be oiled after sanding. Follow regular maintenance procedure for oiling your board. Sanding is needed very rarely. I sand my boards once every 3-5 years, but this all depends on use.

Yes. “The (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline says that consumers may use wood or a nonporous surface for cutting raw meat and poultry” www.fsis.usda.gov(https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/cutting-boards-and-food-safety)

Personally, I have several wooden cutting boards, and I don’t designate one for raw meat and another for vegetables. The only rule I use is that after raw meat is cut on a board, the board must be washed and completely dried before it can be used to prepare ready to eat foods like vegetables. As long as the board is properly maintained, it will be sanitary. Expert opinions: “The (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline says that consumers may use wood or a nonporous surface for cutting raw meat and poultry. However, consider using one cutting board for fresh produce and bread and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.” www.fsis.usda.gov(https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/cutting-boards-and-food-safety) "Ideally, if you're washing them properly, it shouldn't matter much if you have dedicated meat and vegetable boards," she says (Jolie Kerr, author and cleaning advice columnist). That said, "if you have the space and the financial resources to have multiple boards, by all means designate one for meat and poultry, another for fish, and one for vegetables." www.epicurious.com(https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/buy-clean-cutting-board-article)

Overview: End grain cutting boards are more refined and delicate. End grain boards require greater attention to maintenance but can be more visually appealing and a more pleasant surface to cut on. Edge grain cutting boards are more robust and forgiving to poor maintenance but will develop knife cutting marks more quickly. Construction and Appearance: Edge grain (sometimes called “long grain” or “side grain”) cutting boards are made by gluing long sticks of wood together. The grain of the wood will run along the cutting surface and looks similar to the side of a 2x4. End grain (sometimes called “short grain”) cutting boards are made by gluing shorter sticks of wood together so that the wood fibers run in the direction of the thickness of the cutting boards, rather than the width. The cutting surface of an end grain cutting board may have a checkerboard appearance because the surface is made of many small squares. End grain and edge grain cutting boards have distinct appearances and it is a matter of personal preference which one looks better to you. Maintenance: Both end grain and edge grain cutting boards have both end and edge grain surfaces. The name simply indicates the grain orientation of the cutting surface. Moisture and oil soak into and leach out of the end grain of wood at a much faster rate than edge grain. End grain cutting boards require a more strict regiment of oiling compared to edge grain boards, but both will not crack or warp with proper maintenance. Wear from use: Edge grain cutting boards have the wood fiber lying along the cutting surface, so when you cut on it, your knife will sever the top layer of fibers. After this happens enough times, scratches will appear on the board and grow in size with repeated cutting. End grain cutting boards are better at resisting wear from repeated cutting because the fibers run into the board. On an end grain board, the knife slides between the fibers on the surface. When the knife is removed, the fibers spring back into place without being severed. Because of the fiber orientation, end grain cutting boards resist scratching from cutting better than edge grain boards. With enough use, even end grain boards may show signs of knife marks and need to be sanded. Edge grain cutting boards, with their long fibers, will stand up to aggressive chopping, such as aggressive use of a meat clever, better than end grain cutting boards, which may split under heavy use.

Maple, Cherry, and Walnut

Guardian Cutting Boards are made of one or a mix of three species of wood: maple, cherry, and walnut. The differences are primarily aesthetic. The trees that go into making these boards are all are grown and sustainably harvested from the northeastern United States (MI, OH, PA, NY, and WV), and all make for long lasting boards. Maple: This is the hardest of the 3 woods. Many people consider it the industry standard for quality cutting board material. It is soft enough to not ruin your knife blade, while being hard enough to stand up to daily use. The light color can make it more prone to staining. Its fine grain and small defuse pores make a great wood for cutting boards. Cherry: Hardness falls somewhere in the middle. Its color can vary from light like maple to pink or even red. This is my personal favorite. Its fine grain and small defuse pores make a great wood for cutting boards. Walnut: This is the softest of the three options. Although it is still hard enough to stand up to your cutting, it will show knife marks sooner than the other two options. Walnut's color ranges from dark brown to almost black. The raw lumber is considerably more expensive than the other 2 options, and that is reflected in the price of the cutting board. If you are looking to have a showpiece cutting board, walnut is a great option. Like all others, its fine grain and small defuse pores make a great wood for cutting boards.