Guides
How to oil a chopping board
The short answer: rub a thin coat of food-safe mineral oil or board oil into every surface of a clean, dry board, leave it to soak in overnight, then wipe off the excess. Do it every three to four weeks, or whenever the wood looks pale and dry. Never use olive or vegetable oil: it can go rancid in the wood.
Which oil to use
Use food grade mineral oil, sold as board oil or butcher's block oil. It is colourless, odourless and tasteless, it does not go off, and it soaks into the fibres where it keeps water out and stops the wood drying and cracking.
Leave the cooking oils in the cupboard. Olive, sunflower, rapeseed and other vegetable oils are lovely on a salad, but in wood they oxidise over a few weeks. The board starts to smell stale and feel tacky, and that smell is hard to shift without sanding.
How much oil and how often
| Situation | How often | Roughly how much |
|---|---|---|
| Brand new board | Every day or two for the first week | 1-2 tablespoons per side |
| Everyday use | Every 3-4 weeks | About 1 tablespoon per side for a 40 x 30cm board |
| Occasional use | Every 2-3 months | About 1 tablespoon per side |
| After a deep clean or sanding | Two coats, 24 hours apart | As much as the wood will take |
End grain boards drink more than edge grain boards, because the open ends of the fibres face upwards like a bundle of straws. Expect the first few coats to disappear almost as soon as they go on. That is a good sign, not a problem.
How to oil a chopping board, step by step
Wash the board in hot soapy water, rinse it and dry it with a tea towel.
Stand it on its edge and let it dry completely, ideally overnight. Oil will not go into damp wood.
Pour about a tablespoon of oil onto one face. Spread it with an applicator, a clean lint-free cloth or your hand, working it into the grain and right into the corners.
Do both faces and all four edges. A board oiled on one side only takes up moisture unevenly and is more likely to warp.
Stand it on its edge and leave the oil to soak in for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
Wipe off anything still sitting on the surface with a dry cloth. The board should feel silky, not greasy.
Oil goes in faster in a warm kitchen than a cold one, so a board oiled after the evening's cooking is usually ready by breakfast.
Signs your board needs oil
- The wood looks pale, chalky or grey in patches.
- Water soaks in and darkens the wood instead of beading on the surface.
- The surface feels rough or furry under your fingers.
- Fine cracks are starting at the ends.
- Beetroot and turmeric stains are settling in more than they used to.
The quickest check is a few drops of water. If they sit as beads, the board is fine. If they sink in within a minute, oil it tonight.
The Season oil and applicator
Season Chopping Board Oil is £10: pure food grade mineral oil, colourless, odourless and tasteless, in a 236ml bottle, made for our wooden boards. The Chopping Board Oil Applicator with Cover is £12: a bamboo handle with a sponge head that spreads an even coat without oily hands, and a cover so you can put it away ready for next time rather than washing the oil out of the sponge.
Our Teak End Grain Chopping Board (£70-£120) comes oil finished, and teak's naturally high oil content makes it resistant to moisture. It still wants a coat every month or so to stay that way.
Keep going
Oiling works best on a board that has been cleaned properly first: see how to clean a wooden chopping board and remove smells and stains. For the wider routine, read how to maintain your wooden chopping board, and if you are still choosing one, end grain or edge grain and the best wood for a chopping board.
Questions people ask
Can I use olive oil on a chopping board? No. Olive and other cooking oils go rancid in wood and leave it smelling stale and feeling sticky. Use food grade mineral oil or a board oil.
Can you over-oil a chopping board? The wood only takes what it can hold. Anything left on the surface goes tacky, so wipe the excess off after it has soaked in.
How long before I can use the board again? Ideally the next morning. If you are in a hurry, four hours and a firm wipe will do.
Do I need to oil a new board? Yes. Even an oil finished board benefits from a few extra coats in its first week, and then the usual monthly coat.
Should I oil the underside too? Always. Oil both faces and all the edges so the board takes up and loses moisture evenly and stays flat.
Cook it with
Cook like it matters.
From the cooks at Season, a London cookshop since 2005.