Maintenance & Food Safety

There are two reasons why you may be unsure whether you should and can cut on a plllank wood cutting board. Either because you like the surface too much, or because you are unsure about food safety.

In either case, yes, you can and do cut on a plllank cutting board!

So why does the surface of plllank look so beautifully shiny and different from a "normal" cutting board? This is because of the intense sanding process prior to treating the board. Each cutting board is sanded in eight different steps, from coarse to ultra-fine and polishing. This not only produces a soft surface and a beautiful sheen, but also improves wear resistance. The bath of mineral oil for impregnation followed by hand rubbed wax coats only reinforce this.

Finally, of course, it remains a cutting boardand you will inevitably begin to see cuts from your knife over time. Plllank cutting boards are always either edge-grain (edge-grain) or end-grain (end-grain) cutting boards. This method of construction also provides better resistance to cuts and keeps your knives sharp longer.

Each plllank cutting board is impregnated with mineral oil and given a top coat of homemade wood wax.

Wash the cutting board with warm water after use, with or without soap. Any food residue that sticks to the surface can be removed with a kitchen scraper before washing.

Never soak a cutting board in water or wash it in the dishwasher. This will inevitably cause the wooden board to absorb water and possibly become irreversibly damaged. Dry the cutting board thoroughly before storing it. If possible, let air dry on its side.

Depending on the intensity of use, the protective wax layer will gradually disappear. The longer you use the cutting board without the wax layer, the more the impregnated oil will also disappear.

I recommend treating your cutting board when the board feels dry to the touch, its luster disappears or becomes less water-repellent.

Instructions for using the homemade plllank wood wax:

• Apply the wax using a microfiber cloth or the applicator that came with your plllank.
• Apply a generous coat of wax to the cutting board and leave for one to a few hours.
• Afterwards, rub the wax in by making circular motions.
• Remove all excess wax with a dry cloth.
• Finally, let the cutting board rest for a few hours to allow the wax to harden.

It is impossible to apply too much oil or wax. The more you treat your cutting board, the better it will be protected from moisture and heat. This can be every few days with intense use, or only after several weeks or months.

If the plllank is already advanced used, you can pretreat with plllank mineral oil. This protects, restores and conditions wooden cutting boards. Apply generously to the wood surface to be treated. After a few minutes, you can remove the excess oil with a cloth in circular motions.

Periodically, you can thoroughly clean your cutting board with lemon and salt. Sprinkle coarse salt over your cutting board. Then use half a lemon and rub the cutting board with it to scrub the salt into the cutting board. Best to finish with mineral oil and wood wax.

Most of the cutting boards you find in the standard store are made of beech. More and more, you can also find ones made of bamboo and sometimes one made of acacia or rubberwood, but that's where it stops. This might make you a bit suspicious when looking at the types of wood used in plllank cutting boards: purpleheart, walnut, padauk, maple, ash, Pau amarelo, cherry, pear... Totally unjustified. Only the best, better (and more beautiful) hardwoods are used for the construction of plllank cutting boards, based on hardness on the one hand and structure on the other. Of course, aesthetics also play a role.

Hardness of wood is expressed in kilonewtons (kN) and wood species are ranked on the Janka hardness scale. Below is a list of all wood types used in plllank cutting boards. The larger the number, the harder the wood.

The very hard species(hornbeam, zebrano, purpleheart, wenge, pau amarelo and padauk) are mainly used as accents. They have ideal characteristics for a cutting board and have a beautiful hue, but are quite pricey and difficult to saw down. This also directly explains why you won't easily find them in a commercial cutting board.

The species at the top of the list give a good balance between hardness, cost and aesthetics on the one hand. Sycamore, for example, is less hard, but has extremely beautiful markings on the edge-grain wood surface. Amber has a very warm brown color that cannot be found in any other type of wood. Walnut is the only affordable dark wood species.

Softer woods than plane are never used, despite their perhaps interesting markings. These include poplar, willow, lime, alder, birch, pine, spruce and larch.

For more information on the different types of wood, please visit this specific page on this. So each of these types of wood is ideally suited for a cutting board and gives a unique look.

In addition to hardness, the structure of the wood also plays an important role. Thus, every raw board that is sawn for cutting board construction is checked with a strict eye for defects. Think of knots due to ingrown branches or cracks due to the drying process. These are always selected out. If such a defect is still observed during the construction of the cutting board, the cutting board is either re-sawn if it is on the top surface, or it is properly sealed if it is on the bottom surface.

Even though wood may be harder to clean than plastic and cannot go in the dishwasher, wood is naturally antimicrobial. When you cut into a plastic cutting board, irreparable grooves and crevices form, ideal places for bacteria to hide. Not to mention the microplastics that may end up in your food and consequently your body.

None of the woods used contain toxic substances. Because of its construction (sanding process) and treatment, each cutting board is also completely tasteless, so it does not pose any problems in contact with food substances.

You can also always invest in a few different cutting boards to help prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen. For example, use one board for raw meat, fish and poultry and another for bread, fruit and vegetables.

Convinced of the quality of a hardwood cutting board from plllank? Take a look in the webshop and discover the different wooden cutting boards available. If you do not immediately find what you are looking for, contact us and have one custom made.

If you would like more information on the maintenance and food safety of wooden cutting boards, or any other topic, be sure to contact us.