There’s a lot of advice that goes along with caring for a nice cutting board. Some right, some wrong. It’s as simple as this. Wood expands and contracts with moisture and temperature. If it meets resistance, there’s a good chance it will crack. There’s no way to prevent wood from doing what it does (and still have it be wood anyway), so the goal is to keep the expansion and contraction even and slow.
Your cutting board has been treated with food safe oil. The oil is absorbed by the wood and takes up the space that water might normally occupy. This slows expansion and contraction. The board is then covered and sealed with a food safe wax. This helps keep the oil in as well as act as a little bit of defense from normal wear and tear. Through usage, cleaning, and natural evaporation, the wax will come off and the oil will leak out. If left like that long enough, you’re back to being in danger of cracking.
Occasionally, you should re-oil your board and apply wax after the oil has dried. I use one of the fancy brands, but honestly, basic mineral oil and bee’s wax work just fine if that’s what you have easy access to. The main difference is that a high quality “cutting board oil” has additives like coconut oil, wax, and vitamin E to help slow the evaporation of the oil and protect the board longer. If you choose to use basic mineral oil, you will need to perform more frequent maintenance to provide the same protection.
A few things to never do with your board:
– Do not put it in the dishwasher. This will almost certainly destroy it.
– Do not submerge in water. This won’t immediately destroy it, but the increased water pressure will push water into places that it might not naturally go.
– Do not leave a wet board on a flat surface to dry. What will happen is you’ll end up with one side drying and the other staying wet causing that uneven contraction and expansion which will lead to cupping and cracking.
It’s okay to clean your board with a wet rag and soap. It’s okay to rinse your board off under the faucet.
Allow it to dry with airflow on both sides. Some people say you should set it up on its side for drying, but do whatever that allows it to dry at the same rate on both sides.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to use it!!! Cut marks can be easily removed with some 220 grit sandpaper as part of routine maintenance. If you’re smooth with the sanding, when you apply the oil it will look new again.
If your board has a rough texture after washing it, that is due to the tiny wood grains on the surface swelling with water and not being smooth anymore. Your board has already gone through a process called “water popping” where I basically did that a bunch of times already. Sand the board down smooth, wet it so the grain rises, repeat over and over until it stays smooth after it has gotten wet. So, it should stay smooth from your very first use, but if it ever happens (especially if you ever do a deeper sanding to remove cut marks after prolonged use), you’ll know what’s happening and how it can be fixed.