Replies

1. 
   jako17 | Jan 30, 2004 03:41pm | #1

   Mineral oil. It never goes rancid, easy to apply and non toxic .Also not related to nuts which many people seem alergic to

1. 
   billford | Jan 30, 2004 06:42pm | #2

   Thanks for your Idea Jako.   Do you think I could mix it with wax?

1. 
   jako17 | Jan 31, 2004 09:35pm | #4

   I have never tried it but Richard Raffan uses sunflower oil rubbed in then a coat of bees wax to give a soft sheen.My own preferance is still plain mineral oil for the reasons given before.With regard to the salad bowl finish I have heard that it looks great (in fact I am testing some now) .But after a year or two there have been complaints that it becomes a sticky mess which may prove difficult to remove from food containers.Till I can ascertain that it works I am going with the mineral oil, given todays pension for litigation. Remember Turners make the world go round !

   Edited 1/31/2004 1:36:44 PM ET by jako

2. 
   Vikingvood | Jan 30, 2004 06:57pm | #3

   Rockler & Woodcrafter stores sell a salad bowl finish that is made from a blend a natural oils that can be applied for a satin or gloss finish.

3. 
   HowardAcheson | Feb 01, 2004 01:19am | #5

   The traditional treatment for a butcher's block is mineral oil and paraffin. You heat the mineral oil in a double boiler, and shave in the paraffin in about a 1 part paraffin to 8-10 parts mineral oil. When the paraffin is liquified, apply the mixture heavily and let it be absorbed overnight. Do it again the next day. When it won't absorb any more, lgihtly scrap off any excess and buff with a soft rag. Re-treat whenever it appears to need it.

1. 
   Alan | Feb 01, 2004 03:09am | #6

   For all who have used mineral oil as a finish:

   I regularly use mineral oil as a lubricant when padding on shellac, but I've never used it as a finish.

   In my thus very limited experience with mineral oil, I'm afraid that as it comes out of the bottle it's too viscous to be an effective finish.  It seems to me that it would not penetrate the wood very much; and because it's so thick it would sit on the surface and get very gummy.  Obviously all this is wrong.

   So how do you apply mineral oil as a finish?  If you want to thin out mineral oil, what would you use?  Are all my fears unwarranted?  Anything else I ought to know about using mineral oil as a finish?  (I am planning future projects--as soon as all my broken leg bones heal up...)

   TIA,

   Alan

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 01, 2004 03:35am | #7

   I've used it only a couple times, but both time heated it, and rubbed it in vigorously.  Like any oil finish, it's not for super-protection.  Works good for bowls and cutting boards though.forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

4. 
   jeffreysherow | Feb 01, 2004 09:36pm | #8

   I don't have anything to add in the areas disucssed thusfar, however, a very capable chef shared the following with me:

   1) Never, ever wash a salad bowl, you want the bowl to take on the flavors over time and one of those flavors should never be a cleaning solution or dish soap.  In fact, she said through it away if someone washes with one of those.  Always just rinse with water and wipe dry.

   2) the salad gets mixed with oils and vinegar or other acidic liquids like lemon.  The oil will keep the bowl protected.

   So, use something non-toxic, with the least taste and if there is some, it should be complimentary with a salad (the sunflower sounded like a good idea).  According to her, it seems our strong desire to create some strong protection for our salad bowls in not warranted, the bowl should be allowed to take on flavors.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/1/2004 1:37:55 PM ET by jeff

1. 
   Gretchen | Feb 01, 2004 09:48pm | #9

   Personally I do NOT want my salads to have a mixture of flavors. If you don't wash that oil off it will become the sticky gooey mess ascribed to mineral oil. Persnally NO finish on a salad bowl is about correct--and while not soaking in water they definitely need to be washed and dried.  Any oil other than mineral oil, including sunflower oil, will become rancid over time--if just left alone. If it is washed, then of course, it is being removed so won't get rancid.Gretchen

1. 
   VeniciaL | Feb 02, 2004 01:15am | #10

   I agree with Gretchen,

   If you actually use the bowls to eat from - wash them! An accumulation of oils becomes rancid. In the case of the chef's recommendations, that's a completely different situation. Bowls that are in constant use, as in a restaurant never really get any accumulation as the use and mechanical abrading of the surface and washing with water take care of any real oil build up. But bowls that get occasional use, as in a home need to be washed with a detergent or the residual oil will be a problem, to say nothing of bacteria.

   No finish will stand up to actual use. It will have to be renewed. That's one of the reasons that mineral oil is recommended. It's non-reactive and can just be reapplied constantly. And it actually helps to keep the vegetable oils from getting into the wood. For anyone who insists on a commercial, "curing" product, 2 come to mind: Behlen's "Salad Bowl Finish" (meets FDA regulations) and "Preserve Woodenware Oil." Both are widely available - they are in the current Grizzly catalog. (I have no association with Grizzly) These are proprietary, but I suspect they have a Tung oil component, maybe shellac.

   That said, the desire to eat from wooden bowls is beyond me. One of the benefits of civilization is that we progress from less acceptable solutions to better ones. The advent of glazed ceramic eating utensils was one of those major progressions.

   If one likes the look of a particular wood, shaped into the curvature of a bowl, so be it. Enhance the wood with the finish of choice and leave the piece on display. But resist the urge to eat from it.

   VL

2. 
   jeffreysherow | Feb 09, 2004 06:25pm | #12

   please wash your bowls if you like.

1. 
   Gretchen | Feb 10, 2004 02:35am | #14

   please wash your bowls if you like.

   I will do that now that I have your permission.  And I was not talking about bowls which were eaten from. There will be a build up of oil on a serving bowl that will eventually become rancid.  If that is your choice that is fine. But other people read these boards and they have the right to an opposing and equally valid opinion--with reasons for giving it.Gretchen

1. 
   jeffreysherow | Feb 10, 2004 04:50am | #15

   I reacted to a post to me, not all, that sounded suspiciously like disparraging remarks as opposed to participating in a forum by contributing your passionate opinions to the original post.  My response reflected that.

   Jeff

2. 
   Gretchen | Feb 10, 2004 03:50pm | #16

   Responses to the original poster are read by all.  I offered an opinion on the use of salad oil as a "finish".Gretchen

3. 
   jeffreysherow | Feb 09, 2004 06:28pm | #13

   It never occured to me that people were talking about bowls to eat from.  I thought we were talking about the bowl used to mix the salad.  I agree, use china for eating the salad.

   And please wash your bowls with whatever you like.

2. 
   Tao | Feb 11, 2004 01:26am | #17

    

   >>I don't have anything to add in the areas disucssed thusfar, however, a very capable chef shared the following with me:

   >>1) Never, ever wash a salad bowl, you want the bowl to take on the flavors over time and one of those flavors should never be a cleaning solution or dish soap.  In fact, she said through it away if someone washes with one of those.  Always just rinse with water and wipe dry.

   >>2) the salad gets mixed with oils and vinegar or other acidic liquids like lemon.  The oil will keep the bowl protected.

   Jeff, that advice is at least 30 years out of date.  Despite the fact that many woods have antibacterial qualities, wood has been banned from commercial kitchens for at least 30 years.  That means not only wood chopping blocks, but also spoons and such, as well as dishes.

   Also, any health inspector that saw a restaurant using unwashed dishes would probably shut the place down.  I haven't washed my cast iron skillet in years, but that probably wouldn't be commercially acceptable, either.

   Whoever your chef friend was, they didn't appear to be very well informed about professional practices.  I also have at least 50 cookbooks at home, some of them pretty sophisticated, and none of them mentions seasoning wooden utensils.  If that had been common practice at all, I think it would have been mentioned in  some of them.

   Michael R.

5. 
   Tao | Feb 02, 2004 10:20pm | #11

   I used Behlen's Salad Bowl Finish several years ago on a couple of cutting boards I made for my wife.  One of them gets daily use and gets lightly washed and dried every day.

   The finish has held up fine.  The knife marks show, of course, but elsewhere the wood looks fine.  There is no peeling or lifting.

   Most woods, by the way, are mildly antibacterial.  A test I read not too many years ago showed wooden cutting boards to be at least as safe as "modern" plastic cutting boards.

   Michael R.