Cutting boards

TIMES INT'L

I always dreamed about being a butcher, you know the gourmet kind, that knows everything about everything about fine meat cuts, can dress meat impeccably…anyways, something that I thought about…not so long ago, almost all chopping and cutting boards used to be wooden, you can be sure to see them in the markets mostly now. They have now been replaced by plastic boards that frankly speaking, take all the fun and spirit out of cutting meat, basically cheapens the entire exercise.
One may argue that plastic boards do not harbor bacteria as do wooden boards, but I say, our forefathers have been using wooden boards all the while, and they turned out alright. Once kept clean, wooden boards can be as safe and bacteria free even better than the plastic counterparts. And I bet that wooden boards look better and last longer. Plus you can resurface wooden chopping boards! Can’t do that to the plastic ones!
So to resurface a wooden chopping board or block, what you basically need is several sheets each of fine, medium and coarse sandpaper, a wood scraper if you have one, some vegetable oil, and lint free cloth.
The idea is to remove the old layer you have been chopping on by gradually sanding it off. Starting with the coarse paper, sand off as much as you can of the rough scarred layer, then work down with the medium…finish with the fine grade sandpaper.
When all the sanding is complete, brush it off and examine, make sure you are satisfied that is nice and smooth.
Now to give it a protective coat, apply some vegetable oil and rub it in the wood, be liberal with the oil because the wood will definitely soak in some. Wait let it soak in good and after some time you can add a little more, wiping with the lint free cloth.
So doing this coupled with cleaning the board after use will for sure give the board a long life and good use.

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