When Choosing Wooden Bread Boards – Which Hardwoods Are Considered Food-Safe?

Here at the Wooden Gem, our mission is to provide high-quality, food safe and unique handmade wooden products. This is never more important when it comes to wooden bread boards. The only true way to achieve this is from the best quality high-grade timber & carefully selecting the wood species depending on the product in hand, simple!

Take A Look At Our Wooden Bread Board Worthy Hardwoods:

Arctic Maple Hardwood

The surface of maple wood can be easily cleaned due to its fine pore structure. Making Maple less susceptible to water penetration than some other hardwoods. It is often used for furniture, wooden bread boards or handmade chopping boards. Maple wood is easy to work with. It is also excellent for polished, stained or painted finishes.

Black Walnut Hardwood

Walnut wood is hard, heavy, and resilient. Offering resistance to warping and suffering very little shrinkage. The grain is irregular but generally straight with a medium texture. The end grain is semi-porous with distinct growth rings. English Walnut is also relatively resistant to decay. Check out our Pebble Black Walnut chopping board today!

Ash Hardwood

Ashwood is strong, durable and generally light in colour. It is coarse but the grain is generally straight. As a result of its strength and durability, ash wood has an array of uses. It is most commonly used in the making of tools, furniture and frames. This particular wood really pops when used as a handmade chopping board. Check out our Prevalence chopping board, it is divine! All of our Ash chopping boards are real showstoppers with a wood grain to die for, making for the perfect handmade wooden gift!

Always Consider Our 5 Key Attributes Of Wood Species When Choosing Wooden Bread Boards:

Slow Grown Timber

Slow-grown timber is wood from trees that have grown at a slower rate than other trees of the same species. This is predominantly due to climate, along with other factors. This causes superior growing conditions throughout the tree’s lifetime. As a result, it provides a radical effect on the quality of the timber produced.
You can identify the approximate age of a tree and the outward growth from the centre in rings. In slow-grown timber, the annual growth rings are more concentrated. So, the growth rings will be closer together. Imagine felling two trees of the same size. If you take a cross-section from those two trees, you could then count the rings to see which of the two trees was older.
During the warmer months, the tree can grow at an accelerated rate. Due to lots of water, sunshine and food. Yet, when it gets cooler the tree can’t maintain such rapid growth. This causes the tree to lay down denser, dark-coloured timber. It is this light and dark, early and late growth that we can see in the cross-section of a trunk. As a result of this, we can then identify the age of any given tree.

The Hardness Rating

Nearly every material has a hardness ranking and so does wood. The higher the ‘Janka’ hardness rating of wood, the harder and more resistant it is to scratches, dents, or dinks from knives. Generally, it is recommended to choose a medium hardness like maple or Walnut.

Toxicity In The Wood

All woods that produce edible fruits, nuts, leaves, or sap are considered to be food-safe. Exotic woods like Purpleheart, while aesthetically pleasing, should be avoided. They often contain toxins that may leach out of the wood and into food placed on the surface.

The Porosity Of The Wood

We opt for closed-grain woods, with pores invisible to the naked eye. This quality in the timber stops liquid or bacteria from entering the surface of wooden chopping boards and other wooden items. Stopping mould growth in its tracks and helping to avoid wood warping or stains. For that reason bamboo, although very economical, is not the best option due to its poor surface porosity. The smaller the pores, the better.

Conditioning Factors

Food-grade mineral oil & beeswax should be applied to wooden chopping boards and butcher blocks to suppress wood’s natural tendency to shrink and warp or split as surrounding humidity decreases. For an average-use home cook, we recommend a minimum of quarterly conditioning. Always oil your wooden chopping board with food-grade mineral oil after cleaning. Ensuring your chopping board is 100% dry before applying oils & waxes. Keep in mind that some woods shrink more than others, so you’d need to oil these woods more frequently to avoid shrinkage.

How To Maintain Wooden Bread Boards & Wooden Chopping Boards:

Mineral Oil

Mineral oil is a non-toxic, non-drying product that is colourless, odourless, and flavourless. Its properties prevent water absorption. Which makes food-grade mineral oil a popular choice for wooden chopping boards. Additional culinary goods may include spoons, wooden bowls and wooden chopping boards. The keyword here is food-safe. A ‘food safe’ or ‘organic mineral oil’ determines that the oil is refined a degree more than alternative oils.
Regular application of mineral oil prevents wooden chopping boards from becoming dry and brittle. Not keeping your chopping board surfaces oiled regularly can cause a cracked board. Treating a chopping board with mineral oil or beeswax also prevents liquids from penetrating the board. Liquid penetration from foods or surfaces can often be the source of germs and bacteria. So, It is very important to oil your wooden chopping boards regularly to avoid damage or an unsafe food preparation environment.

Beeswax

Beeswax is also a popular choice for maintenance on wooden chopping boards. It is a natural wax produced in the beehives of honey bees and has a variety of applications. Using beeswax to hydrate, and waterproof wooden chopping boards provide a beautiful satin finish to make your handmade wooden products really shine.

Baking soda

You can use baking soda to remove stubborn stains from a wooden chopping board or butcher block. Sprinkle baking soda over the area and rub with a cloth, brush, or sponge dipped in hot water, then simply rinse with warm soapy water.

Lemons

If your wooden chopping board begins to smell, one of the easiest tricks is to cut a lemon in half and run it across the entire surface. The ascorbic acid in the lemon reacts and oxidizes organic materials. These consist of bacteria and fats which are the cause of smells and stains. The natural lemon oil forces soluble materials to be repelled. Thus removing the smell from wooden chopping boards and restoring the hardwood to its former glory! Hey, presto!

My Vision And Promise To Customers

The true vision is to strive for the best quality handmade wooden products. When purchasing wood I visit my local Timber merchant. Selecting only the best hardwood. Thus never compromising on the quality of our unique handmade wooden gifts.
Ensuring to source hardwood from the absolute best hardwood providers is important for me. Ensuring my handmade wooden products are of the highest possible quality. Our unique handmade wooden gifts are designed and handcrafted to last a lifetime. Along with the correct method for drying timber, making, finishing and after-sale care.