How To Care For a Bamboo Cutting Board: A Detailed Guide 2023

After a chef’s knife, one of the most important tools in a kitchen is the cutting board. A good knife can make cooking easier only when it’s paired with a quality cutting board.

Cutting boards are not just important for keeping your countertops in a good shape but also for preparing your vegetable, meat, and other foods.

A good cutting board is always needed for food safety as you know how a cutting board can spread infection, and it’s important to disinfect a cutting board.

There are many types of cutting boards available in the market, but bamboo cutting boards are getting popular in recent days because they last longer and are easy to maintain.

Chopping boards will only last for years if you take proper care. Therefore, I have prepared a complete guide on how to care for a bamboo cutting board.

Here are the best methods that I usually follow for my bamboo cutting board care and this has absolutely helped me in keeping my cutting in new condition even after years.

In short, cleaning and applying oil on your bamboo cutting board can prolong its life, and you don’t have to change your cutting boards every year.

You need to read this entire article as I have covered all the information on how to maintain a bamboo cutting board easily.

But first, let’s know what are the main differences between a wooden & Bamboo cutting board.

Wood vs Bamboo Cutting Board

There are several differences between bamboo and wooded cutting boards and why most of them prefer bamboo ones. Let me figure it out.

Strength 

There is no doubt that bamboo cutting boards are much harder than wooden cutting boards.

Wooden cutting boards are strong but not as durable as bamboo. Woodcutting boards have a small amount of self-healing capacity and the surface gets heavy scratches after use, and they are hard to remove.

As bamboo is much harder than wood, they are more resistant. That is why the bamboo cutting board dull knives fast than the wooden ones.

Bamboo cutting boards only suffer from cracks if you don’t oil them properly. So, oiling the board with food-grade mineral oil or danish oil is very important.

Sanitation 

Foods like raw meat produce juices when you cut them on a board and the juices flow into the minor cuts and from there the growth of bacteria starts.

Wooded boards suffer from infection easily because there are more pores and cuts, while bamboo cutting boards are less prone to infection because of fewer cuts.

However, disinfecting both of them is important to stop the growth of microorganisms.

Eco Friendly 

Obviously, bamboo is grass, and it’s a faster-growing material and better renewable material than wood.

Bamboos take roughly 4 to 5 years if it’s properly cared while a tree might take 10 to 15 years and in this period we can harvest bamboo two or three times.

So, bamboo is much Eco Friendlier than wood.

Cost 

Wooden cutting boards are more expensive than bamboo ones. Wood is available in a wide range of varieties, and it can cost very high.

While bamboo cutting boards cost pretty less, roughly around $25 to $30. 

How To Care For a Bamboo Cutting Board

Once you are done with all your cutting activities, then do not just rinse it under the water, you have to clean it properly and store it.

No matter you are using a wooded cutting board or bamboo cleaning a board properly is important to stop the growth of harmful microorganisms and also reduce the spread of infection.

Before you clean your board, you require all these supplies:

• Cleaning Brush or Sponge
• White Vinegar
• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
• Dry Towel
• Dish Soap
• Lemon (Optional)

Scour

The first thing you need to do is scour and rinse all the food debris from the surface of the cutting board before it gets dried.

Now use a sponge or the brush and the board as this will help to loosen the stubbornness and help remove the food debris.

If you see any strains on the board, then you can sprinkle some baking soda and let the baking soda stay on the surface for a few minutes.

You should make a daily routine of cleaning your board, as in this way your board can last longer.

Cleaning 

Cleaning a bamboo cutting board is quite easy so make sure you read this section properly as this is the most important part.

Take some 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and dispersed it around the surface once the frizziness stops, pour some warm tap water and clean the extra H2O2.

This will help in properly cleaning the cutting board and removing all the remaining microorganisms.

Cleaning with H2O2 is one of the most effective ways of treating your cutting board.

Finishing

If your bamboo cutting board is old and there are bad stains and odors, then you can use some white vinegar for removing all types of stains from the board.

Take some white vinegar in a sprayer and spray it on the surface of the board. If you don’t have white vinegar, you can also use lemon because it’s acidic, and it can help to remove the odors.

How to Oil a Bamboo Cutting Board

Bamboo gets crackers if you don’t oil them and in order to maintain your cutting board for years, bamboo conditioning oil or mineral oil must be used to protect your cutting board.

Oiling your board regularly can help to prevent the surface by absorbing the oil, and also it gives a fresh look to the cutting board.

For oiling, your cutting board takes some Mineral oil or Danish oil, and you can find the best oil for the cutting board and scales guide.

Once your cleaning is done, make sure your board is dried out properly. Now pour some oil on all the sides and spread around every corner and gently rub it in a circular motion.

Now wipe the extra oil and let the board soak the oil overnight.

1. Types Of Oil You Can You 

There are many types of oil available on the market, but all of them are not safe, so you must make sure you use food-grade mineral oil for the bamboo cutting board.

Some of the Food Safe Mineral oil is:

• Food Safe Mineral Oil
• Fractionated coconut oil
• Danish Oil
• Bee Wax

2. Oils You Must Avoid Using 

These are some of the few oils that you must avoid using it as it can damage your cutting board in the long term.

Also, they are not food-safe.

• Vegetable Oil
• Olive Oil
• Varnish
• Rubbing Alcohols

All this oil can rancid and leave an unpleasant smell and a thick glue-like substance on board. This can damage your cutting board.

How To Store a Bamboo Cutting Board  

Whether you are using a wooden cutting board or a bamboo one, storing your cutting board is important.

Wooden cutting boards are prone to moisture, and you know bamboo suffers from cracks if it’s not oiled and exposed to sunlight. So you can prevent it by following the above steps.

To prevent cracks you can store your board store in the right place, so it doesn’t expose to direct sunlight.

The best way to store your cutting board is to keep it in the kitchen cupboard to avoid direct sunlight. It’s a partially sunlit room, and it won’t damage your cutting board.

Sanding Cutting Board 

With time the board will develop scratches and you can remove the scratches and cut marks from the surface of the board by sanding it.

Before you start sanding your board make sure you wear protective glasses to safeguard your eyes from dust particles.

You can use sandpaper with 40 to 60 grit and gradually sand it with 120 grans for better polishing and sanding.

Bamboo Cutting Board Pros and Cons 

Although, bamboo cutting boards are very popular and the best alternative for a wooden cutting board. It’s one of the hardest materials because of the presence of high silica content in it.

Bamboo is a source of natural silica (Organic-Silica) and sometimes it’s harder than alloys.

That is why bamboo is used for making many types of accessories and I recommended products made of bamboo.

Pros 

• Renewable Resources – (Fast Growing)
• Widely available
• Less chance of wrapping
• Not so expensive
• Organic look and feel
• List item

Cons

• Can’t be used for hot plates
• Can dull your knife very soon

Wrap Up On How To Care For a Bamboo Cutting Board

Whether you are using a wooden cutting board or a bamboo cutting board, you have to proper care of both of them, while the wooden board requires more maintenance.

So, bamboo cutting boards are my favorite types of cutting boards and also they are largely used by chefs and housewives.

Learning how to care for a bamboo cutting board is important in order to extend the life of your cutting board.

So if you follow the steps that I have listed then, your cutting board can easily last for more than 5 years depending upon how often your use your board.

I have been using my bamboo cutting board for 6 years and I have never faced any such issue on the board. The board just requires proper sanding after a few months of usage.

I hope the guide would have helped you in finding your answers, now if you have any queries let me know in the comment section below.

FAQ: How To Clean Bamboo Cutting Board

Cleaning & Caring for a Bamboo cutting board is quite easy if you follow the proper

Bamboo cutting boards are new to the market, and they are getting very popular in recent days and there are many doubts among people.

So, I have decided to answer a few of them.