Cleaning Your Cutting Board

Cleaning Your Cutting Board

With my newfound hobby of cooking, I’ve learned the proper ways to dice onions and mince garlic. So what are the best ways to clean your cutting board? Onions and garlic will leave their smells. A cutting board not thoroughly cleaned can be a breeding ground for e-coli and other bacteria.

How to Clean Your Cutting Board

First, some DON’Ts:

  • Don’t put your wooden cutting board in the dishwasher or immerse it in water. Your board might crack or warp. Rinsing in water is OK, just don’t immerse it.
  • Don’t put raw meat on your cutting board used for preparing vegetables. Use a separate board for meat.

Here are some DOs:

  • Do make a paste in a 1:1:1 ratio of baking soda, salt, and water. Scrub your board with that paste, then rinse thoroughly with hot water, and dry. You can improve that paste with a little white vinegar and lemon juice. The white vinegar is a great disinfectant.
  • Alternatively, wash your board and then wipe it down with full-strength white vinegar.
  • You can deodorize your board by sprinkling it with baking soda and spraying it with white vinegar. Leave it on for ten minutes and let it foam. Then rinse it off and dry it with a cloth.
  • Do clean your board used for cutting raw meat with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Spray enough hydrogen peroxide to cover the entire board, rinse it with water, and then dry it.