4Real Forums: butcher block question

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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Topic: butcher block question

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Becky Parker
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Joined: May 23 2005
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Posted: June 29 2013 at 6:31am \| IP Logged

I'm trying to decide if I want a small portion of my new kitchen counters to be butcher block. I love the way butcher block looks. But I'm a very practical person and I don't want to put something in my kitchen that I have to babysit. If I have butcher block, I'm going to want to use it like ... a butcher block. I'm going to want to chop onions on it, cut up chicken on it and slice meat on it. I understand the need to use mineral oil on it and I'm good with that. I read that cleaning it with straight vinegar is a way to sanitize it.

I guess I just need reassurance from real life moms who have kids and actually USE their kitchen. (This comes from a comment I read once regarding a certain counter material: "If you use your kitchen for cooking, this might not be the best choice." Really?

)

Can I actually cut meat on it and just use vinegar to sanitize it? Can I then cut raw produce on it, like for a salad?

I think these questions sound silly but I really don't want to add more work to my life with these new counters.

Just fyi, the rest of the kitchen will have Corian counters. I was thinking of using butcher block for the area near the range where I do most of my food preparation.

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CrunchyMom
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Joined: Sept 03 2007
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Posted: June 29 2013 at 6:55am \| IP Logged

I'd probaby not use it for meat myself, but hydrogen-peroxide will sanitize better than vinegar.

We do have butcher block, but we don't use it like that. I will use it as a worksurface for baking, though. However, our theory is that it looks great in really old homes where it has aged. Most people balk at butcher block brcause they are American and think newness equals beauty. Old yucky laminate, not so beautiful, I admit. But old butcher block? It has character.

The only place I would be afraid to use it is near the sink. I'm a klutz, and too much water will make it swell and even mildew. Even with cutting up veggies, the biggest concern, imo, would be keeping it sealed and dry. A colander waiting to be prepped can make for a lot of water. In our current kitchen, we used a sealer, but we just had bare bb (oiled) in our old kitchen in one area, and it did stain from some abuse, but it is easy to just refinish it with a sander and start over. I love the warmth it adds to a kitchen

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