Warmer weather brings with it fresher foods and soon your cutting boards will be getting a real workout. While you may be tempted to just use water and dishwashing soap, that combination could actually weaken wood fibers and may dulling your colors. Here are 3 eco-friendly ingredients (that you probably already have in your kitchen) that will have your cutting boards clean before dinner:
Lemons
We love lemons (see our post here on ways we use them!) and we especially love using lemons to get rid of cutting board smells that often follow the chopping of foods such as onion, garlic or fish. Simply rub the cut side of a lemon all over your board or wash it with undiluted lemon juice.
Vinegar
Wipe your board down with undiluted white vinegar (apple cider vinegar works as well). Vinegar is especially great for wood surfaces—it is a great disinfectant and has been known to be effective against e. coli and salmonella. If you need the board to be deodorized as well, sprinkle baking soda over the cutting board surface, spray with vinegar, let sit for 10 minutes and wipe clean with cold water.
Baking Soda
While it is a great combination when used with vinegar (see above), it also works well when put into a paste of salt and water. Just 1 tablespoon of each will give you a cleaning solution that works well on both plastic and wooden cutting board surfaces. Be sure to rinse with hot water when done.
If you have already been using dishwashing soap to clean your cutting boards, you may notice they are a bit dull. Rub them with a little salt and you will instantly see them brighten in color.
Talk to us: How do you keep your cutting board clean?
image courtesy of flickr CC/Jeff Attaway