The cutting board is one of the busiest kitchen tools. It is used almost every time you prepare meals. Cutting meat, vegetables, fruits, and spices are all done on that board. It doesn’t take a genius to guess that it must be very nasty at the end of the day. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the importance of washing the board regularly. The usual way you do for washing the dishes will not work properly to clean the cutting board, though. It is a special tool, so, it needs a special cleaning method.
There are a number of cleaning options for the cutting board. Choose which one will work best for you from the following choices:
- Water and soap. The traditional partners in cleaning the dishes can finish half of the job. Simply soak the cutting board with soapy water. Leave it for at least three minutes to soften the food residues left on the surface. Scrub off the residues using a study pad. Rinse the cutting board with clean water and let dry.
- Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Apply about half a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide on the cutting board. Let it sit there for 10 minutes and then pour about a cup of white distilled vinegar on it. Let the vinegar stay on the surface for about 10 minutes. Repeat the same procedures for the other side of the cutting board. Rinse the cutting board with your regular dishwashing liquid, followed by a splash of fresh water. Let the cutting board to air dry.
- Dishwasher washing. Scrape off any left food residue on the board using a spatula or metal scraper. Scrub it using hot and soapy water. Place it in the dishwasher when the machine has already reached 165°F. Use the dishwasher’s antibacterial cycle if it has that.
- Salt. Kosher salt will work best to remove any stain on the cutting board. If this is not available, use some sea salt. Sprinkle the salt on the cutting board and let it sit for about 24 hours. Rinse the board using clean and fresh water. If you want to remove a stain on a certain portion, simply make a salt paste by combining it with a little water. Put the paste on the stained area. Let it sit for some hours before rinsing it off with fresh water.
- If the stain is gone, you can already scrub the board with a dishwashing brush that was dipped in warm and soapy water. Rinse the cutting board with fresh water and let it dry.
Cleaning the cutting board using the techniques above should already make sure it is 100% safe for the next job. But still, it could use some sanitizing effort. Do this once a week to make sure no bacteria is already thriving on the board.
Make a sanitizing solution by mixing one cup of vinegar to five cups of water. As an alternative, you can mix a teaspoon of bleach to a quart of water. Pour the sanitizing solution on the cutting board. Let it sit there for about 30 minutes before rinsing the cutting board with cool and clean water. Wipe off the excess water using a clean cotton cloth. Let the cutting board to air dry.
It sure requires more effort to properly clean the cutting board. But at least, knowing that you are doing the best you can to keep your family safe is already worth all the effort.
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