Add more grease so the whole board is the same color
this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2026
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Lots of great comments here but one more awesome thing about wooden cutting boards - you can always sand off a very fine layer to expose new wood if the surface gets too gnarly. Then oil it and use it like usual again.
get you some mineral oil and beeswax. 2/1 ratio. heat them in a saucepan on low heat until combined. pour the mixture into a shallow vessel - empty tuna cans work great. allow the mixture to solidify. use a dry clean cloth to apply the paste to cutting board. let it sit for an hour and then wipe off the excess.
repeat once a month-ish or when the wood starts to lighten.
How to get mineral oil and beeswax out of a saucepan
lol, good luck. also please no petroleum products on wooden kitchenware. smh
There is literal food grade mineral oil for this exact purpose along with lubricating food making equipment. It's basically completely inert and is sometimes even used as a food ingredient. You can straight up drink a jug of the stuff with no health repercussions other than the violent greasy shits you would get from drinking any oil. Just because it's a petroleum product doesn't automatically mean its bad for you.
Live with it. Who cares? Many tools develop marks of wear or even a patina. Try appreciate the aesthetic. I love it when my tools have unique weathering.
I'm guessing it wasn't (well) oiled. Oiled boards are fairly easy to clean and nothing will soak into them as long as they're cleaned after using.
Might come off with scraping and oiling, so treat the board again. Otherwise the spot is not going to be harmful in any way and cutting boards get marked over time in any case.
Maybe fighting fire with fire and setting the whole board with olive oil now would help at least hide the spot. Beyond that, only time and use helps in my experience.
Olive oil can go rancid and add off flavor to food. Use mineral oil instead. Some people also go with distilled coconut oil, but I still think mineral oil is the best choice.
Ack! No petroleum products on my cutting boards! I've used walnut oil for years, as I was told it's the only food grade oil that dries, and doesn't go rancid. I have a lot of cutting boards, wooden utensils, bowls, a few "plates" or "plowls". And I live in a dry climate, so they get oiled up about once a year. I just did the bowls, and wow do they look great!
Not an expert here, but food-grade mineral oil is safe for cutting surfaces from every source I've read. It's even commonly used as a laxative.
Meanwhile, from what I gather, walnut oil has a comparatively long shelf life, but it does eventually go rancid, leaving an off smell. But it may be that yearly oiling makes that a relatively moot point, with the new covering the old.
Should fade over time with regular oiling and washing
Sprinkle with salt, cut a lemon in half, and scour the board. Leave for a few hours, rinse and wash with dish soap.
Repeat as necessary, and every few weeks.
Turn it over
Throw it out and go back to plastic.
Plastic harbors bacteria. Every cut makes a tiny groove for the wee folks to inhabit. These folks started researching wood v. plastic back in the 90s: https://cms.johnboos.com/assets/wood-vs-plastic-cutting-boards.pdf
Not to mention all the microplastics that shed on your food when the knife cuts into the board.
Plastic goes in the dishwasher. Wood doesn’t. Plastic is cleaner.
Fire