Mineral oil

[Dave Lehnert]

Do I understand correct that Mineral oil for a butcher block top is the same sold as a laxative ?

[Eric Gustafson]

Do I understand correct that Mineral oil for a butcher block top is the same sold as a laxative ?

Same same.

[jerry nazard]

Do I understand correct that Mineral oil for a butcher block top is the same sold as a laxative ?

There's a sure-fire way to tell....

[Lori Kleinberg]

Same stuff .....



slip sliding away

[Karl Card]

and usualy much cheaper than butcher block oil. and you can kill two birds with one stone....

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Yep, same stuff!

[Tom Veatch]

That is correct.

But, if you read the label and note the laxative dosage, it should be obvious that, even if there should be any transfer to food prepared on the block, the amount transferred, distributed across the consumption, will be far, far less than the dosage amount.

[Karl Card]

That is correct.

But, if you read the label and note the laxative dosage, it should be obvious that, even if there should be any transfer to food prepared on the block, the amount transferred, distributed across the consumption, will be far, far less than the dosage amount.

darn, i was going to give one to my mother in law... i guess now it is back to the casket. lol

[David Winer]

I have always heard that mineral oil is not particularly satisfactory because it does not harden or dry.

Here is what the Highland Hardware website says about the Walnut oil they carry: "Mahoney's Walnut Utility Oil finish is just the thing for bowls, butcher blocks, salad tongs, and even wooden kitchen knife handles. It is pure California walnut oil which is heat-treated to penetrate deep into the wood, harden and leave long-lasting protection without toxic driers. Like raw walnut oil, it imparts little or no flavor or odor, nor will it go rancid. Unlike mineral oil-based finishes, these will not evaporate over time. And it leaves a beautiful surface!"

[John A langley]

Mineral oil is best, You do not went it to harden

[David DeCristoforo]

Pure California walnut oil heat treated to do what??? Comeon... you can't seriously believe that mumbo jumbo! Mineral oil will evaporate faster than heat treated walnut oil??? I'm gonna need some documentation on that one. But it's all a great way to get you to spend ten times as much money as you need to for block oil. Mineral oil is oderless, tasteless, penetrates as well as any other oil is completely safe for food contact, will not turn rancid and, if you buy it at the drug store instead of the woodworking supply place, can be had for a few bucks a quart.

[Rob Diz]

Shave some gulf parrafin wax into a jar of mineral oil, heat that jar in some boiled water (call it the poor man's double boiler) and then apply the wax/MO mixture on your surface. It will give you a bit more protection than the straight Mineral Oil.

FWIW, most Krogers sell Mineral Oil in the pharmacy section. There is no reason to buy anything other than the generic, which Kroger periodically sells 2 for 1 with their plus card. Who knew they could develop loyalty with discounts on this stuff? Ionly stumbled onto their sale when I was first applying the finish to the top of my island.

[dan sherman]

Shave some gulf parrafin wax into a jar of mineral oil, heat that jar in some boiled water (call it the poor man's double boiler) and then apply the wax/MO mixture on your surface. It will give you a bit more protection than the straight Mineral Oil.

+1 on the paraffin/mineral oil mix, it's what I used on this Jatoba/Hard Maple block.

[Dave Cav]

I go through a couple of quarts a year at school when we're doing the cutting board project. The hands down cheapest place I have found so far has been Target, although the do look at me a little funny in the checkout line.

BTW you haven't lived until you have graded a couple of dozen cutting boards that the students have oiled up on the theory that a LOT more is better....I now make them turn them in unoiled, and they oil them after grading.

[Jerome Hanby]

I saw someone on the DIY channel using cooking oil (I presume it's regular old vegetable oil) and mentioned to my wife that it didn't look right. She informed me that people had been doing it for years. Wonder how mineral oil compares to that?