On 2011-02-28, SteveB wrote:
What is food grade mineral oil? Do I get it at the hardware store or? I
just read wykepedia about oils to use on a cutting board that I have that is
drying up, and starting to split. It also suggests poppyseed or tung oil,
not sure where to get that, either. It seems to say NOT to use any kind of
cooking oil, as it becomes rancid.

Butcher shops use mineral oil. Any mineral oil is food grade. If
you're gonna consider a petroleum product food grade ingestible, why
be picky. Mineral oil has been recommended for ingestion to relieve
severe constipation for decades. Not me! Mineral oil is available in
any drug store, pharmacy, and most likely the over-the-counter
pharmaceutical section of most supermarkets.

BTW, those old comedy movies of unfortunate kids having a hard time
swallowing castor oil is true, but it's not the taste the kids are
grimacing over, it's the density of the oil. Like mineral oil, trying
to swallow a big ol' spoonfull of castor, mineral, and most other
oils, is like trying to swallow a solid object. It induces one's gag
reflex and is often next to impossible to choke down even if, like
mineral oil, it's completely tasteless.

I choose not to oil my cutting board with any oil. I jes clean it
with warm soap and water and sometimes a mild water/bleach solution.
A good board, made of maple or some other appropriate wood and a
quality glue, will last for years.

If you buy one of the huge butcher block tables that cost $$$$ and
will last forever and insist on oiling it, use mineral oil. Those
things get cleaned several times a day, and worn down from heavy use.
So much meat passes over them, there's little chance of ingesting much
mineral oil.

My aversion to ingesting petroleum products is jes my own personal
hang-up.

nb