In article , Gordon Henderson
writes
I'm considering some new worktops - ye olde plastic laminate type or
wood. Wondering about the fuss over "oiling" the wood ones or not. It's
probably going to be cherry if that matters. (Or something similar light
red but not beech)

Worktops will be mainly used for baking - bread making, cakes, etc. Unlikely
to ever have hot tomato/curry sauces split for example. One will have a sink
in it.

So what's the deal on leaving them unoiled and just making sure they're
scrubbed clean and dried after use?

Or am I better off sticking to plastic. (stone isn't an option)

I'm in a similar spot and am drifting away from wooden ones. I don't see
those made of little blocks glued together as very impressive so if I
went wood I'd probably want ones made of serious planks (100mm wide,
40mm deep and full length) with a complimentary machined edges to hold
everything together in the long term. Those specs make wood a very
expensive option and I just don't like it enough spend a lot of money on
them. I'd like a near black deeply embedded stain too but I don't think
that is possible.

I think postformed (rounded) edge plastic worktops are a bit yesterday
but I have seen some nice looking ones with squared off edges and
particularly like ones with a contrasting edge strip. I'd always take
one with a slight texture on top as I think they look better and you're
not constantly wiping off fingermarks. One of these would be my choice.

Stone worktops have never done anything for me.

--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .