The Best Non-Toxic Wood Cutting Board for Your Homestead Kitchen

*Update - Urthware is no longer in business. I now use Redwood Bluepine for my non-toxic cutting board needs - redwoodbluepin...
When we switched to a whole-foods diet in 2014, I found myself requiring the use of a cutting board much more often due to the amount of vegetables I was processing. I was using cheap, plastic cutting boards until I found out introducing our organic food to petroleum chemicals from the plastic was not the best idea.
That's when I found Urthware - a Canadian company dedicated to producing high-quality, non-toxic wood cutting boards. They even use a non-toxic, organic walnut or coconut oil finish on the cutting boards as opposed to most manufacturers who use petroleum-based mineral oil.
Patreon link:
/ grassfedhomestead

[@BonesBones54]

I love that you add cookie into your homesteading videos. I have missed them

[@jennifercarpenter5200]

Thank you! I’ve been wanting to throw out all my plastic ones for the same reason. Now I have a better understanding at what to look for in a good chop board.

[@karenrn6173]

I have a magony cutting board, hand made. One solid piece of wood. I have had it since the 1980s, still looks gorgeous.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Awesome! Mahogany and walnut are really nice. What do you condition it with?

[@karenrn6173]

The Grass-fed Homestead I like Homewood block oil which is made from seed oils. Also can use a light natural cooking oil such as coconut or walnut oil. Good luck with your cutting boards. I have one board for veggies and one for meats. The boards were rather expensive back in the 1980s but haven't bought any other boards. The meat board is 24 inches long and three inches in depth. The other one is a bit smaller. It's all I need as I am by myself now.. also use stainless steel pots and pans, grew up with them as my parents had them when I was a kid in the 60s.

[@roundmott]

I stand corrected. My response to your video was based on the information I received many years ago from the State of Texas health officials regarding the used of wooden cutting boards in our donut shop and in our catering business. At that time they required us to use plastic and told us that the USDA's health guidelines required it. I never questioned it since doing so would have resulted in them shutting my businesses down. Over the years, I never thought to research the issue further. As a result of your video, I have now perused some of the studies on the question such as the one by Dr. Cliver of the University of Wisconsin, and it seems clear that the information I had received was completely false. Thanks for the enlightenment. I guess you really are never too old to learn something new. SHOCKING! :-)

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I completely understand. Health departments still insist on using plastic over wood despite the evidence to the contrary. If I were to open a butcher shop, I would not be allow to use that beautiful chopping block. Everything would have to be plastic and stainless steel even though wood worked wonderfully for generations before plastic and health departments were invented. Anyway, thank you for getting back to me on that.

[@lockergr]

What did your new research tell you about wood? I think I would feel comfortable using this but for only non-meat purposes.

[@pegdimarco5316]

Try best plans for woodworkers. woodprix.

[@lizzinlife]

Another great video from you Dan. I’d love to see other videos about reducing toxicity in the home, ethically sourced item, clothes etc.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I have an indoor air quality in relation to building materials video I did awhile back: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6epiYOAZbeerac

[@spokanemartialartscenter7865]

had just been searching for replacement cutting boards this past week. Now I know just where to go. Thanks

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

You won't be disappointed Laurel

[@rebeccagharis-gallo8155]

This is so timely. I grew up with a monkey pod cutting board and now I find myself in possession of this same cutting board. I love it. I have the plastic ones, but I really want to get back to the monkey pod one (which my dad made). My mom used to use olive oil on it. Thank you!

[@christinejjones3068]

I'm very excited... I always like to buy high quality items for my kitchen... food is important... non toxic is wonderful! Thanks for sharing... I placed my order for a large eco featherlight... can't wait... and yes... shipping is stiff!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

congrats! Let me know how you like it when it arrives :)

[@jodyflores601]

I'm with Little Buddy with a big thumbs up on all the yummy food. :) Thank you for sharin' this informative video, I appreciate it.

[@HansQuistorff]

They need to make you a digavoid, That is a food holder to use with the chef knife. I take a square piece of hardwood about an inch thick and 3 inches square and cut 1/4 inch bow on one side [this will hod greens like spinach] the next side has 1/2 inch depression to hold things like green onions, The next side has a one inch depression to hold thicker items, the final side has a one inch wide by 3/4 inch cut out to hold things that roll like carrots. I mortise a square hole in the center than cut it in half so I have 2 pieces 1/2 inch thick and join them with a square dowel that fits the mortise. Now I can hold the food while cutting it with the chef knife with no fear of creating a void where my digit was.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I'm not familiar with that. Sounds neat! I'll have to look into it

[@jonigee1305]

Thank you! That was very informative. I’m always looking for better cookware and supplies . Looks like you are running a 5 star restaurant in your kitchen 😊 I bet your family loves that .

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Thanks Joni - They don't complain :)

[@Gurokawa]

Thanks for sharing. After seeing your large butcher block I was scouring the web for one.

[@vidcre]

You could have your wooden cutting board and kitchen utensils bought from one maker here in America. There is a homesteader from North Carolina his channel is called "Sow the Land". He does this craft and they are very good.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

awesome, I'll check that out

[@lockergr]

Thanks that's local for me, so I'll happily check them out.

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

Beautiful products! You can't beat wooden utensils.

[@Hatarue]

Yay Canadian company! 😀

[@acoatofgold5627]

My fave cutting boards are always the ones in small/tiny houses where they use a slab for the counter and cut out the sink and then just use that. I've considered that myself but i want stainless steel counters in my tiny home so i might look into this company in the coming years. Love your reviews, Dan. - Jacob

[@welshharlequin7722]

Nice info on 'walnut oil'. Very specific, and I enjoy the music. :)

[@welshharlequin7722]

Might I suggest "Knife Skills" in the kitchen so as not to lose your phalange tips @5:14 (I worked in a kitchen over the winter under a chef out of Cordon Bleu in Paris, and they were all about knife skills, prevention of loss of finger tips.) I don't work there anymore b/c I wasn't fast. I am more of a home cook. :)

[@houazatout7860]

I always loved your videos

[@logitech2072]

Good video. Urthware is definitely the way to go. I'll specifically call out epicurean cutting boards who I feel are major greenwashers. They claim they're "all natural" but use a formeldhyde resin to bind the wood together. Once you dig into their literature, you find nothing saying its ok to consume the resin. All their tests are done on fresh surfaces, not cut surfaces that shed material into the food.

[@rickgreen9936]

Nice cutting boards but when are you going to open your restaurant, wow that looked good.

[@AlmostHomestead]

Great information. Thank you! And those dishes that you made look incredible.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Thank you :)

[@lisabooker6405]

I will definitely check these out. Thank you! Blessings ~Lisa

[@terijean6351]

Thanks!!👍👍

[@jnielson3683]

Yay little buddy! Hadn’t thought about cutting boards before, thanks for the info. Future content request: different appropriate uses for butter vs olive oil vs coconut oil vs bacon fat etc when you cook your primal dishes. Why and when would you use one vs the other. Thanks!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

good suggestion! Thank you

[@NandaMitchell-cy4jp]

Thanks for the video, since the company you mentioned in the comments is out of business. Could you send the link of your favorite non toxic cutting boards? Thanks

[@BelindaTN]

I love wood cutting boards. It is all I use. I invested in a hand made end grain maple board a few years ago. It is beautiful and I love it, but find I use my other smaller and thinner boards more than my chunky end grain. I think it is because they are so much easier to grab and wash off. My end grain is heavy. lol I don't use plant oils on my boards anymore. I pretty much ruined my wooden bowls using olive oil and other vegetable oils on them. The oils went rancid and became sticky and gummy. Not to mention smelly. It was a mess. So I go with the food grade mineral oil and beeswax. Also, no chance of causing allergic reactions, unless someone is allergic to beeswax. lol My little grandson has extreme and dangerous food allergies. Which was why I did not get the walnut end grain board. I had no idea if walnut wood would affect his allergies like walnuts will. Maple has been the tried and true choice for chopping boards for years. So I just stuck with that. (Though I think I would love a cherry board) Maple also seems to be the preferred hardness by those that are dedicated to taking care of their prized carving and chopping knives. :o)

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

The nice thing about walnut oil is it does not go rancid. Coconut oil is the next best alternative. It will go rancid but it takes SO LONG for it to go off that you'll have to recondition your cutting board again before it goes rancid. I would definitely consider switching to coconut oil/beeswax and steer away from the petroleum products (mineral oil). Coconut doesn't usually bother people with nut allergies

[@BelindaTN]

Walnut oil does go rancid. Walnuts go rancid, and so does the oil. Even when kept in the fridge. I have experienced for myself, coconut oil going rancid. Not as quickly as other oils, but it does happen. All fats go rancid. Even bacon grease, with all its salt, sugar, smoke and nitrates.(I grew up with a can of bacon grease on my momma's stove)And once those oils soak deep into the wood, there is no getting it out. Now an oil mixed with bees wax or paraffin, could potentially work out better. The wax might prevent the oils for going very far into the wood. Then if you use your board often and wash it often, you might wear and wash off the oils before it has a chance to go rancid. But put any fat on that wood or cast iron and then not use it for a for a time or often, and it will go rancid. After all. The fats come from a living thing and all living things and what makes it up, breaks down and decomposes. I used to make homemade soaps. I made them from scratch, the old timey way. Even in the extreme processing of the soap, such as lye and heat and the saponification that takes place, the soap would eventually get the rancid smell of fats that have deteriorated. Not even when I added the essential oils and vitamin E, which was suppose to stabilize it, did it stop the inevitable. Visit any flea market, antique mall, estate sale where there is old butcher blocks and old cast iron that has been stored away, and you will likely smell the rancidity of the vessels. I have been to flea markets looking for cast iron and found the booth, by the smell of rancid oils. I talked back and forth with the experience cutting board crafter that made my end grain board. He was adamant that I not use vegetable oils, nut oils, seed oils, or any food oils and fats on the board, due to the oils going rancid. Then I contacted more board makers to get their opinion. The advice was the same from all of them. So, I decided not to risk it. I am not at all worried about the food grade mineral oil. No more than I am worried about the FDA approved glue that holds the end grain pieces together. Heck, I am not even concerned with rancid oils on my cutting board (as far as it being a health hazard). I just don't want to smell it or want it to get sticky and gummy. I don't use all of my boards, all of the time. So if they can go rancid, they will, from lack of use. Heavy use and continuous washing makes a difference in whether or not the natural oils go rancid.(or maybe makes it less noticeable) Because you keep wearing and washing them off before they have a chance to go rancid. That is, as long as they don't seep too far down into the wood. With an end grain board, the oils are pulled down into it, just like the water was pulled up into it, when it was a tree. I love your boards. I especially like that one piece face grain one.

[@mikeh505]

Um, this isn't true at all. Natural oils can go rancid when stored over long periods of time, never use vegetable type oils as they will definitely go rancid, however some nut oils that have been used for eons on boats, furniture, butcher blocks, etc. polymerize when exposed to oxygen. So the above isn't true. Examples would be tung oil, linseed oil, walnut oil.

[@lockergr]

Mike High Thank you for this advice!

[@candicechristensen1753]

Great video! Love this stuff

[@joanhendrix5967]

Excellent info! I'm a fan of wooden boards but didn't know where to look for one made with non - toxic parts and processes. I've never agreed that mineral oil, in any form, was a viable option.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Thanks Joan. I hope Urthware is a good option for you.

[@brjmomma9416]

Interesting. I guess I found two more things (my bamboo cutting boards ) not to take with us when we move this summer.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Upgrade! :)

[@FknNefFy]

Thank you for the info tho cause I have been searching and I’ll look them up!

[@Talasbuan]

Thanks for sharing! I wonder if you happen to know exactly what glue they use. I would like to try to make my own end grain cutting board /Mathias

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I do. If you email me dan at grassfedhomestead dot com I can forward you the info

[@aprilcharter9926]

This is such a great video! Thank you!

[@lockergr]

Cannot thank you enough for this info!

[@celinebridges7817]

Thank you 😊 For all the information on the cutting boards .. We been looking for a cutting board that was non toxic . What size was the vegetable cutting board you got .. But we been looking at the kitchen stores or where they sell cutting boards .we never thought of mineral oil being bad for the cutting boards..glad we never use it . So down the trash it goes .. And as always thanks for great learning video.. blessing 👩‍🌾

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I'm glad it was helpful Celine. Mine is about 10x20.

[@michaelstevens1027]

How do you sanitize and clean your wood boards after cutting raw meat or carving a juicy roast? I have a large wood board I break out for Thanksgiving, large roasts and hams etc. but use food grade plastic ones most of the time. The plastic ones I run through the dishwasher to sanitize. I was more worried about not getting my wood board clean enough and never though about contamination from the plastic. Great video as always. I’m envious of your knife skills, you look like a pro!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Thanks Michael - I sprinkle salt on the cutting board and then squeeze a lemon on it. Then I take the lemon and use it to scrub the salt and lemon juice all over the board. The salt is abrasive and the lemon acid kills germs. Then I rinse it quickly under water and let it dry.

[@DavyRayVideo]

Wooden cutting boards have some natural anti-microbial qualities. I use hot water and mild detergent on mine. Quick suds and rinse. Scrub with a brush or scotch brite pad. Just don't let it stay wet for very long. Make sure it dries well. I use one side for veggies, the other side for meats.

[@gmsmolen]

What non-toxic Glue do they use. I am having a custom board made locally and I want to ensure they are using a A Non Toxic glue... So I need some names please

[@mrmellowcrafty9064]

So what glue is it. Probably tight bond 3. Pleas find out. Or I will keep asking.

[@henklenting2821]

Hey Dan, I was wondering, how do you generally clean these big cuttingboards?

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I sprinkle salt on the board. Then I squeeze lemon juice onto it. Then I take the lemon and use it to scrub the salt and lemon juice around the board. After that, I wipe it with towels and oil/wax it with walnut oil mixed with beeswax

[@henklenting2821]

@@TheGrassfedHomestead Thank you!

[@FknNefFy]

Questions: 1.Why not just get a piece of wood and some walnut oil? 2. It seems like you would cut down harder cutting through a piece of fruit or chopping up vegetables then through soft meat. Sounds backwards and it also sounds like the end green board would soak up a little bit more bacteria seeing that your knife cuts into it but being that you’re a cook that’s probably what they do for a reason I don’t know why it doesn’t seem to make sense to me…? The utensils and the board with the rod would be a harder thing to make so those look cool to me.... what kind of wood are they using? ............and off topic sorta but did you know like EVERYTHING IS TOXIC? I mean not everything like organic and natural things but like ..... cabinets, carpets, the AIR in your house, MATTRESS/Pillows, ANY PLASTIC, beauty products, cleaning products....it goes on...... scary how stupid people are to decide to create these things and then be like “omg its killing us(and the planet) It really makes me madHow difficult it is these days do not poison yourself it’s so ridiculous what we are doing as humans. Just a virus on the planet...here til we kill it off.✌🏼

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

yes, I did know about all the toxic things in our homes. We just have to do the best we can

[@xXDemonWolfSkullXx]

Pffff okay negative Nancy 🤣 God I swear some morons on here are overthinking this video

[@alpeshamin7228]

Hi, great video! How do you clean the cutting boards after each use? Just wipe or you use vinegar / water solution or something like that? Thanks.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Most times I just wipe it off but if I'm using a cutting board to cut meat I clean it afterward with salt and lemon

[@sOn1N3feS]

Can you use an oil from home for the Urthware cutting boards?

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

walnut or coconut oil

[@deannaclaros7484]

What would you suggest now since urthware has closed until after the pandemic

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I would check Etsy and see if you can find a custom cutting board maker on there. Most will still use mineral oil but you could ask them not to finish it and then finish it yourself with non-toxic stuff like walnut oil

[@ningchenyeshang4934]

I have a question! How do you wash your wooden board after cutting meat?? Thank you!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

salt and lemon juice - sprinkle salt on the board and then squeeze a lemon over the board. Scrub it and rinse

[@1ycj]

The links doesn’t show anything about cutting boards👎🏽

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

they went out of business. I use redwood bluepine now - redwoodbluepine.com/?wpam_id=3

[@castanose8304]

The company doesn’t exist anymore 😓. Do you have another company that you can recommend?

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I don't. I think your best bet is Etsy. You can find folks who make custom cutting boards. Most of them still use mineral oil as a finish but ask them not to finish the board and you can do it yourself upon arrival. Use coconut oil or better yet, walnut oil.

[@yeshuaisthewaythetruthandt515]

Thanku

[@xXDemonWolfSkullXx]

Oh no...I just checked and Urthware isn't selling until the pandemic is over. Who knows when they'll even sell again 😔

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I know. I've wanted to order from them recently but couldn't :(

[@aslhavardhomestead155]

I use glass cutting boards. What are the problems with glass? Does it dull knives?

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

Yes, dulls the edge. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Otherwise they are good from a toxicity standpoint

[@DavyRayVideo]

Yes.

[@lockergr]

Okay, so I'll use my cheapo knives with my glass ones. Thanks!

[@HoneyBadgerFarm]

What happens when the stainless steel leeches toxic material into the cutting board. Oh noes!!!!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

it doesn't

[@tiarianamanna973]

i just clicked to their web site.. they quit, due to lockdowns. :(

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

I know. So sad

[@carvedwood1953]

Dude you have a homestead right? Cut a tree down lol.

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

haha! Yes, but no quality timber. Just pine and aspen mainly

[@tonych7596]

😴😴😴😴

[@adamweber4126]

I'm pretty sure the more formaldehyde you consume, the longer you'll live.. It's a preservative. 😂🤣

[@french0610]

You talk about going to links to avoid Toxins, yet you eat pork. I encourage you to do some research on how bad pork is on the human body.

[@lockergr]

Seth French I agree! One parasite infection and you'll forever think twice.

[@lockergr]

Plus, I love 🐽s!

[@xXDemonWolfSkullXx]

Lol basically anything you eat can be bad for you. I've heard people say "don't eat red meat" and now I'm hearing "don't eat pork." At this point I feel like vegans are doing what they can to brainwash people 🙄

[@FknNefFy]

Thank you for the info tho cause I have been searching and I’ll look them up!

[@FknNefFy]

Thank you for the info tho cause I have been searching and I’ll look them up!

[@TheGrassfedHomestead]

you're welcome!