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Charcuterie boards are a fun and elegant way to present tasty, gourmet appetizers to your dinner guests. From artisanal meats and cheeses to olives, fruits, and nuts, these appetizer plates are often piled high with a variety of boldly flavored foods that can leave a smell on your wooden board. Chowhound consulted with a professional to figure out why that smell lingers and to get some pro tips on how to remove the odor.
According to cleaning expert Jill Koch, creator of Jill Comes Clean, “Wooden boards are porous so it’s easy for juices or oils from meats, cheese and fruits to get trapped in the grain of the boards and they aren’t always removed with basic cleaning.” Even after scrubbing with soap, it’s still possible for the board to retain some of the smells due to the microscopic pores and small cracks or spaces in the board that capture food particles. Juices from beef cuts on your charcuterie board or remnants from soft cheeses like brie or burrata are readily absorbed into the wood’s permeable surface.
Because of these strong smells, you might be tempted to let your wooden board soak in soapy water for hours or to let your dishwasher do the work. However, Koch advises against these options, since soaking them for long periods of time and putting them in the dishwasher can warp and crack the wood. Instead, follow a few simple steps for cleaning your charcuterie board and it’ll be odor-free in no time.
Pro cleaning tips for wooden boards
To rid your wooden board of leftover charcuterie smells, cleaning and organization pro Jill Koch advises to begin by washing it with soap and water. This will eliminate the large food particles and give you a clean base to work with. Next, she recommends sprinkling it with coarse salt or baking soda, then rubbing half of a lemon over the board. Baking soda and coarse salt are both natural and gentle abrasives that will help scrub away the smaller food remnants. Coarse salt, like Morton Coarse Kosher Salt, consists of large crystals that work well for scrubbing cutting boards and pots and pans. Lemon juice is an extremely effective odor remover, and the citric acid will also help break down any grease or stains on the board.
After scrubbing it, Koch says, “Wash that off and wipe the board with some distilled white vinegar. This also helps with odors, and the vinegar smell goes away once dry. Always stand the board upright to dry so both sides dry evenly.” To keep your wooden charcuterie board clean and undamaged, the cleaning expert recommends rubbing it with coconut or mineral oil, which helps to revive dried-out wood. Food-grade mineral oil like Thirteen Chefs Mineral Oil helps maintain wood cutting or charcuterie boards by preventing cracking, making them last for years to come.
