I made a set of sushi plates using Douglas Fir and finished them with several heavy applications of mineral oil. But after several months of heavy use, and getting water soaked, they are already showing signs of wear, and mold is already discoloring the surface.
Can anyone suggest any other food-safe method of finishing a project that will be used for foods?
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Thanks to everyone for your replies!
I am new to this site and I didn’t notice the ‘search’ function. After I posted my question, and noticed the search function, I realized that this topic has been discussed many times before!
Thanks, again!
Edited 8/30/2003 7:19:45 PM ET by Joe
Replies
Provided there are no allergy issues, try Walnut oil. You can usually find it with the rest of the cooking oils in your local grocery store.
Regards,
Kevin
Wash them well, get the mold off (what's with that!) and reapply the mineral oil. It isn't meant as a permanent finish--it needs to be replenished. The other thing to do is just leave them untreated since they seem to be in such constant use and wipe them dry after each use--don't stack them.
I would also leave them unfinished, I believe natural wood contains anti-bacterial/mold killer properties.
Fir may not be close grained enough for the heavy usage you are subjecting it to. Maybe maple or birch would be more suitable?
Joe-- try a salad bowl finish. Behlen's makes one, as do some other finish manufacturers. It builds to a decent finish, but no finish will hold up if you are running it thru a dishwasher. BTW, most finishes are food safe once they are completely dry- it just could take several weeks ( or more ) to be truly completely dry. One source for the salas bowl finish is Craft Supplies ( http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com )
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