Know How to Get Smell Out of Cutting Board: The cutting board is the utensil that comes into contact with all sorts of food, absorbing flavors. Food leftovers, specks, various harmful organisms, and microbes are the most typical troubles faced by the owners of cutting surfaces.
In addition to extraneous aroma, dangerous bacteria can appear on the board’s surface, which gets into dishes and can provoke the development of diseases in humans. For this reason, washing the boards very well and eliminating odors as much as possible is essential.
How to Get Smell Out of Cutting Board?
To eliminate odors, it is essential to understand that surfaces are made from different raw materials, so the methods and means for getting rid of odors are different. Cutting boards are made of wood, plastic, glass, and ceramics.
Glass is considered a neutral material, so it absorbs excess aromas only for a short time. A ceramic product also cannot absorb aromas for a long time. It does not absorb odors from fish or meat. Therefore there will be no particular inconvenience with a ceramic cutting board. But with wood and plastic, things are different, so we decided to tell you how to remove the smell from a cutting board quickly.
To carry out the procedure for “cleaning” kitchen utensils, we offer you some practical tips:
1. It is better to prevent bad breath than to fight it. Before cutting fish or meat on the board, we recommend wiping its surface with a slice of lemon. Table vinegar is also suitable.
2. Ordinary salt can help in the fight against unpleasant odors. You must dilute it in hot water (four tablespoons are taken per liter). It is enough to rinse the board with this solution to eliminate the smell of fish, sauerkraut, onions, or garlic.
3. You can neutralize the unpleasant smell of raw meat on a cutting board with charcoal. Pour 100 grams of the substance into hot water and soak the board for half an hour. If charcoal is not available, you can use ground coffee instead. After the procedure, thoroughly wash the board with special detergents.
4. Dry mustard can also help. We rub the board with the powder and easily get rid of the unpleasant smells of fish or herring.
5. After cutting “Smelly” products, we recommend wiping the board with cool milk. It also neutralizes any unpleasant odors.
Easy 5 Ways to Eliminate Odors?
Usually, a foreign and strong smell on a cutting product is left by-products such as:
- Fish
- Liver
- Meat
- Garlic and so on.
Wood cutting surfaces absorb odors more than plastic, making them harder to clean. When removing foreign odors from a cutting board, you can use lemon, salt, vinegar, or peroxide.
1. Lemon and salt
So, to remove the bad smell from the fish and at the same time thoroughly disinfect the surface, it is allowed to use half a lemon and salt.
First, you must rub a lemon into the board’s surface, sprinkle generously with salt, and leave for about 25 minutes to brew and react. After that, the board must be thoroughly washed under hot water and dried.
2. Vinegar
You do not need to use aggressive detergents to remove the smell of raw meat on a board made of wood or plastic. To do this, it is enough to wet a sponge or rag with vinegar and then carefully treat the board’s surface. After that, you will need to wash the board in warm water and dish detergent thoroughly.
3. Baking soda
Almost everyone in the house has baking soda, so you can quickly get rid of a not very pleasant aroma without spending much.
It will be best if you mix soda with water in a 1-to-1 ratio. The composition will help not only eliminate the smell of mold but also eliminate dirt and germs and disinfect the surface. Moisten the surface with the solution and stand for 5-10 minutes. After that, you need to wash off the composition with warm water.
4. Peroxide
Peroxide is an antiseptic that even children know about. It can also be used as a cutting board odor remover instead of baking soda.
The main thing is to wash the board after processing thoroughly. Otherwise, the product may then get on the products.
5. Other Cleaning Methods
If you have a wooden cutting surface that you need to wash from excess odors quickly, then you should use the microwave cleaning method. Place the completely dry product in the microwave, then heat it for 2-3 minutes. It will help to quickly get rid of unsafe organisms, germs, and, accordingly, odors.
Use vegetable oil to remove carrot or beet stains from a plastic board and eliminate bad odors.
NOTE: Never use plastic cutting board in this method!
There is also a radical cleaning method that we strongly discourage using – soaking in chlorine. This option is only suitable if you do not use the cutting board’s surface for cooking. With this method, you must prepare a solution: 1 tablespoon of bleach is used for 5 liters of water. The board is soaked in a solution for half an hour and then washed well in hot water.
How to Get Fish Smell Out of Cutting Board?
We can give fight the smell of fish in 3 effective ways:
- Before slicing fish, wipe the work surface of the board with a slice of lemon or 9% vinegar. You can do the same after butchering the fish. By the way, this rubbing will also help with the smell of onions and garlic.
- To get rid of the strong smell of fish from a wooden cutting board, wash it in a saline solution (4 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter) of warm water with vinegar (1 tablespoon of vinegar per 1 liter). The same method also works for garlic.
- How to remove the smell of herring from a cutting board? Used tea leaves or dry mustard will help eliminate it. You need to wipe the board with powder. Cool milk is also suitable. Moisten a sponge and wipe it over the surface.
How Do You Get the Meat Smell Out of a Cutting Board?
Dealing with the smell of raw meat:
- You can soak the board in hot water for half an hour after dissolving chopped charcoal in it (100 g of coal per 1 liter). If you don’t have charcoal handy, throw in a pinch of coffee.
- After soaking, wash the board as usual.
- If the plastic board smells like meat, wipe it with baking soda or vinegar, then rinse.
- Please don’t rush to throw it away when the board smells like mold! Rub it thoroughly with coffee grounds and wait 3-4 minutes. Then wash with hot water.
General Tips
When choosing kitchen cutting boards, remember that plastic and glass absorb odors less than wood products. The exception is innovative boards made from pressed wood fiber, such as Epicurean. Despite the 100% natural composition, their surface does not absorb liquid and does not retain odors.
It is advisable to use at least 3-4 boards in the kitchen: for example, separate products for cutting or cutting meat, fish, vegetables, or fruits, ready-made products.
Try to clean your boards immediately after use. If you want to get rid of the smell, it is better to do it first with cold water, then with hot water using ordinary detergents. Dry them vertically so that the water drains faster.
Prevention of Unpleasant Odors
To prevent the appearance of foreign aromas on the cutting board, you need to care for the surface regularly:
- Wash and choose the board after use;
- Use the boards for their intended purpose;
- If possible, use boards separately for each food group: meat, fruits and vegetables, herbs, fish;
- Choose models from natural materials from trusted manufacturers;
- Apply non-aggressive detergents and so on.
Conclusion
You should understand that if cracks have formed on the cutting board, you should not use them further for cutting food. It is because harmful and dangerous bacteria can multiply in scratches. Do not neglect this rule. Otherwise, you can get salmonella or an intestinal infection.
Hello! I’m Paula Deen, a mother who loves to create memories in the kitchen. As a kitchen enthusiast, I love to do experiment with different kitchenware for daily recipes. This is my blog, where I’ll share my experience, knowledge, and reviews on various kitchenware and appliances.