Oiling your wooden cutting board
It's probably due!
One feature of kitchen maintenance that I admit I'm not good at keeping up with is oiling my wooden cutting board. Most sources say you should oil it once a week. Personally, I oil mine whenever it starts to look dry and "thirsty," which works out to about every three months. Mea culpa.
Oiling is important maintenance for a wooden cutting board. Studies have shown that wooden cutting boards are better at resisting bacteria and viruses, because they can't penetrate the wood the way they can a nicked and scratched plastic cutting board, and because a plastic board will hold moisture for longer. But this is only true if you oil your cutting board.
Oiling your board puts a layer of protection between the wood and the world. It helps to repel water, which prevents your cutting board from getting warped damaged, and mildewed. This also helps prevent the growth of bacteria. And the oil itself is a barrier against bacteria getting into the wood.
