Nothing ruins a beautiful kitchen like unsightly stains. Unfortunately, stains are often an inevitable part of cooking, especially when it comes to prepping colorful fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients on a cutting board. The marks left behind by this prep work are not always easily removed by soap, water, and a scrub brush, leading to quite a bit of frustration for those home cooks who are aesthetically sensitive. If this sounds like you, we have a hack to help: just use a little bit of lemon juice.
Most, if not all, of the stains you will experience on a cutting board — especially a wooden one — will be from food. Some examples include the bright red juice that inevitably covers everything when you slice a pomegranate, or the green streaks left behind when chopping herbs or leafy greens. Lemon juice is a great stain remover for these kinds of marks because it is acidic, and acidic solvents excel at removing food stains. While you may think that vinegar would be the go-to acidic stain remover in these situations, it is not suited to materials like wood, making lemon juice the gentler and more effective option. In order to use lemon juice to remove stains, simply combine it with a bit of salt and scrub the stain until it is removed.
Sanitize your board while you treat stains
Lemons are a multi-purpose kitchen hero, though, and they are good for purposes far beyond a single stain-removal hack. You can actually completely clean your wooden cutting board with lemon juice. Lemon juice is known for its antibacterial powers, so it is a great option to sanitize your board without too many harsh cleaning agents. Additionally, lemon juice is a fantastic deodorizer, so if you have been working with particularly pungent ingredients such as onions or garlic, a squeeze of our favorite citrus will do a lot to prevent them from lingering.
Once you have gotten all of your lemon-related cutting board care out of the way, be sure to stay on top of all of the other necessary steps to keep it in the best possible shape. Avoid putting your cutting board in the dishwasher or soaking it in water for long periods of time if it is made of wood, as this could warp the material. From time to time, it is also a good idea to oil your wooden cutting board in order to keep it properly moisturized. This will prevent it from absorbing other unwanted substances and protect its longevity.
