Oil the board before Thursday

Every Sunday something in the house gets twenty minutes it's been waiting for. This week it's the big cutting board, because on Thursday it carries the turkey, the bread and most of the sides.

First, decide whether it's still a food board

Wash it, rinse it well and let it dry on its edge. Then look at it properly. A deep split, a glued joint coming loose, mold that keeps coming back or a smell that returns after cleaning: any one of those means the board retires from food work. Oil doesn't fix trouble. It seals it in.

If it's sound

• Sand with the grain, with a firm block. Start only as coarse as the raised fibres need, then go to medium and fine. Clear the dust between grits so one stray grain doesn't carve new scratches.
• Keep the block flat on the faces. Ease the sharp rim with a few passes, but don't chase every hollow. A level board matters more than losing the last knife line.
• Wipe it with a barely damp cloth, let the lifted fibres dry, and give it one last fine pass.

Oil, then leave it alone

A thin coat of food-safe mineral oil on both faces and every end-grain edge. The ends drink the most. Stand it on edge overnight and wipe off whatever's still on the surface in the morning. Another light coat only if the wood is still taking it in.

The practical part

Do it Sunday, not Wednesday night. The board needs the night to stand, and Wednesday night is for pie. After Thursday, wash it by hand, dry it upright, and oil it again when it looks chalky, not because the calendar says so.

Marlowe's note, taped to the cupboard: “The knife marks stay. They're the board's paperwork.” — T