How to Make Wood Butter

If you have wooden cutting boards or cooking utensils, you need wood butter. And if you know about wood butter, let me introduce you to how easy it is to make wood butter! Just two ingredients, a bit of time, and you’re good to go. I mean – plus the actual use of the butter on your wood items.

How to Make Wood Butter to Restore Your Cutting Boards

Wood is a wonderful, sustainable, and long-lasting material to have in your kitchen. With all the foods (acidic and oily) and all the washing with soap, it’s no surprise that boards and utensils dry out. Not to mention, we’re often cutting on them with sharp blades.

So if your board lacks luster and shine, all it needs is some good clean and some hydration. If your board REALLY needs some love beyond a wash with warm water and your dish soap, try one of these ways to clean your wood cutting board. Then follow it up with the wood butter.

What is Wood Butter

The recipe here for wood butter uses just two ingredients – coconut oil and beeswax. It takes just a little bit of time to make a large batch. And it lasts for a long while. It’s also a great gift (yes – spoiler alert – I’m already making some to give away for my DIY gift this holiday season).

When your boards or utensils are clean and COMPLETELY dry, you just rub on wood butter. Let it sit about 24 hours and then wipe off any extra. I never have extra to wipe off after 24 hours, which is lovely.

I use my fingertips and hand to apply the wood butter. You can use a cloth to apply the butter if you like, but I find the cloth annoying to clean afterwards, so I don’t mind using my hands (getting a little moisturizing mask on my hands in the meantime)! Win. Win.

How to Make It

You need to make a double boiler (just a bowl over a simmering pot of water. You can see mine above. It seems weird, but it’s actually very easy. Just remember that that bowl is very hot.

Add beeswax and coconut oil to the boil and stir until it’s completely melted. Then pour into your preferred containers. I use whatever jars I have on hand. Note that plastic containers will not work because the hot (melted) butter will melt the plastic.

Some recipes and store bought versions include mineral oil and while that will hydrate your wood, I prefer to use coconut oil. Our food will be touching these surfaces, so I want to use something that is food-safe and, preferably, something we already eat. Mineral oil is petroleum-based and the thought of my food rolling around on that makes me cringe. But as I always say, you do you and I’ll do me! You can see more of my recommendations for non toxic cleaning products (not homemade).