First let me say that this product arrived to my home faster then I expected, especially since it was right before Christmas. The product itself is great. I had just purchased a new, very expensive wooden cutting board and I wanted to be sure to protect it. Someone at the store where I bought the board suggested that I get a "food grade mineral oil". I really had no idea about this type of product but once I started searching the web for info, I found that it is the best thing to use to keep your wooden boards like new for years. I was unable to locate any of this oil at the stores that I go to normally so I turned to my tried and true friend, Amazon.com Sure enough, they had this product. Once I began using it, I could tell right away what a difference it made in how my new cutting board looked. I typically use my board every day and have been using the oil once a week. The board has stayed "fresh" looking with no lasting cut marks and no water damage after wash ups.
Boos Mystery Oil is not just typical food safe mineral oil. I have butcher block counter tops and the Mystery Oil helps keep them from drying and cracking and over time gives a warm shine to the butcher block. I purchased the recommended treatment for my counter tops and it was a mess, the Mystery Oil is far better. The best accidental discovery that I found is that Mystery Oil makes my stainless steel appliances look like factory new. I discovered this my first time out when I spilled some on my stainless steel cook top and went to wipe it up. The streaks from the cleaner and all finger prints just disappeared and the stove took on a deep rich shine. All you have to do is put a few drops on a paper towel and start polishing. Don't get it too thick or you just wind up wiping up way more oil than is necessary. Experiment with this a little. I use it on my fridge, dishwasher, ovens, everything to polish stainless. You do need to clean your stainless with Windex or other cleaner first to get any soiling off, then follow up with a light polish of mystery oil. You will be amazed at how beautiful your stainless will be. One word of warning however, it does cause a little dust to cling to flat surfaces, so you may have to give it one more wipe down the next day to clean any excess.
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The only things really wrong with this are the suggestion that wood oils are a mystery and the price of this item. The oil is certainly fine stuff if you don't mind the price. Both Joyce Chen Bamboo Wood Oil, 8 Ounces and Snow River Wood Oil are a lower priced when you consider that they are available with free super saver shipping. Wood and bamboo oils are simply food grade mineral oils. You should use a wood oil in your kitchen instead of vegetable oil because mineral oil does not break down or become rancid. Wood oil gives sheen and water and stain resistance to wood items such as butcher block, cutting boards, pizza peels and wooden salad bowls. You can use wood oil to darken and restore the appearance of faded wooden knife handles or dried out wood cutting boards. Wood oil is a must have for any kitchen with wood items.
I actually use mineral oil laxative on my wood kitchen items ($2 for 16 oz. at many drug stores) which is the same thing. Clearly the laxative bottle is less than aesthetically pleasing and is embarassing to leave around the kitchen. My wife keeps hiding the bottle in fact. But No it won't have a laxative effect if you use it on your cutting boards or knife handles.
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The John Boos website says Mystery Oil is formulated from "...a mixture Of mineral oil, linseed oil & orange oil." I have no reason to doubt the statement. I can say it certainly isn't just food-grade mineral oil; I've used mineral oil alone on chopping blocks for 40 years. Mystery Oil is thinner, penetrates better, is less messy to apply and cleanup, leaves minimal oily residue, and looks great, with less yellowing than I'm used to seeing with mineral oil alone. I wish I'd discovered it decades ago. Like everyone else, I wish it was less expensive. I'm not sure I'd bother using it on a $20 cutting board made in China or Indonesia. Which leads me to observe that John Boos is an American company, in business in the same town in Illinois for 120 years. Explore their website. It's clear they're proud of what they make, and put quality and long-term value ahead of price. Frankly, I'm happy to they're still here to remind me that price isn't everything.
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I bought a Boos block about four years ago and didn't have the chance to buy the oil at the time. To save money I used some cheap food safe mineral oil. I noticed my board was drying out and I had tossed the mineral oil. After going on line and looking at all sorts of food safe block oils, I decided to go with one provided by the manufacturer of the board. They know what they are doing and they created an oil that will make their boards last longer and look more beautiful. It absorbs quickly, has no unpleasant odor, and makes my board look great. I check it every week now to see if it needs oiling. Highly recommendfor your board's sake.
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This is a great cutting board with a good thickness that I am sure will help to maintain the integrity of my knife blades. I ended up getting this one and the green one here: Stanton Trading 12 by 18 by 1/2-Inch Cutting Board, Red. I will use the red one for meats and the green one for veggies. I do a lot of cooking and have gone through many cutting boards in my time working as a professional cook for over 15 years, so I know a good quality board when I see one. I love the simplicity, with no useless handle cutout, raised sides or bumper edges, all which just get in the way of cutting and sliding food off a board. The medium size of the 12 by 18 works well for just about any task you will encounter in the kitchen and fits nicely on most any size counter top. Also this is the perfect size for picking up and transferring food from board to pot. It has just enough grip on its surface to not slide around, even when wet, yet is slick enough to easily slide food off of. This board is absolutely perfect for any home or professional restaurant; I would not change a thing. In fact, I plan on buying many more of these, just to make sure I can stock up on them in case they ever run out or discontinue these models, because it really is hard to find such an all around performer in a cutting board that will truly fit my high standards of kitchen ware.
