Did I oil my new cooking board wrong?

Question

I had a nice big wooden cutting board for several years. I never oiled it, not even once. As you might expect, if you know about oiling, it was both warped and cracked. We kept using it long after it had cracked. I thought this was being frugal, although now that I know about oiling, I do worry that in fact it was just encouraging bacteria.

So I got a new nice big cutting board, along with some food-grade mineral oil. When the board arrived, I could feel that it was dry. I read a few different sites that had instructions, though I couldn't find any that actually gave an amount of mineral oil, it was just "keep going until no more oil goes in" and "wait until the next morning and wipe off the excess."

I did that, however oil doesn't really want to come off, at least not all at once. So every time I wipe there seems to be a little more oil. This made me nervous to use it, since I assume we don't want to eat the oil. But then again, since I've never done it, maybe this is normal, and just a sign of a recent and even good oiling experience.

I finally gave in and used it, however, the board still smells very strongly, and in a negative way of the mineral oil. It's not precisely what I would think of as "rancid" (a word I saw connected to using olive and other oils) but I would definitely not normally associate that smell with a nice good clean and cooking experience. I don't know whether this is coming from the fact that I've never done it before or whether it is somehow wrong, either due to the cutting board or the oil. I used about 25% of the bottle covering both large sides and edges.

Also, the cutting board does actually rock slightly every time you press down on it to cut. So I wonder if this means it has already warped by the time it arrived to me. It's not that bad... But then again, my old board didn't do that at all.

I would definitely not use the same oil again, but I would just like to know if it feels safe and normal-ish so that we can eat off of it.

Here is the board I got: Teakhaus Cutting Board - Extra Large (XL) Wood Cutting Board with Grip Handles - Reversible Teak Edge Grain Wood - Knife Friendly - FSC Certified https://a.co/d/f0S81yU

And here is the exact oil: Kate Naturals Mineral Oil for Wood Cutting Board, Butcher Block, and Knife. Food Grade Mineral Oil for Wooden Cutting Board & Utensils (8oz, Food Safe) https://a.co/d/fXvsQxQ

Answer 1

First: don't think too much about it. Oiling a board is a purely cosmetic treatment and does not do anything about bacteria or longevity. You can do it if you like the looks of it, or leave it completely off.

oil doesn't really want to come off

Yes, this is normal, and will reduce with time. You can keep wiping it, or to speed up the process, you can wash it with water, soap and a brush. This should also reduce sharply the amount of oil ingested.

just like to know if it feels safe

You said that you used food-grade oil. This means that the manufacturer must have followed some standard, such that the small amounts you ingest will not harm you. It doesn't mean you should chug the whole bottle, but if regulation worked as intended, you can eat from the board even if a slight residue transfers to the food.

the cutting board does actually rock slightly

If I understand correctly, you've only had this board for a few days. The only reason I could think of that would warp wood in that time is if you ran it through the dishwasher, or if you soaked it several hours, fully submersed in water. Else, even if you hung it behind the stove, the amount of steam shouldn't be enough to warp it in such a short time. I have never heard of oil warping wood, that happens with prolonged exposure to water and/or warmth. So it's very likely that it came already warped.

To get rid of the warping, you can either bring it to a carpenter for a light planing - that will also get rid of the worst of the oil seeping out, but may leave you with a visually unpleasant staining pattern - or you can add some kind of "legs", possibly by glueing rubber nubs of different height on the rear side.