# white oak



## jomamma1 (Feb 7, 2017)

I did a quick search and did not find my question.
Can white oak be used for cutting boards? I have a lot of scraps of white oak. Thinking of starting to glue up pieces to glue up eventually into an end grain cutting board.
Thanks in advance.
Joe in Modesto


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

I wouldn't do end grain its too porous.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

Absolutely, it's a great wood for that. I've used white oak in several of my cutting boards as it is tight grained wood.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

White oak should be ok as the pores are filled with tyloses vs. red oak where they are hollow. That makes the boards excellent as material for projects exposed to moisture, anything from whiskey barrels to a trailer deck that will never be stored inside.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Shhhhhh don't tell anyone, but yep, it'll work just fine.

I imagine you have seen a WO endgrain board, they are fairly popular, and do have a distinctive look.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

It is red oak that has the open pores. White oak is a great choice.


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## 987Ron (Apr 9, 2020)

Used it many times and it works fine. 5 years later still good.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

FDA specifically requires "tight grain" for woods used in food contact. Oak is NOT, by any measure, "tight grained". Is why MAPLE is used so extensively in kitchens. Go with something else.



> *What is the safest wood for a cutting board?*
> Image result for fda wooden cutting board guidelines
> While hard wood makes the best cutting boards - duck those softwoods like pine, fir, and cedar. Also, avoid oak and ash. Although hard, their large, open-grain pores soak up moisture like a sponge.


and another citation:



> *Which characteristic is required for a wood cutting board?*
> Image result for fda wooden cutting board guidelines
> Wood also has natural anti-septic properties. Hardwoods with tightly grained wood and small pores are best for wooden cutting boards. Good hardness and tight grain help reduce scoring of the cutting surface and absorption of liquid and dirt into the surface.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

If white oak is not tight grain why was it used for ship building?


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

And barrels to hold liquid? It does not rot because it does not have open grain. It is not as fine grain as maple, but just as good. Red oak is being confused with white oak.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Marc, if those came from the innerweb they must be true, everyone knows that. Wondering what pages those are carved out of? The wood phobia handbook?

I'll actually list a site. The USDA says.

Under microscopic inspection ALL woods have grain, and bacteria can be trapped in wood grain. But using a wooden board for food prep has been in use for several centuries, and none of the serious illnesses that have plagued mankind started with a cutting board/block. White Oak with it's tyloses offers one of the most closed off end grain patterns out there. All I know is there are a lot of WO cutting boards out there.

I think the gimme there is clean your cooking equipment well, and none of it will make you ill.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Shipbuilding is not food service. The tight grain reference is to prevent bacteriological contamination, not porosity.

Barrels cannot be made from red oak as it'll leak. Red oak can only be used for dry cooperage. White oak IS open grained from a bacterial standpoint. Maple is MICH tighter grained.

Look, argue all you want. I've read the guidance (not the clips I just posted, they were what I could find quickly, but I have read the FDA site, but it's a bugger to find anything on). I think the reference was the USDA "Wood Handbook - Wood an An Engineering Material" (free .PDF on the web - great reference.)

Oak is fine for *BREADBOARDS* where there is no juice to soak in. But for cutting meats and fruits you need two separate (three if chicken is involved) cutting surfaces.

Use what you will, just don't invite me to dinner.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Pretty sure the FDA isn't going to arrest any hobby woodworkers for making cutting boards out of oak. Think they have bigger fish to fry. LMAO, this place cracks me up at the stuff people here invent sometimes


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

> Pretty sure the FDA isn't going to arrest any hobby woodworkers for making cutting boards out of oak. Think they have bigger fish to fry. LMAO, this place cracks me up at the stuff people here invent sometimes
> 
> - SMP


I was thinking the same thing. I have said it before, some people feel that they have to comment regardless of having any knowledge whatsoever of the topic and when they are proven wrong they don't have the guts to come back and own up to their mistake because they are too busy racking up posting #'s with incorrect info on other subjects.


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

> Pretty sure the FDA isn't going to arrest any hobby woodworkers for making cutting boards out of oak. Think they have bigger fish to fry. LMAO, this place cracks me up at the stuff people here invent sometimes
> 
> - SMP
> 
> ...


aw this can't be new, its the interwebs baby, the interwebs, they be right even if your're wrong, ya know
lol
Rj in az


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

WO has natural antimicrobial properties. I have seen this referenced in several different places but here is one that I found with a quick search. This one doesn't appear to differentiate between red and white oak's antimicrobial properties.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

> WO has natural antimicrobial properties. I have seen this referenced in several different places but here is one that I found with a quick search. This one doesn t appear to differentiate between red and white oak s antimicrobial properties.
> 
> - Lazyman


That's the beauty on the web. If one person finds a fact, another can find a fact to dispute it within a seconds. I'm with you Lazyman. 1) you can seal the pores, 2) if you sanitize, rinse and dry it properly and avoid cross contamination you avoid any issues, 3) you don't have to use end grain, you can use long/cross grain also. I used to teach food safety (ServeSafe®) and you need to be much more worried about cross contamination than what the cutting board is made out of. In many states for example you can have a dirt floor in a food prep area as long as it's wet and doesn't produce dust. In TX if you have a home based catering business you can prep food in your garage but not in your kitchen unless there is a way to close the area off from the sleeping area. I have a friend that operates a BBQ catering business and he has to have his garage inspected once a year because that's where he preps his food. He can't use his kitchen because he has an open floor plan and you can see the upstairs bedrooms from his main floor kitchen. Tell me that's not messed up. Do you know why a lot of coffee shops and convenience stores sell only pre-packaged food that was prepared somewhere else or reheat fully cooked food like frozen or refrigerated pizzas and hot dogs? Because their employees do not have food handlers certificates so anything they sell has to be certified as Ready-To-Eat. I won't mention any names.


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## MarioF (Feb 6, 2009)

I have a couple WO cutting boards about 30 years old, never thought about them being too porous or anything, WO is naturally antimicrobial, you would be surprised just how amazing this lumber can be…..try reading Oak: The Frame of Civilization by Bryant Logan…..a lot of interesting stuff about oaks.


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