[Ansteorra] RE: Linseed oil

[garreth roman]

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Good gentles All,

I read once that the natural tannins in wood are rather lethal to bacteria.

Garreth the Traveler

"C. L. Ward" <gunnora at vikinganswerlady.com> wrote:
Lord Eadric Anstapa said:
>Linseed or flaxseed oil is a great way
>to treat your wooden feastware and if
>any of it gets into your diet it might
>actually benefit you.
>By the oil at a health food store and
>NOT at a hardware store or craft
store. Often what you find at hardware
>stores and craft stores for oil
>painting and wood finishing is not pure
>linseed oil.

Let me make that a MUCH stronger caution. Modern linseed oils designed for
woodwork have various metal salts added to improve drying time, and THESE
CAN BE POISONOUS. Don't use these for food-containing vessels.

Probably the worst problems with wooden feast gear is that we all too often
leave them in the car in the brutal Ansteorran heat, which dries out the
wood. It also gets dropped and knocked around as we travel, and the
combination can lead to splits and breaks.

My recommendation would be to handwash the wooden stuff in warm soapy water,
then let it drain in a dishrack or on a counter. After it dries, wipe a
small amount of any food-grade oil over the wood, let that soak in and dry.
Then put your dishes back in the feast gear box/basket/etc.

Another thing you can do is when you get the wooden stuff new, you can go to
a professional woodworker's supply such as Woodcrafters and ask for "salad
bowl varnish". This is a food-safe finish that can be applied to the wood
to seal it. That way you get less of the drying out problem later, bacteria
have a much more difficult time colonizing the pores of the wood while that
stuff sits in a bag on the garage floor for three days after the event until
you get a chance to wash it, etc.

::GUNNVOR::

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