How to Remove Onion and Garlic Smells From Your Cutting Board
- Lifestyle
- Exienent
- · Updated
The easiest way to get onion and garlic smells out of a cutting board is to scrub it with coarse salt and a cut lemon, let the paste sit for a few minutes, then scrape and rinse. It uses two things you probably already have in your kitchen, and no harsh chemicals.
We have all been there. You are making a fresh fruit salad for breakfast, pull out your trusty wooden cutting board, slice up some strawberries, pop one into your mouth, and... it tastes exactly like the garlic chicken from last night's dinner.
Gross, right?
Why Do Cutting Boards Hold Onto Smells?
Wooden and thick plastic cutting boards are notorious for trapping strong odors, particularly from sulfur-rich foods like raw onions, garlic, and certain fish. You can scrub them with hot water and dish soap until your hands are raw, but that lingering, pungent smell just seems to fuse with the material.
Many people resort to harsh chemical sprays or diluted bleach, but putting chemicals on the surface where you prepare your family's food is never ideal. Plus, bleach can dry out and ruin a good wooden board over time.
Why Does Lemon and Coarse Salt Work?
The lemon and salt method is a classic kitchen trick that acts as both a mechanical exfoliator and a chemical odor neutralizer.
The salt provides the abrasive scrubbing power to physically lift food particles out of the tiny grooves in the board. The lemon juice provides citric acid, which naturally neutralizes the alkaline compounds (like those found in garlic and onions) that cause the bad smells.
How Do You Deep Clean a Cutting Board With Lemon and Salt?
- Sprinkle the Salt: Take your dry, smelly cutting board and generously sprinkle coarse salt all over it. Kosher salt or large-grain sea salt works best because the crystals are big and abrasive. Normal table salt will work in a pinch, but it isn't quite as effective.
- Cut a Lemon: Cut a fresh lemon in half. (You can even use a lemon that you’ve already squeezed for juice; the residual acid in the rind can be enough).
- Scrub: Use the fleshy side of the cut lemon as your "sponge." Press it firmly into the salt and scrub the entire board in vigorous, circular motions. Squeeze the lemon slightly as you go to release the juice and mix it with the salt, creating a gritty, acidic paste.
- Let it Sit: Once you’ve scrubbed the whole board, let the salt and lemon paste sit on the surface for about 5 to 10 minutes. This gives the citric acid time to penetrate the wood and neutralize the trapped odors.
- Scrape and Rinse: Finally, use a bench scraper or a spatula to scrape the dirty gray paste off into the sink. Rinse the board thoroughly with warm water and dry it completely with a clean towel.
How Often Should You Deodorize a Cutting Board?
About once a month is a reasonable rhythm, or right after chopping a large batch of particularly pungent onions. The difference can be immediate: the garlic smell fades, replaced by a light, fresh citrus scent. The same scrub can also help lift light stains from things like tomatoes or berries.
Give it a try next time your cutting board gets a little too funky—your future fruit salads will thank you!
