I feel like I should know this already, but cannot for the life of me recall the answer. I want to know what finish(es) is (are) acceptable for cooking, eating and drinking utensils.
I'll be more than satisfied if you have a good link to pass along that has a fuller discussion of this topic (maybe a website devoted to finishes in general?)
Bill
I always use mineral oil, just the drugstore variety.. then I put with the bowl a note telling the user to re-oil from time to time until the wood has really soaked up the oil. We have some individual salad bowls at home we have used for about 15 years and they still look good.
Bob Moody
My choice is usually no finish or shellac depending on the particular use. Here's a link to the results of a "Google" search for "food safe wood finishes":
I've used walnut oil (it's occasionally used for cooking). After allowing it 24 hours to do whatever oils do in that amount of time, I apply a couple of coats of Clapham's Salad Bowl Finish (Lee Valley), which is little more than mineral oil and beeswax. Either component would make a good food-safe finish by itself.
Max
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