Your Cutting Boards and Spoons Will Love This Easy DIY Wood Preserver

With the arrival of spring, we’ve got our nursery carts and hearts filled with bountiful expectations and experiments to tackle during the season ahead. One of our favorite ways to plan a garden is with DIY projects in mind. Where beauty balms and elixirs have become a staple in many gardeners’ to-dos, we really love the idea of wildcrafting homecare remedies that can become part of a spring cleaning ritual.

Wooden boards and utensils get a heavy beating in our kitchens and if you’re like me—ahem, and have invested in quite the collection–you’ll want to make sure they last a lifetime. We’re tapping into the herbal know-how of homesteader Jess Buttermore whose new book, Seasonal Living with Herbs, encourages us to fill our garden beds and our lives with the healing power of plants. While her book gives plenty of herbaceous inspo, this fragrant essential oil-infused butter is the perfect refresh for all your wooden tools. Use this homemade elixir to revitalize and repair cutting boards, spoons, and even your hard working garden trowel or hori hori handles. Whip up an extra batch and place in small mason jars as an unexpected springtime surprise for your closest plant pals. Happy herbing!

Cedar House Woodenware Butter 

Seasonal Living with Herbs Copyright © 2024 by Jess Buttermore. Published by Yellow Pear Press, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup beeswax 
• ¼ cup jojoba oil 
• ½ cup juniper-infused oil blend 
• 10 drops clary sage essential oil (or add dried clary sage when infusing your juniper oil blend) 
• 15 drops lemon essential oil

Directions

1. Wash and let juniper berries dry for a month. Whitish coating is a naturally occurring yeast. 

2. Blend the berries into a powder with a food processor. 

3. Place the powder in a dry, clean jar and fill with your carrier oil of choice. For this recipe, Jess uses three equal parts avocado, olive, and grapeseed oil. 

4. Place a sheet of parchment or wax paper between the mouth of the jar and the lid to prevent the metal from eroding and screw the lid tightly closed. Shake well. 

5. Store in a cool dark place for four to six weeks, shaking daily. 

6. Strain the plant material from the oil with a cheesecloth and fine screen strainer and store in an air-tight glass jar. 

7. To Create the Butter: Combine the first three ingredients in a double boiler over low heat and stir occasionally with a disposable wooden chopstick or skewer until completely melted and combined. 

8. Remove from heat and stir in essential oils. 

9. Carefully pour the mixture into a clean, dry, wide-mouth glass jar or tin and leave undisturbed to cool completely at room temperature. 

10. Cap with an airtight lid and store in a dark, cool place like a kitchen pantry, cabinet, or the drawer for up to one year. 

11. To use, apply a generous amount of butter onto wood with a cotton cloth dish rag or paper towel, rubbing the butter in small circular motions. Let the butter sit on the wood overnight, then wipe the excess butter off and your boards and utensils are ready to use.

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