Hand wash your Fifth & Cherry board with a mild dish soap and rinse well with hot water. Do not submerge the board in water or let it soak for any period of time. Doing so could damage the board construction or cause warping. For surface stains (or to deodorize your board), sprinkle baking soda or course salt over your dry board and scrub with a sliced lemon. Rinse well with hot water. Learn from Tim’s mistake and never wash a wood cutting board in the dishwasher.

As you wash your board, the wood will begin to soak up some of the water and could expand slightly. This is a totally normal process and the wood will naturally contract back to normal as it dries.

Your Fifth & Cherry board should be fully dry before putting it away. It is recommended to towel dry your board first and then allow it to air dry for several hours or overnight. To ensure that your board dries evenly, set the board upright on its side (rotating sides occasionally) or place it in a drying rack so that all sides are equally exposed to the air. Do not set your board on its face to dry, or on a damp towel or drying pad, as the trapped moisture could damage or warp the board.

No. Please learn from Tim’s mistake and do not put your Fifth & Cherry cutting board (or any wood products) in the dishwasher. In addition, do not submerge the board in water or let it soak for any period of time. Doing so could damage the board construction or cause warping.

To keep your Fifth & Cherry board in prime condition between refinishings, it is recommended that you maintain your board with a wood conditioner. There are several wood conditioners on the market, some specifically for cutting boards, but you can also just use food-safe mineral oil or beeswax. It is recommended that you stay away from cooking oils like vegetable and olive oils, as they can turn rancid quickly. However, other natural oils such as walnut, almond or pure tong (non-tinted) are also acceptable.

Once a month (depending on usage level), apply a small amount of your desired conditioner to the face of your board using a lint-free cloth. Make sure that the board is well covered and allow it to soak in overnight. Wipe off any excess oil with a lint-free cloth and repeat the process on the other side of your board.

Yes, in fact it’s recommended. Fifth & Cherry boards are designed to be double-sided and should be flipped occasionally to ensure that both sides are being worn evenly.

The best way to prevent warping is to handwash your board and ensure that it is fully dry before storing it. Never wash your Fifth & Cherry cutting board in the dishwasher or let any liquid stand on the board for a long period of time.

Hand wash your board with a mild dish soap and rinse well with hot water. Do not submerge the board in water or let it soak for any period of time. Doing so could damage the board construction or cause warping.  As you wash your board, the wood will begin to soak up some of the water and could expand slightly. This is a totally normal process and the wood will naturally contract back to normal as it dries.

It is recommended to towel dry your board first and then allow it to air dry for several hours or overnight. To ensure that your board dries evenly, set the board upright on its side (rotating sides occasionally) or place it in a drying rack so that all sides are equally exposed to the air. Do not set your board on its face to dry, or on a damp towel or drying pad, as the trapped moisture could damage or warp the board.

Do not use your Fifth & Cherry board in the oven or near a high heat source as this can weaken the joints and cause warping.

Yes, however it is recommended to let pans/meat cool to at least 350 degrees before placing it on your Fifth & Cherry board. Juices from oily meats can soak into the wood and could cause staining if placed directly on the board. Do not use your Fifth & Cherry board in the oven or near a high heat source as this can weaken the joints and cause warping.

We want you to be completely satisfied with your new Fifth & Cherry products. If you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason, you may return or exchange your items within 30 days of order delivery. All items must be in their original packaging and condition.

If you need to return an item, first call us or email us at customercare@fifthandcherry.com. Include the name shown on the order, the order number, the order date and the reason for the return. We will email you instructions for completing your return. It is important that you not return an item before receiving return instructions from us.

Please note that you are responsible for all shipping costs for returns and exchanges. Fifth & Cherry does not assume responsibility for reimbursement or compensation of returned packages lost in transit.

All refunds will be credited to the original form of payment.

If your board arrives damaged, please photograph the shipping carton, product box and any damage to the board itself and send them, along with a description of the damage, to customercare@fifthandcherry.com. Do not throw away the box or damaged goods. All damage claims must be sent within seven (7) days of delivery. Please allow 3-5 business days for claim processing. A Fifth & Cherry representative will contact you via email to confirm receipt of your claim.

Make sure that your board is wrapped well with bubble wrap and shipped in a box that is sturdy enough to hold the weight of the board. Ensure that the box is filled with packing materials so that the board is not loose.

Fifth & Cherry cutting boards are constructed in a way that with proper care and maintenance, they should last your entire lifetime, and beyond. Usage type and frequency will ultimately determine how often your board will need to be refinished. Fifth & Cherry boards are reversible and should be flipped occasionally to ensure even usage. Our experience is that boards that are used every day will start to show a need to be refinished every 5-7 years. Personal preference also plays a part. If your board is stained or has a lot of knife grooves due to heavy use, feel free to ship it back to us as often as you need.  See our Lifetime Refinishing Program page for more details.

Fifth & Cherry uses an industry standard non-toxic, food safe urethane gel to seal and protect our boards.

The different sides of a piece of wood are labeled as either end grain or long grain. Wood cutting boards are primarily made using the long or edge grain of a board because they are cheaper to manufacture, using less wood and less materials to build. End grain cutting boards are much more labor intensive to make but are the kindest to your knives.

When you cut on a long/edge grain cutting board you are cutting along the long fibers of the wood board (imagine dry spaghetti sitting on its side). As you cut, the wood fibers are less flexible, and ultimately break, leaving knife marks in your board. With end grain, the wood fibers are standing upright (again, imagine a handful of dry spaghetti standing upright). As you cut, the wood fibers separate, allowing the knife blade to pass through them. When the knife is removed, the wood fibers come back together and mend themselves. As a result, end grain is easier on your knives and results in fewer knife grooves on your board which means your board will look newer longer.  

While long/edge grain wood cutting boards can be sanded and refinished, the wood fibers are broken which requires more sanding to remove all of the grooves. Since end grain boards are self-healing, they will last longer between refinishings and don’t require as much sanding to restore their original beauty.

It’s no secret, we’re partial to wood, but with good reason. Wood is natural, strong, durable, and truly is the best material for cutting boards. Although made of steel, the edge of a sharp knife is fairly delicate and any cutting or chopping you do will dull the blade. The type of cutting board you use plays a critical role in how quickly your knife will dull. There are some materials that you should never cut on including: glass, granite/Corian/marble, hard plastic, laminate countertops, and even composite wood boards (which are made of resin and wood fibers). These materials are too hard and will cause the blade of your knife to roll or even chip. Glass has been shown to dull brand new knives in as few as 10 strokes. Dull knives are extremely dangerous. Requiring more pressure to cut through food, a dull blade can cause the knife to catch mid-slice, requiring more pressure to complete the motion, resulting in knife slips and accidents.

Plastic is commonly used for cutting boards as well. While a decent alternative for the protection of your knives, the more plastic is used, the worse it gets. It’s true, you can put a plastic cutting board in the dishwasher, however only a new plastic board can fully be sanitized. The more you use a plastic cutting board, the more knife grooves you get and the deeper they get. It has been scientifically proven that those grooves in a plastic cutting board harbor more bacteria than on wood cutting boards. Even in the dishwasher, it is impossible to penetrate and fully clean/sanitize those deep grooves left in plastic. Additionally, if the plastic is soft enough to not damage your knives, it’s soft enough to be cut apart; meaning little bits of plastic end up in your family’s food.

Wood, on the other hand is organic and naturally antibacterial. A study out of the University of Wisconsin found that “wooden board[s] will actually stop dangerous bacteria from multiplying and the germs simply die out after a period of about three minutes.” Wood absorbs water which is what bacteria need to grow and thrive. As the wood dries, the bacteria dies. Unlike plastic, as a wood cutting board gets knife grooves, you can sand down the grooves and refinish the board so that it will be good as new for years to come. Plastic boards have to be thrown away and hurt the environment.

When using wood around food, you should only use woods that come from trees that produce edible fruits, nuts or syrups as they are safe for contact with your food and do not include toxins that could leach out. Fifth and Cherry’s boards are made from wood from the American Black Cherry fruit tree, grown in Northern Pennsylvania and New York.

Our boards are crafted using wood from the American Black Cherry fruit tree, grown in Northern Pennsylvania and New York. All of our wood is sustainably harvested and FSC certified.

https://us.fsc.org/en-us/

In general, the US has stronger regulations for the protection of natural resources than other countries. Typically, the purpose of importing is to keep costs low, but this comes at the expense of the quality of materials and quality of the final product. Most imported woods come from tropical rainforests (Mahogany, Ebony, Mango, Acacia, or Rubberwood) and should not be used for cutting boards anyway because of their density and toxicity levels. Additionally, wood grown in a humid tropical climate may not be dried properly which can result in shrinkage and warping when it comes to the US. To fight insect infestation and fungus, some tropical woods may be treated with chemicals that are absorbed into the boards. Imported woods from tropical rainforests that are not responsibly managed, also leave a larger, negative ecological footprint by devastating wildlife habitats around the world.   

Keep in mind that the US exports our native cherry, oak and maple overseas to be constructed into finished products that are then shipped back to the US. Even if the wood is domestic, it’s important to pay attention to where the finished product is made.

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If your board develops an odor, you can sprinkle your dry board with course salt or baking soda and scrub it with a sliced lemon. Rinse well with hot water and dry thoroughly. Alternatively, you can spray the board with white vinegar, which acts as a natural deodorizer and disinfectant, wiping off any excess and allowing your board to dry completely.

To sanitize your board, spray the surface with a diluted liquid chlorine bleach solution (one tablespoon of unscented bleach per one gallon of water), let the solution sit for several minutes and then rinse with hot water and let dry. Alternately, you can use hydrogen peroxide, letting it sit for several minutes as it fizzes, then rinse and let dry.

After deodorizing or sanitizing your board, it is recommended that you condition the wood to prevent splitting and cracking.

You’re not imagining things, your board is changing colors! Many types of wood change color over time, some get lighter and others, like cherry, get darker. The changes in cherry wood specifically can be very distinct; starting at a light golden/pink tone and darkening to a rich, reddish-brown hue over time. What causes the change is a combination of exposure to UV light and oxidation (exposure to air). The color change will be most apparent within the first six months of light exposure but can continue (albeit slowly) for years. The darkening process will be affected by how much natural light your board is exposed to, and how often. For example, if your kitchen is full of windows, your board will darken faster than someone who’s kitchen doesn’t get as much UV light. Similarly, someone who stores their board in a cupboard/pantry will see the darkening progress much slower than someone who displays their board on the counter.

If you use your Fifth & Cherry^® board mostly for display or as a serving platter and it has a heavy exposure to UV light, do not store items in front of or on top of your board. The wood will remain lighter where any items block the UV light, while the wood that is exposed to the light will darken. This can leave your board with an uneven darkening.

If your tracking number shows your package as delivered, but you never received it, please e-mail info@fifthandcherry.com for assistance locating your package.