Solid Wood Kitchen worktops

bro'

I am looking at Kitchens at the moment and fancy a solid wood worktop, however several 'sales men' have mentioned that they are ''very hard to maintain and that you would be better with Laminate or Granite''.

Any comments with regards Oak, Iroko etc wood worktops e.g practicalities and actual maintenance would be appreciated.

Thanks

yop

We have gone with the Iroko ourselves with an Ivory door and the 2 compliment each other well.

Yes you do have to maintain them alright, if you search here in DIY there is details on how to do this but personally I think it will be worth it.

Neverends

We are compromising and getting iroko on our breakfast bar which will get lower usage and a tougher surface like formica or granite on the countertop near sink and cooker where wood would be in danger.

bro'

Thanks yop, we too are going for an Ivory door and have our mind set on the solid worktop,
I don't mind the general and annual maintenance its just that some of the Kitchen guy's were strongly advising against them with comments of green mould around sink,warping, cracking etc.

yop

I advise searchin net about that, we will defo be putting hot plate rods to protect against burns etc, the mold and that I must look into it

Mothman

All our worktops are Beech. Gave them about 3-4 coats of Danish Oil about 3yrs back, and haven't done anything since.

No sign of mould warping or cracking.

A spillage just stays on top and gets cleaned up.

I think cold surfaces such as granite are not so good when dealing with flour. we like our homemade bread

Alun

Mothman wrote:

I think cold surfaces such as granite are not so good when dealing with flour. we like our homemade bread

That's strange ... I'd always been told that one of the secrets of a good pizza dough was kneading it on a nice cold marble surface.

Mothman

Alun wrote:

That's strange ... I'd always been told that one of the secrets of a good pizza dough was kneading it on a nice cold marble surface.

Having done a bit of research, cold is certainly good for pastry, and I didn't find anything to argue against it being good for pizza dough or any other dough.
I've no idea where I got my thinking from.

The bread is still nice though

CJhaughey

Pastry and dough are two different animals.
Dough needs heat to grow while pastry need to be kept cool so as not to allow the fat to seperate.

Alun

Sounds logical, but there are plenty of references to be found on the web regarding the use of a marble slab for making 'proper' pizzas if you look. I believe the main reason (in times gone by at least, when there weren't any real alternatives) was so that the dough didn't pick up foreign flavours from whatever surface you were kneading on.

Anyway, getting back on topic, despite being a craftsman myself (woodturner) who uses and appreciates real wood, I can't see the current fascination for all kinds of esoteric (and possibly expensive) work surfaces in kitchens. I use my kitchen to cook in, and while it's OK for it to look good, function comes above form for me, and one of the most important factors is how easy it is to keep clean and hygienic. If modern materials work best to achieve that aim, then that's fine by me.