Wax or oil finish

What it is

A wax or oil finish is a thin film of beeswax or oil that a maker puts on bare metal or wood. On a new carbon steel pan it's shipping protection you wash off before seasoning, and on wood it's the finish you keep renewing.

Why it matters in your kitchen

Open a new carbon steel pan and the surface may feel faintly tacky. de Buyer coats its pans in beeswax to protect them in transit, and tells you to wash it all off with hot water before the first seasoning.

Wood works the other way. A board or spoon keeps its oil finish for life, and Boos says to re-oil at least once a month, more if you wash it often.

Good at

• Keeping rust off new steel. The wax protects bare metal between the factory and your stove.
• Keeping wood from drying out. Oil slows how fast a board takes on and loses water.
• Easy to renew. Wash wax off once, or rub oil into wood in a minute.

Watch for

• Wax on a pan is temporary. Wash it all off with hot water and a sponge before you season.
• Cooking oil on wood. Boos warns that cooking oil will damage a board. Use food-grade mineral oil or the maker's blend.
• Unnamed finishes. If a maker lists a finish without naming the wax or oil, ask which one.

Who it suits

Worth knowing if you're buying carbon steel or wooden tools. Skip the worry once the pan wax is off: from then on, the pan's surface is seasoning.

In short. A wax or oil finish protects bare steel in shipping, to be washed off, or keeps wood from drying out, to be renewed.

See carbon steel and wood, oil finished. For what research has and hasn't shown about kitchen materials, see our guide.

Where it is used

• New carbon steel pans
• Wooden utensils and boards

How to care for it

• Pans: wash the wax off with hot water before first use, then season.
• Wood: re-oil at least monthly with food-grade mineral oil or the maker's board oil.