We’ve always loved the look and color of Crema Marfil Marble, and had the idea of finding a remnant piece to use as a pastry board surface for making bread and pastries here at home.  So recently we visited a stone retailer and made an appointment to view remnant pieces of Crema Marfil, and it turned out they had a partial slab 34″ x 80″ for us to look at.

Marble is a relatively soft, porous stone that is easily scratched and stained ~ which one needs to know when purchasing marble ~ because it matters how you choose to use and care for it.  This particular remnant slab was the remaining piece that had been cut from a larger slab.  We wanted a 24″ x 48″ pastry surface for our kitchen island, and as it turned out our purchase bought the entire remnant slab ~ so we decided to take advantage of the extra surface area, too.

After the pastry boards were cut and the edges polished, they were delivered to our house with clear silicone feet raising them off the kitchen island surface.  We then set about researching how to clean and polish marble without staining or marring the surface.  After washing and drying the pastry boards with water, I chose to treat the stone slabs with some crystal clear, Organic Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil that we had here in the house.  Regular, pure coconut oil which we also have at home, has a golden color to it like vegetable oil, which could possibly stain the marble.

Since marble is a porous stone, I spread a few teaspoons of clear coconut oil onto the pastry boards, and used my hands to slather and work it into every detail of the surface of the stones.  The coconut oil cleaned off the remaining surface residue like some tape adhesive, and tough-to-remove weathering from sitting out in the stone yard.  I let the coconut oil seep into the stone overnight, and once most of it seemed to have been absorbed into the stone’s veining, I buffed it with a microfiber towel the next morning ~ and then repeated the process overnight a second time.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is reported to be naturally antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal, so it’s a perfect choice for treating any porous food-prep surface in the kitchen like stone pastry boards, wooden cutting blocks, wooden spoons and utensils, as well as leather products.  As always, treat a small portion first as a test, before treating an entire untreated surface area for a first-time application.

Of course, we desired our Crema Marfil Pastry Boards to be perfect in every way, but understood that as remnant pieces they weren’t perfect specimens to start with.  The edges were honed wonderfully, and the long pastry board will remain on our island as a work surface.   While surface scratches and imperfections are visible in reflected light ~ ours is a working kitchen ~ and we’re pleased with having a beautiful stone slab to work on! 🙂

The second, deeper marble slab will be used as the surface for a stand-alone, counter-height kitchen island/standing desk, which allows us to use the second half of our island for other purposes. Here’s a photo gallery of our efforts, and if you, too, have the desire for a working stone surface in your kitchen, don’t forget the option of looking through remnant pieces for whatever suits your needs ~ enjoy! ☼ 🙂