Tried & True Danish Oil is a 100% polymerized linseed oil finish, solvent-free with zero VOCs, for interior woodwork, furniture and food-contact surfaces like salad bowls, wooden utensils and butcher blocks.

It's quick: wipe on a very thin coat with a lint-free cloth, let it soak in at least 5 minutes, rub it completely dry and let it cure at least 8 hours. If little or nothing comes off on the cloth, you used the right amount. Burnish with a soft cloth or 0000 steel wool before every coat. It darkens wood slightly, and you can mix it with oil-based pigments to make a stain. A gallon covers up to 1,000 sq ft.

Joe Robson, a professional cabinetmaker, first made Tried & True finishes in 1992, after years of refining them in his own shop. He wanted a high-quality finish that was environmentally friendly, and he worked from 18th-century Shaker methods: polymerized linseed oil, with no solvents or heavy metal driers. About 20 years later FBC, the family-owned company that supplied his raw materials, bought Tried & True, and the formulas haven't changed.