I have been doing a little research into a bowl finish that will handle boiling water. I e-mailed General Finish and here’s the exchange:
Me: Is General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish, when cured, safe to use for applications that come in contact with boiling water?
GF: ... a better product would be our new water base wood turners finish, it is water base and has no odor- so you would not have to wait a month to use it. I would still wait a good two weeks for the product to cure before using.
Me: After cured, will the new water base wood turners finish hold up to boiling water?
GF: Do you mean can you micro wave it no, but if you micro wave hot water and then pour it into a cup or put hot soup into a bowl yes it would be able to handle that. I would let it cure for a good 2 weeks. After many uses for years you will eventually have to put more coats on.
I haven’t tried the new finish, but I plan on doing so.