Stop cooking with plastic cookware, time to switch to wood! Have you made the leap?

[taxlady]

Put it on top of a silicone hot pad or two. I usually use plastic cutting boards; they will slide on my Formica. A number of Christmases ago, my SIL gave me a couple of the silicone potholders. They seem too stiff to me to use as potholders, but I find them very useful as hot pads or under the cutting boards to prevent slipping.

It really doesn't slide around much, not enough to worry about. It's just not as stable as a heavy board.

I know the trick with the damp rag. When I make vinaigrette, I put a dry rag under the bowl and that works well. Hadn't thought about using the silicone pot holder, but I only have one, so I think it would tilt the board. I do use it as an extra trivet/hot pad when I want to put a hot pot on a surface not designed to withstand heat.

 

[CWS4322]

It really doesn't slide around much, not enough to worry about. It's just not as stable as a heavy board.

I know the trick with the damp rag. When I make vinaigrette, I put a dry rag under the bowl and that works well. Hadn't thought about using the silicone pot holder, but I only have one, so I think it would tilt the board. I do use it as an extra trivet/hot pad when I want to put a hot pot on a surface not designed to withstand heat.

Putting a damp tea towel under a cutting board will stabilize it. That's what we do in the commercial kitchen.

 

[Addie]

I hate dish drainers. Too confining. So I have a large heavy flour sack cloth on one side of my sink. I can place twice as many washed items there as in a drainer. When there are no clean dishes waiting to be put away, it make a great damp pad for the wooden cutting board to sit on. I have several of these cloths. I bought them for a craft project and had five left over after I completed the project. That was a couple of years ago. Time to reorder new ones. The present one have served me well.

When damp, those cloths really hold the cutting board still. I have a package of the plastic ones. I really didn't have a good storage place for them. I rolled them up and then when I thought I would use one for cutting up meat, I couldn't get the curl out of it. One of these days, I will address the problem correctly. PITA to try and use it.

I have a little scrub brush with a holder for the dish detergent. You press the button and a small amount quirts out. I use it to clean and scrub my board. My board fits right into the bottom of my sink.

 

[Andy M.]

I have pieces of that soft mesh shelf liner that I put under my cutting boards so the don't slide around.

 

[CWS4322]

That works, too, Andy. We have used brown paper towels as well.

 

[Kayelle]

I have pieces of that soft mesh shelf liner that I put under my cutting boards so the don't slide around.

That rubberized stuff works really great, and it's soap and water sturdy.

 

[Andy M.]

That rubberized stuff works really great, and it's soap and water sturdy.

...and when they get dirty, they go into the washer with the dish towels and cloths for a wash with bleach.

 

[CWS4322]

...and when they get dirty, they go into the washer with the dish towels and cloths for a wash with bleach.

My dish cloths, sponges, and pan scrubbers go in the dishwasher (I don't run the dishwasher every day). At the end of the week, they go in the wash with bleach.

 

[Carry]

I totally agree with this concept, wood is far better than plastic. The same for some kitchen tools, I rarely use plastic serving spoons or spatula... I often use wooden ladles which enhance the taste of the meal when being cooked.

 

[CharlieD]

Wood is great, no doubt about, if you can afford the quality stuff, otherwise you are going to have pieces of wood in the food instead of pieces of plastic. And as far as cutting board, I would never have one made out of bamboo. Might as well have the glass one, just as bad for the kitchen knives.


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[jennyema]

I often use wooden ladles which enhance the taste of the meal when being cooked.

How does using a wooden ladle enhance the taste of the food?

What's the science behind it?

 

[roadfix]

I think it's like eating certain types of food using chopsticks. They just taste better with chopsticks.....
Like using a fork on something as simple as sticky steamed rice.....just not the same....

 

[RPCookin]

Wood is great, no doubt about, if you can afford the quality stuff, otherwise you are going to have pieces of wood in the food instead of pieces of plastic. And as far as cutting board, I would never have one made out of bamboo. Might as well have the glass one, just as bad for the kitchen knives.


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I'll beg to disagree with that last. I've been using bamboo for more than a decade and my knives only need sharpening about once a year. I hone them regularly, but they only see the sharpener when the hone doesn't do the job. Then about 3 strokes on each side of my Chef's Choice puts them right for another 8-12 months.

 

[Kayelle]

I'll beg to disagree with that last. I've been using bamboo for more than a decade and my knives only need sharpening about once a year. I hone them regularly, but they only see the sharpener when the hone doesn't do the job. Then about 3 strokes on each side of my Chef's Choice puts them right for another 8-12 months.

+1

I'd never go back to a wood cutting board, but that's just me. My beautiful bamboo board never gets put away and stays at the side of my sink all the time. It's a wonderful work station and my knives are just fine.

 

[taxlady]

It probably depends on the quality of the bamboo cutting board. I know that some of them use enough glue between the slats of bamboo, that the glue is what dulls knives.

Also, remember that bamboo isn't wood. It's a grass. We don't know if it has the same anti-microbial properties as wood.

 

[jennyema]

I think it's like eating certain types of food using chopsticks. They just taste better with chopsticks.....
Like using a fork on something as simple as sticky steamed rice.....just not the same....

But at least you put the chopsticks in your mouth!

 

[Kayelle]

It probably depends on the quality of the bamboo cutting board. I know that some of them use enough glue between the slats of bamboo, that the glue is what dulls knives.

Also, remember that bamboo isn't wood. It's a grass. We don't know if it has the same anti-microbial properties as wood.

True that, but I always sanitize any food surface anyway no matter what it's made of.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I don't use plastic utensils. Plastic melts at fairly low temperatures. I use both nylon and bamboo utensils, and select the proper tool depending on the task at hand. Both are safe for non-stick cookware.

 

[Addie]

I have a collection of wooden spoons, rubber spatulas, and the standard metal ones. But I also have a plastic spatula that has followed me all over the country, even to Hawaii and back. It is more than 45 years old. It is made of very stiff plastic and I won it as the door prize at a Tupperware Party. It is worn down so thin that it is no longer usable. But after all these years I just hate to toss it. It no longer gets used, but still sits in my utensil jug next to the stove with all my spoons and other stuff. I love my wooden spoons and use them constantly.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I've never used plastic. I have this one, and knives like those in the pic.

Stainless steel is easy to sterilize in the dishwasher and it looks good on the counter.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Exp...sr=8-1&keywords=stainless+steel+cutting+board