What type of cutting board?

[Argamemnon]

I don't know if this is the place to discuss this, but what type of cutting board sould I buy? I want a very good cutting board, what material should it be made of? Thanks!

 

[GB]

Either wood or plastic. Those are the only decent materials if you want to treat your knives well. End grain wood is better than edge grain wood.

Wood and plastic both have pluses and minuses. I use both in my kitchen for different reasons.

 

[Argamemnon]

Thank you GB, I will have to look up the difference between edge grain wood and end grain wood.

 

[GB]

The best way I have heard end grain described is that it is to picture a hair brush. If you put your knife down into the bristles then the bristles kind of separate and surround the blade. This is what end grain wood does. You slice down into the grain and that is much more gentle on your blade than anything else.

 

[Argamemnon]

Thanks.....

 

[GB]

There are end grain boards and edge grain boards. End grain are the better (and more expensive) of the two and are the ones I was using the brush to help describe. Edge grain are like end grain turned on their side.

 

[Argamemnon]

What about Epicurean cutting boards, is that some material or brand name? Epicurean Cutting Boards: Maintenance-free, eco-friendly - 1.866.678.3500

 

[GB]

If I am not mistaken, those are plastic and should be fine.

 

[Andy M.]

Actually, according to the website, it's layers of paper soaked in resin and heated to harden.

It may be too hard to be knife edge friendly.

 

[GB]

Good thing you read it better than me Andy!

 

[Uncle Bob]

I use High Density Polyethylene boards...USDA...FDA Approved...Will not chip crack or warp...Non porous....Will not dull knives...Dishwasher safe.....

 

[FincaPerlitas]

I use High Density Polyethylene boards...USDA...FDA Approved...Will not chip crack or warp...Non porous....Will not dull knives...Dishwasher safe.....

I'm with Uncle Bob on this. These are the white boards that have a somewhat soft feel to them and usually have a lightly-textured surface. They're fairly heavy and thick. There are other light weight, hard plastic, white cutting boards sold, but they aren't what you want.

Any restaurant supply store will have them in every size imaginable. You can also get them in department stores but will have a more limited selection of sizes and will pay more. I buy my smaller boards in department stores, because I can get them with non-stick synthetic rubber molded onto the corners. On larger boards, that's not necessary.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The Food Network has a show called "Food Detectives" where they use laboratory tests to determine answers to common food and food prep questions. A fairly recent episode dealt with the question of which type of cutting board was more sanitary, or safe. The choices were wood and plastic. The plastic boards were made of poyeltylene while the wood was hard-rock maple. They took two of each board, one brand new, and one well used with knife scars all over the cutting board surface. They rubbed raw chicken over each board and let it sit for a few hours. AFter scruffing with hot, soapy water, bacterial samples were takedfrom each board and incubated in the petrie dishes used to collect the samples. Both boards, plastic and wood, performed similarily, with lots of bacterial growth from each. However, samples taken a day or two later showed very different results. The plastic boards still harbored a considerable amount of micro-nasties, while the wooden boards were fairly antiseptic. They couldn't give an exact reason why, but it was suggested that the pouress nature of the wood acted to draw the bacteria into the inner wood structure, leaving the surface clean and hygienic. The wood may also contain natural anti-biotic properties. By in any case, when the cleaned and dried boards were allowed to sit for a day or two, wood was clearly superior with respect to hygenic safety.

As for how well they treat your knives, it's as was stated in previous posts. And about the new bamboo cutting boards, they are made with a significant amount of resin to hold them together. They are very hard, and hard on knife edges. Shun all glass, and hard plastic cutting boards as well.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[FincaPerlitas]

I'm familiar with the bacterial studies on wood vs. plastic boards. The important difference is that you can run the plastic boards through the dishwasher and sanitize them completely, which you can't do with wood. If you're going to handwash, then there's probably no reason to prefer plastic. Either type can also be sanitized with a mild solution of clorox and water, but that's too messy for me and I hate the smell of clorox.

 

[mike in brooklyn]

I use a VERY heavy synthetic rubber Chinese board
look here Top Choice Rubber Reversible Cutting Boards

never had a problem with it - using 30 years now.

 

[paprgypc]

Hard maple cutting board

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I personally like the hard maple cutting board. This is an example of edge grain construction. I put two pieces of mahogany on the ends to make it more decorative.

I like to cook with garlic and onions. As long as I rinse the board off with water I do not have any kind of odor problem.

I have a set of Hinkel knives and they really like the wood board because they keep their edge longer.

Hope this helps

 

[Russellkhan]

Either wood or plastic. Those are the only decent materials if you want to treat your knives well. End grain wood is better than edge grain wood.

Wood and plastic both have pluses and minuses. I use both in my kitchen for different reasons.

I'm curious, are you counting bamboo in with wood, or do you recommend not using it? If the latter, why?

Most of what I've heard/read seems to indicate that bamboo has similar advantages to wood. The only dissenting voice I can think of was a poster here who was in the business of making wood (not bamboo) boards, and he didn't actually give any real reasons that I remember (he said things like "why would you use your good knives on grass?").

 

[buzzard767]

I use a VERY heavy synthetic rubber Chinese board
look here Top Choice Rubber Reversible Cutting Boards

never had a problem with it - using 30 years now.

That HAS to be a Sani-Tuff with a different logo.

 

[buzzard767]

I'm curious, are you counting bamboo in with wood, or do you recommend not using it? If the latter, why?

Most of what I've heard/read seems to indicate that bamboo has similar advantages to wood. The only dissenting voice I can think of was a poster here who was in the business of making wood (not bamboo) boards, and he didn't actually give any real reasons that I remember (he said things like "why would you use your good knives on grass?").

Bamboo is hard as is the large amount of glue used to hold it together. They are good looking and cheap to manufacture and that is why they are so widely distributed. Bamboo is not good for knife edges and neither are poly boards. Easy to clean, yes.

So when was the last time you got food poisoning from a wood board?

The two boards that are easiest on knife edges are END grain wood boards and Sani-Tuff rubber boards. I know of no others.

 

[GB]

I'm curious, are you counting bamboo in with wood, or do you recommend not using it? If the latter, why?

Most of what I've heard/read seems to indicate that bamboo has similar advantages to wood. The only dissenting voice I can think of was a poster here who was in the business of making wood (not bamboo) boards, and he didn't actually give any real reasons that I remember (he said things like "why would you use your good knives on grass?").

I have actually not heard of any studies on bamboo as far as how sanitary it is. You actually bring up a very good question.

I own a bamboo board, but have stopped using it for the reason buzzard767 mentioned. It is just way too hard on my knives. My gut feeling is that sanitary wise it is similar to wood, but that is just my gut feeling. I have nothing to back that up with at all.