Cutting board - wood, acrylic or something else?

[vitauta]

do i need more than one cutting board? i am in the market for a practical cutting board that is also inexpensive. it has been ages since i last looked at cutting boards, so i'm hoping for some help.

for the most part, i use a cutting board for cutting and chopping various vegetables. occasionally, i use one for meats, both cooked and raw.

i have been using the same homemade wooden cutting board most of my adult life. but now my board has become so warped and worn that i really must face the fact that it needs to be replaced.

what kind of cutting board do you like best and use yourself? do you have a separate board for cutting raw meat? is there a material or brand that you would recommend? thanks for your help with this....

 

[Andy M.]

I have 6-8 plastic cutting boards of various sizes. They go in the DW after each use where they are sanitized by high temp water. They are inexpensive and easy to care for. They do become stained with use so periodically, I bleach them overnight and wash them off. White as snow again.

 

[pacanis]

I don't know if you need more than one cutting board, but I do. Mine go in the DW, too, so sometimes I need to do some cutting before I run a load.
I have a couple 1/4" thick plastic (?) boards in two different sizes and four color coded thin boards of a plastic material, too. I don't necessarily pay attention to using the "right" color for what I am cutting though, since I feel they are thoroughly washed after use. And I have a wood board with the juice groove running around it.
I use the thin boards all the time. And they take very little room to store. The thicker boards come in handy if you need to carry something on them, like a beer can chicken in from the grill.

 

[CharlieD]

I too have more than one. All 4 are different size, all plastic, but not acrylic. Acrylic I think is too hard and it will ruin the knife. All dishwasher safe. I finally got rid off couple of wooden boards I had.

 

[taxlady]

I have 3 small and 2 large plastic cutting boards. All of them go in the dishwasher. I also have an oval wooden cutting board that is used mostly for bread, but also for serving meat on occasion. It gets hand washed. Some of the plastic ones are getting old and warped. I will probably replace them with wooden ones.

 

[Kylie1969]

We use plastic cutting boards..all for different things

 

[jabbur]

I have a large plastic one and a smaller wooden one (almost 2"thick) and a smaller bamboo one. I use the wooden one most because it sits on my counter beside the stove. It gets scrubbed in hot water often and occasionally bleached and re-oiled. The plastic one goes in the dishwasher. It has a groove around the edge to catch some liquids and juices. The little bamboo one is only used for small jobs like if I want a single slice of tomato or cheese for a sandwich.

 

[vitauta]

thank you for all your input, guys! i can see now that i have been quite by myself unnecessarily using dinner plates and things for my small cutting board needs. i should just shut up and buy myself a set of assorted plastic boards, and be done with it! sometimes i just have to marvel at all the things i have gone through my whole life without knowing....

 

[taxlady]

I have 3 small and 2 large plastic cutting boards. All of them go in the dishwasher. I also have an oval wooden cutting board that is used mostly for bread, but also for serving meat on occasion. It gets hand washed. Some of the plastic ones are getting old and warped. I will probably replace them with wooden ones.

I forgot to mention that I want wooden ones because wood is naturally anti-microbial.

 

[Snip 13]

thank you for all your input, guys! i can see now that i have been quite by myself unnecessarily using dinner plates and things for my small cutting board needs. i should just shut up and buy myself a set of assorted plastic boards, and be done with it! sometimes i just have to marvel at all the things i have gone through my whole life without knowing....

V, call me old fashioned but I think wood is best. I've owned plastic, granite and ceramic. I've thrown them all out! Plastic looks gross once you've had it a while, granite slips and ceramic damages my knives.
I have 2 thick wooden boards, one for bread and veg etc. and one for meats. I wash them with warm soapy water and use disinfectant kitchen spray when I've cut meats. I've never had food poisoning from food cooked in my own home ever either.

 

[vitauta]

I forgot to mention that I want wooden ones because wood is naturally anti-microbial.

what? wooden cutting boards are antimicrobial? which woods? since when? i always thought that wooden cutting boards were particularly susceptible to bacterial contamination due to their porousness. not so? i certainly prefer cutting on a wooden board to a plastic one, otherwise....

 

[BigAL]

Only wood here. Raw side and cooked side, but both cleaned well. For a quick clean I just use raw onion or lemon. just rub it down, add salt if needed and eat lemon. (only on cook side of board, not raw side)

 

[Snip 13]

what? wooden cutting boards are antimicrobial? which woods? since when? i always thought that wooden cutting boards were particularly susceptible to bacterial contamination due to their porousness. not so? i certainly prefer cutting on a wooden board to a plastic one, otherwise....

Cedar wood is antimicrobial, most woods are but cedar is best. Wood is one of the safest surfaces for food preparation.

 

[GotGarlic]

what? wooden cutting boards are antimicrobial? which woods? since when? i always thought that wooden cutting boards were particularly susceptible to bacterial contamination due to their porousness. not so? i certainly prefer cutting on a wooden board to a plastic one, otherwise....

Almost 20 years ago, a researcher at UC-Davis proved that wood cutting boards are safer than plastic because moisture is drawn into the wood, taking bacteria with it, and then the bacteria dies. Plastic boards, especially those with a lot of knife cuts in them, harbor bacteria and allow them to reproduce.

PLASTIC AND WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D

My main cutting board is a large wood one with a juice catcher that lives on my counter. I also have two smaller wood boards I use for smaller jobs; a large acrylic one I've had for many years and use rarely; and a smaller acrylic one that came with a gift of Omaha Steaks.

The acrylic boards go in the dishwasher. I keep an all-purpose cleaning mixture for everyday kitchen cleaning in a spray bottle - 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 lemon juice and 1/3 water. I spray my wood boards with this, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it off. Works great.

Using good knives on hard surfaces like glass, ceramic, etc., including plates, is really bad for the blades.

 

[Andy M.]

With the proper care (which is different for each material), either plastic or wood will give you good service.

 

[pacanis]

If it's any consolation, Vit, I just cut a couple of sandwiches on a plate

 

[GotGarlic]

I forgot to mention, I also have a set of those thin color-coded plastic cutting "sheets." I stopped using them because, for me, they're a pain in the butt to clean, and after a while I cut through them. I need to throw the rest away.

Andy, you're right. I prefer the look wood in my kitchen, so I'm happy to know they're safe to use, as you say, with proper care. btw, I've never oiled mine. I keep reading about that, but I was lazy when I first got the big board, I guess. Never got around to it and haven't seen the need.

 

[pacanis]

The sheets are DW safe just like the thicker plastic boards.

 

[GotGarlic]

The sheets are DW safe just like the thicker plastic boards.

We unfortunately made a bad decision on choosing a dishwasher when we renovated our kitchen several years ago. We got a Fisher & Paykel with two dish drawers; neither is tall enough to accommodate full-size cutting boards. Or baking sheets, for that matter. It still annoys me.

 

[gadzooks]

Wood, or bamboo for almost everything I cut. The exception is flexible plastic for cutting vegetables or fruit for juicing, because...I can pick up the flexible cutting board and use it like a funnel to put the stuff in the chute.