What about cutting boards?

Nixelplix

Nixelplix

Joined
Mar 26, 2003
Messages
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I like using wooden cutting boards for most things. We have a few of those flat sheet of plastic cutting boards that are nice for a while, but sometimes I cut right through them. My girlfriend got me a glass cutting board. It looks nice-- has a nautical theme picture on it. Its great for serving on, and easy to clean, but I can never bring myself to cut on it, and it makes me wince when she does!:eek:

What do you use and why?
 
I have a large rock maple cutting bord in my kitchen,it serves as an "island" as well, it is probably about 3 X 6'.I have another maple board,its about 2x3',not mounted,I can take that right out to wherever I want to use
I also have a bamboo board,I got it at wally world,it has a groove around the perimiter,to catch drippings.I use that one for cutting roasts,slicing grilled steaks,cutting up roasted chickens,etc,it was about $20,and I wet it alot to clean it & it seems it is not affected by alotta use around water/washing it.For the $20 it was the best I have found,I bet it would compare to boards 5 times the cost.I forget the brand name,but I can look into that if your interested
I only use wood under my custom knives.
-Vnce
 
I had a laminated hardwood (don't know what the wood was, exactly, just that it was hardwood) cutting board when we lived in our last apartment, but the place was so small that I had to keep the board on top of the counter next to the sink, and it didn't have any little feet to keep it off the counter. A couple months of being next to the sink like that and the thing split, so we just went and got some cheap plastic cutting boards, but those are about dead at this point. I bought a big piece of red oak before I moved from Illinois to Arizona that is still in my parents garage that I planned on using for making martial arts weapons, but now I'm thinking of having them cut me off a piece that I can sand down and make into a heavy-duty cutting board.

~Noah
 
i have a white oak cutting board because the oak has acids in it that kill off bacteria so all i have to do is put a coat of lemon oil on it every six months or so
 
We mostly use a selection of bamboo boards from the store my wife works in; all but the first are seconds that she got to take home because they were going to be thrown away.

There's also some plastic and older wood in the mix, but I prefer the bamboo.
 
We've used a 2 inch thick by 12X15 maple cutting board for about 35 years (yes, the same one). Wash it and salt it occasionally. Never had any problems. Use a separate cheap wood board for raw chicken and bleach it. Never used and never will use a plastic or glass cutting board - just a good way to ruin good knives.

Rich S
 
Glad to see this forum.

I made an end grain cutting board out of hard maple. The cutting board was made from 3/4 X 1 1/2" strips that were cutoffs, screw ups and leftovers from a cabinet door project I did. The board is 16 X 20 X 1 1/2". It is finished with a blend of mineral oil and bees wax. It has a permanent home on the kitchen counter top.

Greg
 
End grain is the way to go with woods of maple, mahogany, walnut, and cherry. :thumbup:

Rubber boards are the best blend of wood like feel and sani=properties although they're heavy than wood and more expensive. They can be re-sanded like wood though. Kind of ugly.

Bamboo is tougher on edges than it would seem, it's the resins used to hold the grass together that is the edge killing culprit, plus they're hard. The edge grain bamboo is the worst but also the cheapest and prettiest.

Hard plastic isn't so great because knives skid however softer plastic can grab and chip a fine edge.

The words "glass", "ceramic", and "cutting boards" sould never be used together. Instant edge killers. :barf:
 
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DaveMartell said:
End grain is the way to go with woods of maple, mahogany, walnut, and cherry. :thumbup:
Click to expand...


Just a note - not all end grain boards are created equal. Boos boards (picked to illustrate a point because they're the largest manufacturer of end grain maple boards) are tough on edges compared to many custom made boards. I believe, like bamboo, that the resins are the culprit.
 
I use and end grain board. I can't remember what type of wood it is. I use it for everything except meat. I have a few plastic ones for meat that I can just dump right into the dishwasher and not think twice.
 
I also have an end grain maple board that I made. I keep it oiled with mineral oil and I find it's much better on edges than any other type I've used in the past. It's also more sanitary since I don't have a dishwasher to stick those plastic ones in.
 
Our most used are plastic about 1/4" thick, we have five of them in various sizes. Also we have one made out of wood really big and heavy, got used fairly seldom.
 
i have a boardsmith board in cherry its a hoss
18x24x2.25 +rubber feet under it
still have sani boards tho for raw meat
 
dave makes some great points....i know someone who had alot of chipping issues with some seriously expensive knives.....in the end the culprit was a bad cutting board....he switched to a board from http://theboardsmith.com/ and problem solved.....i have one to from him....it is a 24 by 24 maple board...it is awesome...i oil it occasionaly and after over a year of use looks even better than new....i know u can find boards cheaper but u get what u pay for.....for raw chicken i use a cheap plastic board i slide underneath the maple one.....other than that the sani tuff boards are excellent but don't look attractive in a nice kitchen.....ryan
 
I use polypropylene cutting boards. I usually buy a large sheet then cut it into various sizes. I use the larger ones for cutting roasts and large bunches of vegetables and such. The smaller ones, which get more frequent us, for making sandwiches, cutting smaller amounts of vegetables/fruit etc.
The material can be easily cut or routed, if desired.
Can be placed in the dishwasher.
 
OP, don't use a glass cutting board. It will only dull your edges. Both hardwood and poly are fine and not much else is recommended. My own cutting board is a 4" thick 18" diameter end grain maple Chinese chopping block from Boos. I found a picture of it.

choppingblock.jpg
 
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hey fred....is that a watanabe cleaver?....sweet lookin knife regardless....ryan
 
We have three cutting boards -- a couple of bamboo boards and one made of hardwood.

bamboo
schattmorganharnessjack.jpg


hardwood
henckelscarvingset1.jpg
 
I am lucky to have bought a house with a built in maple cutting board. It was one of the things that sold me on this house. :D Cleaning and re-oiling the maple board is always a pleasure because there is some grain towards the back that is almost three dimensional when it shines. I use the flexible mats that come three to a pack for the messy stuff, but a sharp knife with a little pressure will go right through them. As for glass "cutting" boards, I recomend "accidentally" dropping them on something hard unless all you're going to do with it is serve.
 
Glass, metal, ceramic, and stone -- even hard plastic -- boards are not cutting boards. They are serving boards. Don't cut into them with a knive or you will roll the edge.

I prefer soft plastic boards. They're safe for knives and they can go through the dishwasher between uses. This is what commercial kitchens do.

I use wood boards mostly for serving bread because they look nice for this but bread generally doesn't drip down into the cracks and scratches and breed bacteria.
 
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