A cutting board is absolutely an essential piece of equipment in the kitchen. You really can’t do without one. If you try to just cut things on your countertop you’ll ruin your countertop and your knife, not to mention making a big mess.
Recommended Product: Winco High-Density 18 by 30 Plastic Cutting Board
Uses of a Cutting Board
Cutting boards are for cutting and chopping. They are used as an ideal surface on which to chop or slice vegetables, meat, or other foods. They are designed to both protect your kitchen surfaces but also to be gentle on the blade of your knife, while still having a surface that facilitates the movements of the knife. On a good cutting board, a sharp knife will glide along the surface without dragging and cutting into the surface of the board, while the edge of the blade itself is not damaged.
However, cutting boards cause more confusion and consternation than almost any other piece of kitchen gear. I’d venture to say that people are more hesitant about which cutting board to choose than they are about which chef’s knife! This is probably because so many articles have made a big deal out of sanitary issues, durability, and potential for knife edge damage.
Material Choices For Cutting Boards
Your main choices for cutting boards are wood, bamboo, rigid plastic, and flexible plastic cutting boards. All of them have their advantages and drawbacks, but the differences are not as great as you may have been led to believe.
Do Plastic or Wood Cutting Boards Harbor More Bacteria?
There has been much debate about whether plastic or wood harbors more bacteria. The truth is that there is no good evidence that one is better or worse than the other. While wood may actually allow bacteria to live and grow under the surface, this bacteria doesn’t really seem to migrate to food. On the other hand, while plastic can harbor bacteria in the scratches that occur on its surface, plastic cutting boards can be washed in the dishwasher, and between the hot water wash and high temperature drying cycle, it is doubtful much bacteria will survive. Some dishwashers even have a sanitize cycle, if you feel you need it. As well, you can use bleach on a plastic cutting board to completely disinfect it.
You can also choose an antibacterial plastic cutting board, although it is doubtful that they are any more bacteria-proof than any other board. Regardless, you absolutely cannot use bleach on a wooden cutting board and you should avoid submerging one in soapy water, certainly for long periods of time.
I Prefer a Plastic Board, Overall
As for myself, I rarely pull out a wooden cutting board anymore. I like the convenience of being able to put the plastic cutting board in the dishwasher and having two different sizes. However, one problem I do have with plastic is that when my knives are very sharp, they have more of a tendency to drag or catch on plastic than on a good wooden board. However, even with wood, a very sharp knife can dig in, depending on the type of wood and the grain orientation. Some scoring of the surface is good. It means your knife is not being destroyed by a surface that resists the blade’s edge completely. But when the knife is slicing into the material too much, it causes a drag on the blade that slows you down.
Which is Harder On Knives?
Hardwood is better in terms of blade dragging but, contrary to many sources, it is a bit harder on a knife blade than plastic. Polyethylene plastic boards are consistent so that you know what you are buying. Wood is a highly variable material. Simply claiming that any wood cutting board is better ignores the fact that different woods have different hardness and performance characteristics. A soft-wood cutting board will drag (it is not slippery enough) while some very hard wood boards may be too slippery. Some wood that is hard enough to resist dragging is too hard on a fine blade. The oft-repeated statement that wooden cutting boards are always superior is just a repeated dogma with no real basis. This basic Winco 15×20-Inch Plastic Cutting Board is a heavy-duty plastic board that is easy on knives.
- Commercial-Grade – Made from high-density plastic material that won’t crack, warp or rot ideal for daily use in restaurants and commercial kitchens
- Stain Resistant – Highly resistant to staining or liquid absorption
- Minimizes Dulling – Specially designed copolymer reduces knife dulling and prevents warping
- HACCP Color Coding – Available in HACCP color to reduce risk of cross-contamination and improved workstation organization
- Dishwasher Safe; NSF Certified; BPA Free
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JUICE GROOVES
Both wooden and plastic cutting boards sometimes come with grooves around the edges. These are juice grooves. If you plan on carving a lot of juicy meat or poultry on your board or working with raw meat or poultry, then you may want a juice groove on a board you can set aside for this use. If not, avoid a board with a juice groove as it will just impede sliding chopped food off the board.
FLEXIBLE PLASTIC CUTTING BOARDS
Of course, it is perfectly feasible to have a separate board for meats, vegetables, and carving. For multiple boards, a combination of wooden or dense plastic and flexible plastic cutting boards for easy storage is a great solution. Flexible plastic boards do not last very long compared to conventional boards but they are inexpensive and come in different colors so that each color can be designated for a different job to avoid cross-contamination. These boards can be easily folded to facilitate transferring food from the board to the pan or bowl. This set of Extra Thick Flexible Cutting Mats not only comes with four different colors but food icons for designated jobs.
Wooden Cutting Boards
Recommended Product: Viking Culinary Acacia Wood Cutting Board
Wooden cutting boards come in a dizzying array of styles and woods. As well, the type of manufacture varies. The three main types of traditional wooden cutting boards are face grain, end grain, and edge grain. Many kitchen-oriented websites seem to be recommending edge grain boards. If I could venture a guess it is because America’s Test Kitchen gave a high rating to a teak edge-grain cutting board and stated that edge grain boards are superior. Are edge grain boards superior? This not a cut-and-dry question. There are also wood composite cutting boards or boards made of laminated material.
Below is a beautiful end-grain cutting board from IronWood Gourmet. This Ironwood Gourmet Oslo End Grain Utility Cutting Board, like all end-grain boards, is thicker and heavier, resembling a butcher block. It can, of course, be used as a butcher block.
Below is the John Boos Block Cherry Wood Edge Grain Reversible Cutting Board.
And here is a cutting board with juice groove by Amish Ridge made with face grain. The idea that soft grain is easier on knives is gilding the lily a bit. A sharp knife will be cutting against these soft grains and dragging. This is a fine economical choice and will serve you well, but for a better chopping experience, choose one of the higher-end boards like those shown above.
