Once you decided to buy a new cutting board you may ask yourself what type of a cutting board would be the best for you: wood, bamboo, plastic or even glass? There are a number of things to consider before making a final decision: practical aspect, esthetic, convenience of use, safety, health, etc. Also, you should take into your consideration that every cutting board requires certain care and maintenance depending on the material type it is made of.
Let’s give you a small tip. The minimum you should have in your kitchen is one plastic or wooden cutting board for raw meat and fish and one for everything else – preferably a wooden cutting board too. This is a minimal basic set that every kitchen needs. Although if you spend much time in your kitchen you might need a set of cutting boards in different sizes and purposes, including a beautiful wooden serving board too.
Let’s take a closer look at each type of a cutting board and find out how to choose the best one for your kitchen.
Wooden cutting boards
In fact, nothing is better than a real wood cutting board. For thousands of years wooden cutting boards were used for preparing food and they are still so popular and irreplaceable in every house. But despite of their history and popularity wood cutting boards for kitchen have their disadvantages and special care requirements.
Pros: Durability, environmental friendliness, beautiful appearance and the option to be used for both cutting and serving dishes (like a cheese board). After all, it is very pleasant and convenient to cut food and do prep work on a smooth wooden surface of a cutting board. In addition, wooden cutting boards especially those made from soft woods such as pine or birch, keep the knives sharp for longer. But at the same soft woods leave deep cuts from your knives and must be replaced more often. Those who use expensive professional knives in the kitchen cannot do without wooden cutting boards. I personally prefer hardwood cutting boards made from such wood types as oak, maple, beechwood, walnut, teak, etc.
Cons: High price, high weight, the requirement for a proper and timely care, not suitable for dishwasher, must be handwashed only, intolerance to being in water for a long time. Very often we can hear that wooden cutting boards are blamed for absorbing smells and odors, vegetables and fruits juices, meat blood, as well as the ability to accumulate bacteria in the pores of wood.
That is true, wood cutting boards can absorb food odors and juices, but only if they are not treated or coated. Well-treated cutting boards coated with mineral oil or wax do not absorb anything and are easy to clean. Regarding the bacteria accumulation in the wood of a cutting board, the danger here is greatly exaggerated. The upper layer of all wooden cutting boards (both old and new) has natural strong antiseptic properties, due to which bacteria do not survive. If bacteria get into the deeper layers of your cutting board, it won’t survive there either and won’t get into your food.
To keep your wooden cutting board safe and clean you need to follow a few simple instructions:
- Wash in warm soapy water immediately after the contact with meat or juicy foods.
- Wipe it dry after the washing.
- Coat it with mineral oil from time to time.
You can get more tips on how to take care of a wooden cutting board in one of our previous posts.
How to choose the best wooden cutting board.
The cheapest wooden cutting boards are usually made of plywood, or softwood (pine). The first option is bad because over time, the top layer of the cutting board will start crumbling. Pine cutting boards, as mentioned before, will not blunt your knives, but their service life is short and will last for as long as only six months or a year, since they quickly lose their form due to moisture, cuts and cracks.
The most expensive, strong and durable wooden cutting boards are made from oak and other hardwoods. However, they are quite heavy. Cutting boards of medium hardness and more affordable price are made of beech, maple, and walnut. If you are ready to invest into a good wood cutting board, it is worth purchasing not an ordinary wooden cutting board, but an end grain cutting board.
The main advantage of an end grain cutting board is in the perpendicular direction of the wood fibers in relation to the cutting surface, due to which the board has greater strength and durability. In addition, it is delicate to your knives and almost doesn’t dull them. But at the same time, you need to know that end grain cutting boards are composed from several wood pieces glued together into one solid piece of wood, that may rase some concerns for those who up to natural and organic products.
Another important disadvantage of wooden cutting boards is that they should be washed by hand with warm water and dish soap and then wiped dry immediately. They absolutely must not be soaked and left in water for a long time. In case if your wooden cutting board has food stains and odors, they can be easily removed by wiping the board with lemon juice, salt, or soda.
It is absolutely forbidden to place wooden cutting boards into oven or microwave ovens. Once a month coat your wood cutting board with mineral oil or wax from all sides. Oil seals the pores of the wood, protecting the board from drying out and preventing it from absorbing moisture and juices from your food.
We recommend coating your wooden cutting boards with mineral oil. It absorbs very quickly into wood and doesn’t have any odor. Food oil is less recommended but can also be used if you don’t have mineral oil.
