Choosing a Cutting Board?

My son is going to culinary school and apprentices at one of the better restaurants in Kansas City. He sees alot of Boos Boards both at the school and at the various restaurants he has been involved with. He got his mom and I one for Christmas. Hard rock maple, very well built with the gourmet chef in mind. They have a large variety to choose from. Rather expensive, but they look like they are designed to deal with the rigors of restaurant work.
 
scott.livesey said:
i use plastic ones, am making some of wood, cross grain and end grain. i will only cut meat, fish, or poultry on a plastic board. as soon as i am done, hot soap and water, then bleach spray for both cutting board and knife.
scott.
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Never used bleach spray myself. Just soapy water. Never had an issue to the best of my knowledge. :)
 
We have one olive wood cutting board we picked up in North Africa a couple of years ago and two cheap bamboo boards. We cut everything on them and wash them with soap and water when we are finished. I used to coat them regularly with mineral oil but I got tired of it and haven't in about a year or so now. When these wear out I'll probably invest in a nice maple end-grain and keep it up better. We don't eat much meat so maybe that's why we haven't gotten sick? Who knows.
 
I have a local knife shop who seem to be experts in kitchen cutlery. When selecting a cutting board for my 210mm Akifusa Gyuto (61 hrc SG2 powder steel), they recommended against epicurean, bamboo, or anything hard. Instead they recommended a very soft sushi cutting board. The only negative for me is that it retains bacteria/food flavor easily.

I find the design and properties of the epicurean boards attractive, but I don't see how it is possible that they would not be hard on edges in comparison to a softwood. This seems very obvious to me/not rocket science.

-Freq

FortyTwoBlades said:
With regard to bamboo boards, CROSS GRAIN ones (by far the most common) are very hard on a knife edge. End grain not so much, but they're harder to find and are more expensive. Very nice boards, though.

As far as thin edges and Epicurean boards go, I've never had a problem and I keep many of my kitchen knives at 10-15 per side. Most aren't high-end super steels, either (most are Vic/Forschner) but like you said, use what you like! Just avoid those damn glass or stone boards. Never understood why folks call them cutting boards when they're really food prep. surfaces. Good for keeping cut pieces of meat on when you need to free up the REAL cutting board, or for rolling dough out on, but certainly not for cutting.
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I recently picked up a John Boos maple 20x15x1.5" cutting board that is working perfectly. I use all custom kitchen knives and moving from plastic to this maple board has been a blessing in edge retention!! Can't believe I waited this long to pick up a decent cutting board especially given the money I've spent on knives.
 
We have a discount store called Ross close by.

I picked up a maple end grain cutting board for 20 bucks. It's huge and has wooden feet with rubber soles.

First thing I did was put food grade mineral oil on it....soaked it good....several coats.

I use a carbon steel nakiri for most all cutting tasks (mostly veggies). For getting the onion smell out, I use a paste made with baking soda and hot water. Re-oiling as necessary.

People rave about that cutting board and it looks like a fifty or sixty dollar board. If you have a Ross close by, check it out to see if they have any in stock.
 
I use a Corian (acrylic) cutting board. It is easier on my edges than the wooden boards I have used and resists deep cuts more than the polyethylene boards. It can be put away wet (unlike a horse). It can be washed in hot water or with bleach. 1/2" seems to be the standard thickness. The sink cutout from a counter top makes a useful size. Rounding the edges with a 1/4" radius router bit makes washing and rinsing easier.
 
Michigan Maple 3.5 inch thick end grain.... 13 years still perfect.....excellent board
 
Shawn7656 said:
Funny you mention that... One is being opened within the next couple days a few miles from me. I may have to swing by! Thanks for the idea!
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This is what it looks like. They also had one that was more rectangular.

Note the little hand hold cutouts. They are handy.

IIRC, the retail price was like fifty bucks with the 19.99 as Ross' regular, everyday low price. Can't remember the name brand but go to the kitchen section and they should have several to choose from.

This one, and the rectangular one, was the largest they offered. My Ross is next to a Bed Bath and Beyond so I waltzed down there to see what a similar board sold for. BB&B had one very similar for 65.00 and change.

Needless to say, I went back to Ross and bought this one.

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I also got the food grade mineral oil for like a dollar or two at Target. Look for it in the pharmacy section under "laxatives". lol

Or, you can go to the kitchen section, select a bottle of "butcher block oil" and pay almost 10 dollars for the same ingredients.

Wipe it on, let it sit a spell, wipe off. Repeat several times. Soak it well and start cutting on it. When it takes on a veggie smell, baking soda paste left on for a few minutes works wonders. As does some lemon juice.

Put a Sharpie marker on there for size reference and my nakiri. A board this size affords plenty of space to prep veggies. I can slice, dice, and chop muti ingredients without having to plate individual veggies. Very nice when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time.

This board also is handy for placing my large cast iron pizza pan on when the pie is ready to come out of the oven. I do place hot pads on it to protect it somewhat. This board takes everything I throw at it and then some. And the feet give it the right height for working.....very nice if you spend a lot of time cooking and prepping.

Good luck on the hunt.
 
Oh yeah, one more thing. They probably sell seconds or defects as mine was an obvious factory goof. The side with the feet (bottom) was very smooth sanded. The side you see in the pics was a bit rough.

No biggie. Got my orbital sander out and smoothed it in like five minutes. May not be a huge issue with you but I forgot to include that earlier.
 
Shawn7656 said:
Not sure if this is really the right place to ask such a question but today I was cooking up some stuffed peppers and mashed potatoes and started wondering what the best cutting board material is. I assume wood would be the best for your edge, but would probably harbor bacteria the easiest. Glass and stone seem like they'd probably be worst for your blade. Plastic seems to be the best way to go, but those tend to get cuts in them, and thus can harbor bacteria as well...

So.. What's your material of choice and why? What do you think is the best to use? I have glass, stone, and plastic ones available to use at the moment.
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Well plastic cutting boards can get scratches too and harbor bacteria generally even worse than wooden boards. Wooden boards are awesome because if you use them right, they can close up cuts from knives themselves. Here's a whole guide! https://www.foodservicesuperstore.com/blog/cutting-board-guide-types-uses-and-care/
 
Message redacted after realizing this thread is over 4 years old!:o
 
i have heard that the glue used on most bamboo boards is also not good.
FortyTwoBlades said:
With regard to bamboo boards, CROSS GRAIN ones (by far the most common) are very hard on a knife edge. End grain not so much, but they're harder to find and are more expensive. Very nice boards, though.

As far as thin edges and Epicurean boards go, I've never had a problem and I keep many of my kitchen knives at 10-15 per side. Most aren't high-end super steels, either (most are Vic/Forschner) but like you said, use what you like! Just avoid those damn glass or stone boards. Never understood why folks call them cutting boards when they're really food prep. surfaces. Good for keeping cut pieces of meat on when you need to free up the REAL cutting board, or for rolling dough out on, but certainly not for cutting.
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The bacteria thing may be overblown. I saw a study that compared a Sani Safe board with an end grain wood board. Both were equally "clean" when new. BUT, as the Sani Safe board got dinged up, bacteria could hide in the nicks and such. What they found surprising about the end grain wood board was that common bacteria could get into the grain, but it would not thrive. The "dead" wood was not a good growth medium.
 
Been in the kitchen professionally since 1976, end grain wood all the way. Boos for last 20 years, I own 4, have several at work.
Russ
 
here is a study done by UC Davis, basically as plastic boards are used and dinged, they harbor bacteria in the scratches. (http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm) and one by NC State that says the same (https://news.ncsu.edu/2014/09/cutting-boards-food-safety/). I use plastic for proteins, especially chicken, so I can scrub the board with hot water and bleach solution after use. Here in North Carolina the state rules are vague as to what you can and cannot use, so we have 100 county health departments deciding what is sanitary and what is not. So wood boards and knife handles may be allowed where I live, but not allowed 2 miles away in a different county.
I buy HDPE in large sheets so I can make boards as needed. Making one now strictly for cleaning and prepping fish.
scott
 
I use hinoki wood cutting boards at home (Japanese cypress). They are a nice soft wood so easy on the knife edges, and very lightweight compared to thicker end-grain boards. Treat with cutting board oil every so often, wash off with soap and water and towel dry after use. So far, no complaints.
 
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