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Cutting Boards

CRUZMISL

By CRUZMISL
in Kitchen Consumer

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, bokeg said:

Hey I'm looking for cutting board recommendations. After years of abusing my knives with bamboo I'm ready for the next step. Ideally not wood, because it traps alot of bacteria imo and something really gentle on the blades.

 

Most research concludes the opposite of your opinion. Plastic or, heaven forbid, glass etc are more prone to "bacteria". Wood actually contains antibacterial properties. Any bacteria are not all bad!

 

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted
On 11/20/2023 at 8:57 PM, liuzhou said:

 

Most research concludes the opposite of your opinion. Plastic or, heaven forbid, glass etc are more prone to "bacteria". Wood actually contains antibacterial properties. Any bacteria are not all bad!

 

 

Studies have gone back and forth on this over the years. Most of them have been poorly funded, and so far from definitive. The closest thing to a consensus I can tease out: wood, plastic, and rubber are all fine.  They all need to be maintained, and if they get to a point of having grooves in them that you can't get out, they're no longer safe.

 

Wood doesn't really have magical antibacterial properties, nor does it have pro-bacterial properties. It can draw bacteria down away from the surface where it dies on its own, but this isn't something you want to rely on. You want to keep the surface smooth, and wash well with hot soapy water. Just like any board. Plastic has the advantage of the dishwasher, the disadvantage of being much harder to refinish. 

 

 

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Notes from the underbelly

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, paulraphael said:

Wood doesn't really have magical antibacterial properties,

Agree.

That's why all wood rots, sooner or later.

 

dcarch

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Laurentius

Laurentius

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Plastic has the advantage of the dishwasher, the disadvantage of being much harder to refinish. 

 

IME, plastic boards are just as easy to refinish as are wood boards.

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, paulraphael said:

 

Studies have gone back and forth on this over the years. Most of them have been poorly funded, and so far from definitive. The closest thing to a consensus I can tease out: wood, plastic, and rubber are all fine.  They all need to be maintained, and if they get to a point of having grooves in them that you can't get out, they're no longer safe.

 

Wood doesn't really have magical antibacterial properties, nor does it have pro-bacterial properties. It can draw bacteria down away from the surface where it dies on its own, but this isn't something you want to rely on. You want to keep the surface smooth, and wash well with hot soapy water. Just like any board. Plastic has the advantage of the dishwasher, the disadvantage of being much harder to refinish. 

 

 

 

Hinoki is said to be anti-microbial.  While I have a couple of hinoki boards, I use the good one only with my Watanabe nikkiri.  Not only do I believe hinoki is anti-microbial, the only maintenance is rinsing with clear water.  Hinoki should not be oiled.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

On the subject of wood cutting boards, I received an acacia cutting board today.  The idea was to use it as a serving platter when I have bread and cheese, however it turns out to be a bit large for the purpose.  Even though the board is beautiful considering the modest asking price, the acacia wood feels hard to my hand.  I thought I'd ask before cutting on it.

 

Thoughts?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

I'm not saying the acacia board is hard, just that it felt hard when I tapped on it.  Just now I did the same experiment with a couple of walnut boards and they felt hard too.  I think tapping may be more a test of density than hardness.

 

However after a few moments googling I found an article on acacia hardness.  Apparently acacia is hard...

https://woodworkly.com/how-hard-is-acacia-wood/

 

Whether acacia is bad or good for a cutting board I still don't know.

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted
On 11/23/2023 at 7:24 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm not saying the acacia board is hard, just that it felt hard when I tapped on it.  Just now I did the same experiment with a couple of walnut boards and they felt hard too.  I think tapping may be more a test of density than hardness.

 

However after a few moments googling I found an article on acacia hardness.  Apparently acacia is hard...

https://woodworkly.com/how-hard-is-acacia-wood/

 

Whether acacia is bad or good for a cutting board I still don't know.

 

 

The Janka hardness is within the usual range for cutting board woods, but I've heard that it has a high silica content, which quickly dulls blades through abrasion. 

Some species of Acacia are also skin irritants. 

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Notes from the underbelly

  • 2 weeks later...
Robenco15

Robenco15

Posted
Posted

By a Boardsmith board and never worry about a cutting board again. I have 3 and they are all extremely well made and gentle on my various Japanese knives. I’ve had my 18x24 for close to 10 years now and it’s never looked better. It’s a forever purchase and worth the splurge IMO. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Robenco15 said:

By a Boardsmith board and never worry about a cutting board again. I have 3 and they are all extremely well made and gentle on my various Japanese knives. I’ve had my 18x24 for close to 10 years now and it’s never looked better. It’s a forever purchase and worth the splurge IMO. 

 

Among living room, dining room, and kitchen I have twenty something cutting boards.  Never yet have I been attracted to Boardsmith.  To each of course their own.

 

Brooklyn Butcher Blocks makes nice ones:

https://www.brooklynbutcherblocks.com

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Robenco15

Robenco15

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Among living room, dining room, and kitchen I have twenty something cutting boards.  Never yet have I been attracted to Boardsmith.  To each of course their own.

 

Brooklyn Butcher Blocks makes nice ones:

https://www.brooklynbutcherblocks.com

 


To each their own for sure. Brooklyn Butcher Blocks look identical to Boardsmith boards yet they don’t seem to make 18x24 boards. That’s dumb. 

weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, Robenco15 said:


To each their own for sure. Brooklyn Butcher Blocks look identical to Boardsmith boards yet they don’t seem to make 18x24 boards. That’s dumb. 

 

I'm pretty sure theyll make whatever size you want...

 

Quote

Custom sizes can be priced and purchased on the counter top page.

 

That said, I own a Brooklyn Butcher Blocks' board and a Boardsmith Board (purchased at least ten years ago).  Both good, and I'd say neither one better than the other. In my case, they're just different sizes.

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Robenco15

Robenco15

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I'm pretty sure theyll make whatever size you want...

 

 

That said, I own a Brooklyn Butcher Blocks' board and a Boardsmith Board (purchased at least ten years ago).  Both good, and I'd say neither one better than the other. In my case, they're just different sizes.

Everyone makes whatever size you want. Thought it was weird it wasn’t a standard size available is all. 

Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Robenco15 said:

Everyone makes whatever size you want.


Not true at all … I send many emails to Ingvar Kamprad (until 2018 at least), yet they continued to offer only two sizes. I had to customize myself …

 

IMG_1658.thumb.jpeg.9331d4fcda801377fee5a5f05a2da865.jpeg

  • Haha 4
gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Duvel said:


Not true at all … I send many emails to Ingvar Kamprad (until 2018 at least), yet they continued to offer only two sizes. I had to customize myself …

 

IMG_1658.thumb.jpeg.9331d4fcda801377fee5a5f05a2da865.jpeg

looks well-used

 

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  • 1 year later...
gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted (edited)

Host's note: this post and several following posts refer to the original title, "Titanium Cutting Boards".

 

 

Plenty of ads online. Designed to eliminate plastic etc etc.

 

They have to kill a knife's edge.

 

Wood still looks good to me.

Edited by Smithy
Added host's note after topic merge (log)
gulfporter

gulfporter

Posted
Posted

True confession:  Most of the time I use a paper plate.  

  • Like 1
gulfporter

gulfporter

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

On top of?

 

I use a paper plate to protect my counter.  Just the two of us and works fine to chop a shallot, dice a cuke, slice a tomato, take corn of a cob.  

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