Cutting Boards

[Octaveman]

I cut onions on my board too. I just don't let them sit there long and I wash my board when I'm done. If the board does start to smell, sand it down.

[scubadoo97]

garlic is a bigger offender than onions IMO. I have a little board for cutting small fruits that I don't want to taint with any other flavors.

[pork]

I got my Michigan Maple 18"x18"x3.5" cutting board last week and have enjoyed cutting on it much more than the plastic board I had been using. However, I've run into a problem.

←

My boos block started doing the same thing. I keep it oiled and don't soak it, so I was a little ticked. I used wood putty to fill the cracks and an orbital sander to refinish. Been ok since then.

[markabauman]

Does this make any sense to anyone? I have used a Boos for a number of years. One side I use for aromatics, the other side for cheese, veggies, etc. Wiped down occasionally with diluted bleach solution, re-oiled with mineral oil. When it gets too nicked up, light sanding and re-oiling. Have a separate poly/plastic board used only for cutting up chicken/fish. After each use, it goes into the dishwasher. When it gets nicked up, it gets tossed, get a new one.

[Octaveman]

My board did the same thing. I used gorilla glue and a bar clamp to fix it.

[Pallee]

Does this make any sense to anyone? I have used a Boos for a number of years. One side I use for aromatics, the other side for cheese, veggies, etc. Wiped down occasionally with diluted bleach solution, re-oiled with mineral oil. When it gets too nicked up, light sanding and re-oiling. Have a separate poly/plastic board used only for cutting up chicken/fish. After each use, it goes into the dishwasher. When it gets nicked up, it gets tossed, get a new one.

←

This is how I handle it as well. Even with all I've heard about the anti bacterial properties of wood, I just can't bring myself to cut raw poultry, meat or fish on it.

I also have a small wood board I use for bread, just because my bread knife is so sharp it scratches wood very easily.

[Sebastian_Ignacio]

I prefer plastic cutting boards:

-They are cheaper (since you have to use one for vegetables, one for pastry, one for poultry, one for raw fish...etc...

-They accumulate less microorganisms per cubic inch in order to accomplish HACCP

-You can easily clean them in a chlorine bath

-You can easily burn them

Edited March 16, 2006 by Sebastian_Ignacio (log)

[Smithy]

Welcome to eGullet, Sebastian_Ignacio!

You, er, wouldn't care to say more about cleaning up melted plastic vs. ash after you burn the boards?

[Country Cook]

I prefer plastic cutting boards:

-They are cheaper (since you have to use one for vegetables, one for pastry, one for poultry, one for raw fish...etc...

-They accumulate less microorganisms per cubic inch  in order to accomplish HACCP

-You can easily clean them in a chlorine bath

-You can easily burn them      

←

wood burns better

[Torrilin]

Wood is (somewhat) flame resistant, like most natural materials. It definitely gives off hazardous materials when burned, but some plastics give off *really* hazardous materials when burned (whee, chlorine gas...). Not that I've *ever* left a wooden cutting board near the flame on a gas stove...

I've been cutting up fresh chicken on wooden cutting boards all my life. The times I've had food poisoning were almost always traceable to cafeteria style meals, not my cutting boards. Salt and water clean up a wooden cutting board admirably, and if you're feeling *very* nervous, bleach works well too. Ideally I'd have a bread board, a meat board and a veggie board, but a meat and not meat board works ok too.

Emily

[andiesenji]

I have some of the "composition" or plastic cutting boards but I usually use wood. I have been cutting all kinds of things on wood chopping blocks for many, many years - I used to do a lot of butchering, wild game as well as home-grown beef and etc.

I scrape, scrub and clean the block with a .5% bleach solution and since my kitchen was certified for several years, I had L.A. county health department inspections where they take scrapings from the counters, butcher block, sick, fridge, etc. I never got less than 100% and had my big blue "A" to display if I wished.

One simple way to test if there is any residual blood or tissue on your butcher block or wood cutting board is to drip some hydrogen peroxide on it. If it foams, you have it, if not, you don't. I keep a bottle in the kitchen because I like to test my knife handles occasionally, which is where a lot of kitchens slip up.

Edited March 17, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[weinoo]

My main cutting board is a nice, John Boos wooden one - I use one side for stuff like onions, garlic, etc. and the other for all else.

I'm wondering what methods you use to clean the stinky side - I've tried any number of things, and the garlic/onion side just never gets to a nice, clean smell.

Any clues?

[andrewB]

My main cutting board is a nice, John Boos wooden one - I use one side for stuff like onions, garlic, etc. and the other for all else.

I'm wondering what methods you use to clean the stinky side - I've tried any number of things, and the garlic/onion side just never gets to a nice, clean smell.

Any clues?

←

used to use sand paper and a bleach solution which worked quite well...

[Shaya]

My main cutting board is a nice, John Boos wooden one - I use one side for stuff like onions, garlic, etc. and the other for all else.

I'm wondering what methods you use to clean the stinky side - I've tried any number of things, and the garlic/onion side just never gets to a nice, clean smell.

Any clues?

←

used to use sand paper and a bleach solution which worked quite well...

←

For onion/garlic I always use cold water and soap, just as my mom taught me - works like a charm.

[Kim Shook]

I use a Brillo pad to lightly clean and 'sand' then rinse. If it is particularly stinky (or if someone else in the house used it hours ago and didn't clean it ), I make a paste out of water and baking soda and let it sit for an hour or so. I recently became converted to one of those lightweight, inexpensive plastic cutting boards for onions and garlic. I still use my wooden one for most things, though - I just like how it 'feels', but I love being able to wash that plastic one really fast!

[mrsadm]

My main cutting board is a nice, John Boos wooden one - I use one side for stuff like onions, garlic, etc. and the other for all else.

I'm wondering what methods you use to clean the stinky side - I've tried any number of things, and the garlic/onion side just never gets to a nice, clean smell.

Any clues?

←

For garlic or onion scented wood, use Julia Child's method - put salt on it, rub in a bit, then soap and water for final clean. I also use salt to get garlic small off my fingers. If really bad smell, may need to do this 2-3 times. Works for me.

In general I clean my board with soap and water, and on occasion I scrub with comet. But then I don't own a fancy board..... :-)

[rooftop1000]

Kosher salt and half a lemon or the sponge then rinse. And or a good scraping with the back of a knife.

tracey

[Octaveman]

I like the smell of onion and garlic on my hands AND my board.

[scubadoo97]

I like the smell of onion and garlic on my hands AND my board.

←

I have to admit I have no problem with it.

I clean my board with soap and water. I use a seperate board for cutting up fruit though.

[weinoo]

I've tried most (not the brillo one, however) of the methods above, yet still...

I minced some seriously pungent garlic yesterday for a lamb marinade, and whoa - the whole apartment was garlicy! It seems as if the out-of-season garlic we get here in NY is mostly from China, and it really packs a wallop. Much stronger to my nose than Mexican or California garlic.

I like the idea of adding a small(er) plastic board that can just go in the dishwasher.

[maggiethecat]

This thread propelled my to pull out my trusty board and give it a few long sniffs. Not a whiff of the basil and garlic I chopped upon it last night, to stay nothing of the stinky stuff I've cut on it for the last ten years.

I'm happy to announce that hot soapy water works just fine.

[srhcb]

This thread propelled my to pull out my trusty board and give it a few long sniffs. Not a whiff of the basil and garlic I chopped upon it last night, to stay nothing of the stinky stuff I've cut on it for the last ten years.

I'm happy to announce that hot soapy water works just fine.

←

This would also describe my experience.

I do, however, wash my board immediately after use.

SB (has a real good sniffer too!) (not big, just good)

[SMW]

I clean with a spray of hydrogen peroxide and a spray of vinegar. I read somewhere that this can kill germs as good as bleach, it's non-toxic, and I rather like the smell.

[John S.]

My main cutting board is a nice, John Boos wooden one - I use one side for stuff like onions, garlic, etc. and the other for all else.

I'm wondering what methods you use to clean the stinky side - I've tried any number of things, and the garlic/onion side just never gets to a nice, clean smell.

Any clues?

←

I have read all the replies and most are helpful. I would encourage a dilute clorox spray to sit for awhile on both sides.

Also, The kind of wood does matter. What wood is your Boos? My mom had a salad bowl that she alwayd rubbed garlic into prior to making a salad in it. I still have it 40 years later (she died 20 years ago). I still use it when I want a garlic flavor. But is it teakwood. Some other wooden bowls and boards are so porous that they get fungus which turns black. Clorox does not help these. I toss them just because I don't like the black color. My two cents!

John S.

[UnConundrum]

I keep a bench knife around for scooping up minced onions, garlic, etc. When time to clean up, I use that to scrape the top, and then liberally douse with vinegar. Let it sit a while, and wipe it off. Let it air dry, and oil with mineral oil (food grade). The mineral oil does a great job of stopping "stuff" from sinking in....