Cutting Boards

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 hours ago, TicTac said:

Recently bought an Asahi cutting board after seeing how large and nice it looked at one of my local Japanese haunts.

 

Not cheap by any means, but tons of real estate - really enjoyable prepping large meals on it.

 

http://www.korin.com/TK-203-03-100?sc=28&category=286082

 

 

 

Are these polyvinyl acetate?

 

Edit:  after reading the Korin site, probably not.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2017 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The Yoshihiro boards are specified to be dishwasher safe.  However according to Serious Eats (the link from Korin's site) the Korin boards are not:

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/01/gadgets-korin-cutting-board-review.html

 

What gives?

 

 

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I soldier on with two plastic cutting boards. A small one for meat like slicing or mincing for stir fry. I do my kitchen butchery of bigger cuts like parting out a whole chicken, slicing slabs of ribs into more manageable smaller slabs or slicing steaks from a whole rib eye into steaks in my just cleaned stainless steel sinks. Then I carefully clean the sinks again.

 

I have a separate larger cutting board, also plastic, for veggies. The one I use more is the veggie one, and it has silicone or something?feet on it that keeps it from sliding on the counter. They are both light, but the smaller one for meat has a grab handle design which infringes on the total usable area, so if I designed it, I would eliminate that "feature" on this small board. It does allow me to hang it near a sunny kitchen window though, and I like that. It also goes through the dishwasher just fine.

 

Both of these were really cheap, and the small meat one came from Dollar General. I can't imagine spending hundreds of dollars on a cutting board. My cheap cutting boards are both easy on my knives and have lasted me years without a lot of grooving. It helps that I almost always use a razor sharp boning/fillet knife for all my knife work. I can cut stuff all the way through with this knife and barely contact the board. The most grooves I've added to the boards are right after I've sharpened the knife and use a little more force than needed until I get used to it. I feel it pulling through the plastic, though, and quickly correct myself.

 

This knife that I love over my Old Hickory high carbon steel set is stainless steel and cost all of $2.00 at Dollar General.  Oh how I wish I'd bought another one, just in case. It's marked "Pinnacle stainless Japan". It will be truly traumatic for me if something ever happens to this beloved cheapass knife. 

 

Oh! and when I did the hydrogen peroxide test to see if both my boards were sanitary, they both failed to bubble up at all. My freshly washed fingers did though. It proved that the boards are sanitary, my peroxide was still effective, the peroxide test works, and I am a living, breathing bacteria factory. 

[btbyrd]

4 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

The Yoshihiro boards are specified to be dishwasher safe.  However according to Serious Eats (the link from Korin's site) the Korin boards are not:

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/01/gadgets-korin-cutting-board-review.html

 

What gives?

 

I think the Yoshihiro descriptions on Amazon are inaccurate. The copy for the Hi-Soft boards on the Yoshihiro website says not to put them in the dishwasher. Everything I've seen says not to put them in the dishwasher. PVA is essentially wood glue; it's a soft polymer, and sticking it in a boiling (or close to boiling) hot environment doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Korin says that they shouldn't be exposed to temps over 70C to reduce the chance of warping or softening. Sounds right. Yoshihiro also claims (on Amazon, but not their own website) that their Hi-Soft boards are NSF approved, but they don't have the NSF seal/logo on the product packaging the way that, say, Sani-Tuff rubber boards do. I'm not saying that the boards aren't NSF approved, but... if I had to put money on it, I'd go by the description on the Yoshihiro website (which doesn't mention NSF and says that PVA boards aren't dishwasher safe) rather than on Amazon.

[gfweb]

A quite contaminated board can still pass the peroxide test. I wouldn't rely on it.

[Norm Matthews]

Yoshihiro boards sound and look like they function the same way as the rubber cutting board I mentioned much earlier in this thread.  The one thing about both kinds that I would strongly say is don't get one that is too big to fit in your sink.  If you can't easily clean it, it's too hard to keep clean. In time it will get the the counter dirty and mold could even develop on the underside.  I have used a rubber cutting board for at least a couple decades. I have two and now use the smaller one. It's big enough to fit over one of my double sinks when I use it (so I can scoop off waste in the other sink -with the disposer- or scoop off product into a bowl or pan and then slide it down into the sink itself to wash it off. I store it on its side in a place reserved for it.

 

 I used the bigger one forever until my son complained about how hard it was to clean the counter with all the stuff on it and the heavy board.  I had to agree and switched configuration to keep the counter-top clean. for quick small jobs we use the Epicurian hanging beside the counter and for whole dinner prep. I use the cutting board pictured here. I don't think one bigger that this is an asset in the long run.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Norm Matthews (log)

[liuzhou]

37 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

The one thing about both kinds that I would strongly say is don't get one that is too bit to fit in your sink.

 

I used to wash my large board in the bath tub. I lived in that apartment for 13 years but never used the tub for its intended purpose, preferring showers. Now I have moved and don't have a tub, so I have to agree with you. Cleaning the large board in the shower doesn't feel right.

[dcarch]

Regardless of what kind of cutting board you use, it will get lots of grooves from cutting, some deep ones and some shallow ones.

I recommend getting a set of cabinet maker's scraper for  scraping the surface. 

The scraper will remove many shallow grooves, and keep the surface cleaner.

 

dcarch

 

 

 

[Norm Matthews]

I have a bakers bench scraper that I use to scrape down the board from time to time.  Every few years, I hit this one with an electric sander. Not the rotary kind.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Martin Fisher]

10 minutes ago, dcarch said:

cabinet maker's scraper

 

Can you recommend one?

Lee Valley's scraper planes are expensive, to say the least—$179.00 plus shipping!!! 

[Porthos]

5 hours ago, btbyrd said:

 

... Yoshihiro also claims (on Amazon, but not their own website) that their Hi-Soft boards are NSF approved, but they don't have the NSF seal/logo on the product packaging the way that, say, Sani-Tuff rubber boards do. I'm not saying that the boards aren't NSF approved ...

 

As someone who has a long-standing secret love affair with the NSF logo, I would discount claims of being NSF approved but no NSF logo.

[TicTac]

14 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Are these polyvinyl acetate?

 

Edit:  after reading the Korin site, probably not.

 

 

 

It is a specialized food grade rubber.

 

Really fantastic surface.  Much more enjoyable to work on than wood, I find.

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Can you recommend one?

Lee Valley's scraper planes are expensive, to say the least—$179.00 plus shipping!!! 

Something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crown-375-377-Scraper-Burnisher-and-2-Piece-Crown-Cabinet-Scraper-Set-/322626712518?hash=item4b1e0cf3c6:g:rkMAAOSwnSxZf5kj

It comes with a burnishing tool to sharpen it's edges.

The scarper gives a "mirror" smooth surface.

 

dcarch

[Martin Fisher]

5 hours ago, dcarch said:

Something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crown-375-377-Scraper-Burnisher-and-2-Piece-Crown-Cabinet-Scraper-Set-/322626712518?hash=item4b1e0cf3c6:g:rkMAAOSwnSxZf5kj

It comes with a burnishing tool to sharpen it's edges.

The scarper gives a "mirror" smooth surface.

 

dcarch

 

This lady sharpens with a 90° file jig, deburrs with some 800 grit sand paper, and then she burnishes. Interesting!

 

 

[Martin Fisher]

Crown (Made in UK) Scraper Burnisher & 2 Piece Crown Cabinet Scraper Set, $26.99, Amazon Prime.

I may put one on my Christmas wish list.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

9 hours ago, TicTac said:

It is a specialized food grade rubber.

 

Really fantastic surface.  Much more enjoyable to work on than wood, I find.

 

I'm confused (nothing new there) because Korin says the Asahi board you linked is the hardest cutting board they offer, while the High-Soft polyvinyl acetate boards are soft.

 

I'm thinking of ordering a small High-Soft board from Korin to see how it goes...not that I didn't just take delivery of seven new cutting boards this week.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Yesterday I took delivery of a new hinoki board and just used it lovingly to slice a scallion.  My last hinoki board eventually warped.  This one is a very thin Makoto Koizumi designer board reinforced with cherry:

 

https://shop.nalatanalata.com/products/tosaita-cutting-board-medium

 

Whether it holds up as a cutting board or not, it is truly beautiful.  I try never to let my Watanabe nakkiri touch any surface but hinoki or walnut.  Now I need better information on storing hinoki so that it doesn't warp.  My last one I always stored on edge, but with the grain parallel* to the surface of the earth.  This one, so far, I am storing with the grain perpendicular.

 

 

*OK I guess technically tangential.

 

 

[rotuts]

cypress ?

 

perhaps a pic w the Watanabe ?

[paulraphael]

On 8/30/2017 at 12:14 PM, dcarch said:

Regardless of what kind of cutting board you use, it will get lots of grooves from cutting, some deep ones and some shallow ones.

I recommend getting a set of cabinet maker's scraper for  scraping the surface. 

The scraper will remove many shallow grooves, and keep the surface cleaner.

 

dcarch

 

 

 

 

My maple end grain board never gets grooves deeper than what can be smoothed over with a regular bench scraper. I've never needed to cabinet-scrape it or sand it. But ... I don't use serrated knives on it. I have a separate face-grain board that I use for bread, and this is indeed hacked up. A bread knife is basically a saw, so it should stay away from anything that you don't want grooves in. 

 

Possibly if I used a euro-style chef's knife with a heavier hand the end grain board would get deeper marks. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, rotuts said:

cypress ?

 

perhaps a pic w the Watanabe ?

 

Indeed, as you wish...

 

 

 

The design in the upper right is exposed cherry.  Though there is actually cherry inlay in each corner for stability.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have eleven poly boards.  At least eight are NSF.  They get used a lot.  Probably great for spanking if you are into that.

 

Though I confess my walnut end grain block is employed mainly for taking photographs.  Or for butchering a cabbage.

 

 

[boilsover]

On 4/2/2018 at 8:51 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I have eleven poly boards...  Probably great for spanking if you are into that.

 

Send one to Stormy...

[boilsover]

While in New Orleans last week, I stumbled upon a rather impressive cutting board shop, Nola Boards.  https://www.nolaboards.com/  They do all manner of boards, end-grain, face, etc., and in varying thicknesses and woods (including beautiful Sinker Cypress and truly black black walnut).  Countertops, too. I was particularly impressed with their magnetic knife bars and the magnetized countertop tool cannisters.  Bought one for a friend.

 

 

[Dogchef]

Try to use two boards here, one for meats & stinky veggies and the other for veggie/salads (both wood)

 

Opinion?

Just ordered an incredibly cheap end-cut beech board from Amazon.

It's coated with some very hard, very thin "coating"..which my knives don't seem to take kindly to.

I intend to sand the said coating off very shortly with a table sander.

Was going to oil it with the usual mineral oil, but...

Have some non- toxic silicone oil here (scuba)..

and, as parchment paper is infused with silicone oil...

Wondering if anyone has tried silicone oil for their wood cutting boards, or wood rolling pins, for that matter?

[Smithy]

16 hours ago, Dogchef said:

 

Opinion?

Just ordered an incredibly cheap end-cut beech board from Amazon.

It's coated with some very hard, very thin "coating"..which my knives don't seem to take kindly to.

I intend to sand the said coating off very shortly with a table sander.

Was going to oil it with the usual mineral oil, but...

Have some non- toxic silicone oil here (scuba)..

and, as parchment paper is infused with silicone oil...

Wondering if anyone has tried silicone oil for their wood cutting boards, or wood rolling pins, for that matter?

 

I haven't tried silicone oil for any of my kitchen wood products, so can't give direct experience. (I've switched from food-grade mineral oil alone to the John Boos Oil and Cream, which also contain beeswax, due to the dryness of the climate.) My question for you: does that non-toxic silicone oil have a taste that you'll come to regret?