Cutting Boards

[TravelSmarty]

Wood, Plastic, Glass, Marble... Cutting boards - I hear wood or plastic is better on your knives... I’m sure both are maintain differently so how do you do that? Marble I hear is best for rolling dough on, is this true?

Some other opinions about cutting boards?

[crewsweeper]

Wood, Plastic, Glass, Marble... Cutting boards - I hear wood or plastic is better on your knives... I’m sure both are maintain differently so how do you do that? Marble I hear is best for rolling dough on, is this true?

Some other opinions about cutting boards?

 

Bamboo...like wood and plastic, easy on knives, but has some natural antibacterial properties. You still need to clean these type of boards throughly and cheaper ones can split. We clean our plastic boards by sticking them in the dishwasher after use. You really need to scrub wooden boards between uses for different food, say chopping meats then chopping veggies. We don't get carried away with the bleaching and antibacterial stuff, just good hot soapy water and a scrubber.

 

Glass and stone boards will indeed damage your knives very quickly. Marble is excellent for pastry dough as it can be chilled and will not heat up rapidly, plus the smooth texture helps keep dough from sticking to the board.

[cb at sea]

I use different boards for different things...for chopping, I use a plastic (not really, but whatever it is!) board that goes into the dishwasher and can be bleached....I use a wooden one for stuff like bread dough (if you have to cut dough for rolls, donuts, etc...it "holds" the flour better)

I don't use marble, unless I need it for candy or something like that.

[janabm81]

I use a silcone type cutting board...it's flexible (perfect for dough) and so far there's barely any scratches from sharp knives...oh yeah, and it's dishwasher safe! :)

[dexter99]

If it is for cutting on, the best is end-grain wood because the blade actualy slices down into it and doesn't dull the blade. The grain separates, then closes back up when blade comes up. These are the ones you see with a bunch of squares of wood glued together. The one I'm using now (with hand-hammered japanese knives) is about 3 years old and looks like new still. I oil it every 6 months or so with an oil from Ikea; this keeps the wood from drying out so it doesn't absorb liquid such as blood so they are easy to keep clean. There is research out there that says wood doesn't retain bacteria any more than plastic as long as you don't let raw meat juices soak into it.

 

Plastic is OK to cut on but doesn't look good sitting on the counter. Same with those Epicurean particle board/plastic composite boards. I also find that they are too light - something heavy is much safer as it doesn't move when you are cutting.

 

Bamboo is too hard. Glass and marble will destroy your knives really quickly.