What about cutting boards?

End grain French hornbeam board, it is the best here ...this wood kill off bacteria .
i do not use soft plastic boards, i hate to eat plastic.
I do not use bamboo it contens many hard silica crystals. your knives will stay sharp for a long time.... if you do not use bamboo !
 
I almost exclusively use Epicurean wood composite boards, they are soft enough to not roll the edge (on 12* Globals) and once they are scored up, they can be sanded back down to smooth. In fact, I sometimes "strop" the blade on them before I start cutting, which polishes the blade and smooths the board. Oh, and they're dishwasher safe ;) I've also used them as hot-plates with no problems. The only reason I don't think pro-kitchens would use them is the cost. I beat the hell out of mine and they're still perfect.
 
I second the Epicurean boards. As mentioned above, soft enough not to roll an edge and dishwasher safe (which is a good thing as my wife stuffs nearly everything in the dishwasher). I have a couple different sizes of the Epicurean boards and we love them.
 
Wooden cutting boards are unsanitary and habor bacteria. The are unlawful for commercial use around here. Wood also contains silica which shortens the life of edges. I use Corian (acrylic) boards. They are much easier on my edges than wood. The material comes in 1/2" thick sheets. It will sag a little (after awhile) if you put it over a sink, but this can be remedied by turning the board over. This material doesn't work too well for cleaver work because it is slightly brittle. Rounding the edges aids in rinsing the board. You don't have to dry it.
 
wood is no less sanitary than any other surface regardless of your local code. arguing for either one is a waste of time as both have been endlessly dragged out as being safer for food contact. a carved up composite board will harbor bacterial growth as will a beat up wooden board.

if you properly maintain both and resurface occasionally and both will do the job and be safe work surfaces.

and end grain wood is far and away superior for delicate edges having spent most of my waking hours working in the kitchen with a knife in hand its fairly apparent the switch from poly to wood.


also worth mentioning teak is the wood with problematic silica content not bamboo the issue with bamboo is the large quantity of adhesive required to bind the board together.
 
tiguy7 said:
Wooden cutting boards are unsanitary and habor bacteria. The are unlawful for commercial use around here. Wood also contains silica which shortens the life of edges. I use Corian (acrylic) boards. They are much easier on my edges than wood. The material comes in 1/2" thick sheets. It will sag a little (after awhile) if you put it over a sink, but this can be remedied by turning the board over. This material doesn't work too well for cleaver work because it is slightly brittle. Rounding the edges aids in rinsing the board. You don't have to dry it.
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Simply not true. They are not unsanitary. They harbor bacteria even less than poly boards because the cuts in poly boards go deeper. They are not unawful for commercial use anywhere I've ever heard of so "around here" would be in a tiny minority of places. Certainly the U.S. code doesn't ban wood boards. Most restaurants use poly boards because they are cheaper, not because they are more sanitary.

What is unlawful in many places is changing some products on a cutting board without chemically sanitizing the board between products or washing it at a suitable temperature. This is true of chicken, for example, and would apply to boards made of any material. Personally, I put a poly board over my wood board to cut chicken and then throw the poly board in the dishwasher.

If wood boards are harder on your edges than poly, then your situation is unusual in that respect also. Most commercial cooks don't report that. It is true that poly boards are softer. That results in more penetration by the knife edge and a deeper cut. That is usually just as hard on an edge as a shallower cut on a harder surface.

There is no doubt that surfaces that are harder than hardwood - glass, Corian and bamboo as examples - are harder on edges than either wood or poly.

My advice is to use nothing other than wood or poly as a cutting board material.
 
Nothing but end-grain hard wood and sani-tuff. Tons of wear on a kitchen knife comes from the cutting board, you can slow the dulling and prevent chipping, and even sharpen your knife sharper without compromising the edge by switching to a good board.

I would skip over the bamboo boards, and edge grain boards, composites and poly if possible. A cutting board is one of the most vital cutting accessories, and can vastly increase the performance and potential of a good knife.
 
I went to the harness shop at Colonial Williamsburg, The Master harness maker was using his leather punches and shaped cutters over a coffee can filled with lead. When the lead got too deformed, he melted the lead to form a new surface. Seemed like a bit of screwing around to me, so I asked, "Why don't you just use a block of wood?" What do you think? The wood dulls the punches? Bingo. I have used all sorts of wood and poly boards. None have worked as well as Corian. They gave me the material when they cut out a hole for the new sink. I said, "Won't this dull my knives?" It felt kind of hard. Try it. O.K. I have some old knives. I never looked back but did get out the good knives.
 
I have two soft plastic boards. One's always in the dishwasher. While I'm not paranoid about bacteria, I try to maintain a clean food preparation area.

I sharpen my knives pretty regularly but I don't get OCD about it. If I tear food with the knife I sharpen it up. If I get so bored I don't have anything else to do I might spend an hour in the kitchen sharpening everything up a couple times a year... but it's only a couple times a year.

Some of those boards are very attractive. I'd like to have one some day, but for right now baby needs a new pair of shoes and the plastic works well for me.
 
I used to own a restaurant and yes, using a wood cutting board was a code violation - i was fined for a having couple in my prep area. The restaurant was in north central Michigan if it really matters.

I used three large hard-rubber cutting mats (meat/cheese/veggy prep) and they were easier on the edges than any of the other synthetics. They were more expensive, but easier to sterilize and generally lasted longer.

The wooden cutting boards are more ascetically pleasing (dependig on taste) and many people are very fond of them. However, the glue that holds them together can be very hard on edges - specifically when chopping - as well as having to re-surface them more frequently.

Tey are harder to keep sterile than the rubber cutting mats - its a fact like it or not. Not impossible, but considerably harder than the hard rubber mats. The poly boards are similar to hardwood boards, but generally easier to care for (drying/cleaning).

I'll get flamed by some nostalgic wood-lovers for this transgression on their holy grail. However, having used boards/knives daily for years and with Inspectors coming in for surprise check-ups has proven what is easiest to keep sterile as well as not damaging edges (which are a bit time-consuming to maintain in and of themselves).
 
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I didn't put much thought into my kitchen knives until this sub-forum popped up. In the past few weeks I've picked up several new knives and have been very pleased with the results. Really enjoying the Tojiro DP Nakiri.

That said...until yesterday I gave the effect of my cutting boards on my knives even less thought than the quality of my kitchen knives. I have several random wood boards and two hard poly boards. I use the poly boards for several reasons (which I won't get into so get over it), and have used my lovely new Nakiri on them daily for a few weeks. Yesterday I examined the edge very carefully. Wow, lots of little chips. Not being accustomed to working with such thin hard steel I just didn't see it coming (yes...yes...I read about it, but brain cells must be damaged). I really do love sharpening knives, but this was just silly. Result...two Sani-Tuff boards ordered this morning. Thanks all for the info.
 
A lot of people are accustomed to pushing their kitchen knives through their food (table knives too... watch people eating). So, they take their "knife" and just push it down through that tomato. Getting used to slicing, to moving the knive horizontally, takes some work. It's a change.

When you push through, the knife hits whatever cutting surface you're using hard. When you slice, you can control the cut and the knife just barely touches the cutting surface.
 
Seems like push cutting is the Nakiri's cup of tea. There are other knives better suited to slicing.
 
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