Why do granite and glass kitchen cutting boards exist?

L

Londinium Armoury

Joined
Jun 2, 2020
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Serious question, a few discussions about cutting boards have been going on and i've been interested in making some high end cutting boards, I'm just looking for wood with low silica content that's suitable. I was looking around at verious styles of boards.
Then I realized people are actually buying granite and glass cutting boards for kitchens. These are "designed" for use with kitchen knives.
Who is using granite and glass on kitchen knives? I can't think of anytime a granite or glass cutting board would be good for kitchens, professional or home cooks. What is their purpse, and what type of cutting do people do on them?
 
They exist because some "people" are stupid, ignore the scientific evidence, and "think" glass, marble, granite, cutting boards and counters are more "sterile" than wood.

Unfortunately, some of the stupid ones are in a position to prevent restaurants from using wood cutting boards, carbon steel knives, and cast iron cookware, as well as butcher shops from using a traditional butcherblock work bench (and carbon steel blades).

They don't realize (or admit) that "sterile" is a myth. Anything exposed to the atmosphere is exposed to and contaminated by germs/viruses, dust (some, but not all of which, did not originate on this rock), pollen, mold spores, etc.

They also refuse to concede that humans have been using wood for cutting boards, plates, bowls, and eating utensils since day two, and still hasn't gone extinct from doing so.

EDIT:
FWIW Wood does have antimicrobial properties.
 
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I go through a similar issue trying to get people to understand that Bamboo is not an acceptable cutting board material. Some websites claim that Bamboo boards are
used in "The East" which is a complete fabrication. In Asian nations where Bamboo has been and continues to be used for countless puposes, the cutting board is not one of them. According to one Bamboo board maker in Hollywood CA, they invented it in the late 1990s.
But they sell, so tons of websites praise the virtues of these boards.
 
So basically in a way certain groups of people are being forced to use them, under the guise of health and safety. I thought it was a little strange that these things that 100% damage our knives even had a market. So it's a forced market, not one that actually earned its place, and that perfectly explains why none of this makes any sense.
 
afishhunter said:
They exist because some "people" are stupid, ignore the scientific evidence, and "think" glass, marble, granite, cutting boards and counters are more "sterile" than wood.

Unfortunately, some of the stupid ones are in a position to prevent restaurants from using wood cutting boards, carbon steel knives, and cast iron cookware, as well as butcher shops from using a traditional butchersblock work bench (and carbon steel blades).

They don't realize (or admit) that "sterile" is a myth. Anything exposed to the atmosphere is exposed to, and contaminated by germs/viruses, dust (some, but not all, of which did not originate on this rock), pollen, mold spores, etc.

They also refuse to concede that humans have been using wood for cutting boards, plates, bowls, and eating utensils since day two, and still hasn't gone extinct from doing so.
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I just read a few shop descriptions on their granite cutting boards. You aren't joking, the very first thing they list is "This is more sterile" They don't cite any studies they just make the claim "This granite is more sterile"
I knew fine silver was antimicrobial, i've never heard about granite having sterile or antimicribial properties.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
I just read a few shop descriptions on their granite cutting boards. You aren't joking, the very first thing they list is "This is more sterile" They don't cite any studies they just make the claim "This granite is more sterile"
I knew fine silver was antimicrobial, i've never heard about granite having sterile or antimicribial properties.
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That’s the ticket! We need a Silver cutting board.
 
KenHash said:
I go through a similar issue trying to get people to understand that Bamboo is not an acceptable cutting board material. Some websites claim that Bamboo boards are
used in "The East" which is a complete fabrication. In Asian nations where Bamboo has been and continues to be used for countless puposes, the cutting board is not one of them. According to one Bamboo board maker in Hollywood CA, they invented it in the late 1990s.
But they sell, so tons of websites praise the virtues of these boards.
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Bamboo can have some 2-4% Celiac sand in it as well and most of the rest of a bamboo board by the time it’s a cutting board is plastic! Nasty on knives & even worst to consume . Stick with good old wood like the grandparents had. The Tannins etc in the natural woods that help make them resistive to termites also have anti-microbial properties ...Last but not least, never use Olive oil on a wooden board to bring back the shine. It can turn rancid & give you horrid intestinal issues that make you make you poop like a duck For a week or so.Even though it is a laxative in larger amounts, a few drops won’t matter ... Wipe the board down with a tad of Mineral oil on a paper towel, like you buy at a Pharmacy once every couple of months.
 
Not that I would ever buy glass or granite for a cutting board, but presumably because you don't cut into the board, it is much easier to clean properly and there are no deep cuts that can protect bacteria from your cleaning efforts. Hence the claim of "more sterile".

There are plenty of people out there who just read marketing material and believe every word. Unfortunately, marketing material doesn't explain the downsides to things like this.
 
I have a 400+ pound granite surface plate. If anyone cuts on it, they will be wearing the knife - gut carry.
 
I didn't know about this thread until I saw it on the main page and all I could read was "Why do granite and glass kitchen c...." and I derived great satisfaction when my suspicions proved correct that the next words were "cutting boards exist?", as I expected and hoped. Why indeed.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Bamboo can have some 2-4% Celiac sand in it as well and most of the rest of a bamboo board by the time it’s a cutting board is plastic! Nasty on knives & even worst to consume . Stick with good old wood like the grandparents had. The Tannins etc in the natural woods that help make them resistive to termites also have anti-microbial properties ...Last but not least, never use Olive oil on a wooden board to bring back the shine. It can turn rancid & give you horrid intestinal issues that make you make you poop like a duck For a week or so.Even though it is a laxative in larger amounts, a few drops won’t matter ... Wipe the board down with a tad of Mineral oil on a paper towel, like you buy at a Pharmacy once every couple of months.
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As a part-time caterer, I think this is the best advice so far. That being said one doesn't always have a choice.

We used to cater the Christmas dinner for the Wounded Warriors for many years and we were not allowed to use our own cutting boards. All our utensils for preparation and serving for inspected by a compliance officer assigned to us. Their research indicated that different cutting boards were not cleaned to specification, so they supplied large HDPE cutting boards that they could put in their sanitizing dishwasher. A small inconvenience.

I like wood and use wood at home, but anything that could make the smallest chance of getting someone sick, especially one of those folks or their families seemed like a small price to pay for my personal preference. They stack those big HDPE boards in their dishwasher at the end of our events and everyone was happy.

As for granite or glass, my personal theory is that the people that have the market cornered on knife sharpening equipment probably own a large stake in those that sell that crap.

Besides that, as a builder I can tell you the granite is indeed porous, fissured, and is easily damaged. Unless the granted is used as a cheeseboard that is pretty cool to keep your cheese nice for the party, I have absolutely no idea why granite boards exist. Even more puzzling is glass...
 
chalby said:
Not that I would ever buy glass or granite for a cutting board, but presumably because you don't cut into the board, it is much easier to clean properly and there are no deep cuts that can protect bacteria from your cleaning efforts. Hence the claim of "more sterile".

There are plenty of people out there who just read marketing material and believe every word. Unfortunately, marketing material doesn't explain the downsides to things like this.
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Granite is actually quite porous. If you set a wet cup or glass on a granite countertop, you WILL get a difficult to remove ring. A damp rag or sponge left on the counter also leaves it's mark or stain.

Wood at least has natural antimicobic properties, unlike the other things used for cutting boards and counter tops ... excluding copper counter tops, of course. But contact with copper can poison your food ...

There's a reason bottom paint for boats/yachts/ships contain copper, and back in the days of wooden sailing vessels, the ships were clad with thin sheets of copper from the bootstripe to the bottom of the keel. The copper kills all marine growth (saltwater and freshwater) keeping the bottom clean.
 
I always granite cutting boards were popularized the same time granite counter tops became more affordable. The sink cutout can quickly and inexpensively repurposed as a “high end cutting board”.

Glass being clear lends itself well to advertisement underneath it ie. sports teams, company logos.

It’s never been about the best end product for a knife to be used upon because 90%+ of the population doesn’t give a damn about the knife they use.
 
3fifty7 said:
I always granite cutting boards were popularized the same time granite counter tops became more affordable. The sink cutout can quickly and inexpensively repurposed as a “high end cutting board”.

Glass being clear lends itself well to advertisement underneath it ie. sports teams, company logos.

It’s never been about the best end product for a knife to be used upon because 90%+ of the population doesn’t give a damn about the knife they use.
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This is the best explanation I've seen when I researched the subject many years ago. I would only add that more like 99%+ of the population doesn't care about the knife they use.

End grain boards are good as are soft wood boards such as hinoki. Quality end-grain boards are heavy and require oiling periodically. Hinoki boards are even gentler on edges and are light, but score and stain easily. There are synthetic and rubber cutting boards that are good as well. They are gentle on the edges and some can go into a dishwasher. Hasegawa boards are some of the best, they have wooden core so don't warp and can go into a dishwasher. Sani-tuff and the like boards are made out of rubber, can't go into a dishwasher, but are gentle on knives. Problem with synthetic boards is they don't look nice or fancy, so if you want your board to look good to impress end grain is the best.
 
That's cool. The beauty of end-grain is that you can use relatively hard woods such as maple, walnut, etc but still get boards that are relatively easy on edges. Because you cut the board parallel to the grain the hardness of the wood itself matters less. So you get a durable board that is still easy on edges. Use of hard/dense woods makes them heavy though, especially for the quality ones which are thicker.
 
So, let me get this straight…. I could buy a wooden cutting board and slap a juicy piece of raw chicken on there and cut it up and not have to worry about the germs from it?
 
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