Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cutting Board Advice Needed

After my last cutting board split, I replaced it with what I thought would be a great one - a Joyce Chen bamboo. It's good, not cracking or splitting, but whatever finish they use is coming off. See?















I've taken care of it, doing the whole mineral oil thing ("once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year for a lifetime"), but I still have the disappearing coating problem, and I'm only at about the 9-month mark. Kind of reminds me of when Teflon pans get old (or people used metal(!) utensils on them), and the Teflon gets feathery and flakes off into your food. I don't want Teflon-flavored food, and I don't think I want cutting-board-coating-flavored food either.

So does anyone have any recommendations for a wood cutting board? I've always been partial to bamboo, have been eyeing end-grain maple, but I'm open to suggestions.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitely have one. I love those bamboo cutting boards simply because they're beautiful, but never got around to buying one. Recently I came across a new product that is "green" doesn't damage my knives, and is a wood composite. Epicurean makes them. They're a bit pricey, but I broke down and got one. If you google that name, they'll come up.

Michele said...

As much as I love them, I gave up on wood cutting boards a few years ago. I use polypropylene boards now.I love the fact that I can just throw them in the dishwasher and get them super clean. I still have a wooden one on the counter, but it doesn't see much use.
Thanks so much for stopping by my little blog!! :-)

kat said...

We absolutely love these Epicurean Cutting Boards
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=epicurean+cutting+boards&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2387843681&ref=pd_sl_2ri2ty21zz_b
They are made from natural wood fiber & beautiful but hold up better. Friends of my sister started making them from the same thing they made skateboards out of. We have two giant ones, a small on & their pizza paddle.

Vicki said...

Thanks everyone! So I've got 2 Epicurean votes to 1 polypropylene. Anybody else want to vote?

MrOrph said...

I have two sturdy Boos boards. Check http://www.cutleryandmore.com/boos.htm. They are a bit pricey but I love them.

I also use the poly boards for different proteins; white for fowl and fish, red for beef, lamb, etc, and another board for pork.

Vicki said...

OMG I want the Boos mezzaluna board!

Voting stats:
2 Epicurean
2 Polypropylene
1 Boos

I need a tiebreaking vote...

Wandering Chopsticks said...

Haha! Well, my vote is for propylene too. The cheap ones from Ikea. They're cheap, pretty durable, and you can pop them in the dishwasher (Except I don't have one.).

I only use wooden boards for fruits and veggies b/c I'd be afraid the bacteria from meat might soak in. Although now that the outer layer is gone, I would think your board is safer to cut on.

Vicki said...

Hi WC - I've got some sort of plastic thing for meat (which also needs to be replaced), the wood is reserved for produce. I never thought of it from that angle, being safer now without the coating. But I still ate the coating, blech.

So that makes 3 votes for polypropylene.

Or I could endorse Polypropylene/Wood '08 and get both :)

Anonymous said...

Wood or bamboo for me. Tests have shown that the wood boards are safer than poly for meat. There is something about the wood that disinfects the boards in less than 24 hours. Also, with use, tiny bits of the poly end up in your food. I don't treat my boards other than sanding them about once every 10 to 15 years. I used one board my brother made for more than 50 years until a guest left it soaking in the bottom of the dishpan & it warped & cracked. I do use separate boards for fruit and onions/garlic.