Materials Used for Cutting Boards

It is common for any household to have more than one cutting boards with different designs and materials suitable for your kitchen. The most important thing in choosing the most suitable cutting boards is the type of foods that you primarily prepare in your kitchen and how many times that you will be using the cutting boards in a day. Cutting boards can be made of plastic, woods, bamboo or even designed in a fully equipped kitchen with built-in butcher-block inserts or even the counter-spanning marble surfaces that can be easily clean just by a simple wipe.

Some of the cutting board types that you should know:

• Wooden Cutting Boards
  
• Bamboo Cutting Boards
  
• Plastic Cutting Boards
  
• Glass Cutting Boards
  
• Stone Cutting Boards
  
• Rubber Cutting Boards
  

Cutting Board Types

Materials Used for Cutting Boards

• Wooden cutting board is a common choice for many of us due to its appearance as well as its durability.
  
  • You would be able to find it in many styles, sizes and weights where you can choose any of your favorite to cater for your kitchen décor.
    
  • There are wooden boards made of end-grain which is also reversible for usage and it is more durable than any other regular cutting boards. It also looks presentable when you place them on your countertop. In addition, its surface is also much harder and at the same time providing better tolerance for any style of chopping movement, plus also having a resistant surface that is always kind to your knife’s sharp edges.
    
  • Another wooden boards known as the flat-grain (edge) which is also reversible for usage and you can easily find it in the market nowadays because it is easy to design and high in demand by customers.
    
  • Some of the wooden cutting boards are made of hardwood that comes with a tight grain that has small pores enabling the board to be able to reduce any scoring of its surface that enables liquid to absorb into it.
    
  • You can also find wooden cutting boards made of softwood which are much cheaper. Besides that, it is also prone to marks every time you use your knives. However, it has larger pores that require extra care especially when you are cutting meat.
    

Always remember that a wooden and bamboo board will take lots of your time and resources in terms of taking care of it because it requires regular seasoning (using butcher block or cutting board oil in order to seal their surface making them more resistant to bacteria) rather than the plastic board. Both of them are not suitable to be used in a dishwasher.

• The bamboo cutting boards is a naturally replenished resource which is much harder than cutting boards made of wood.
  
  • Due to this, it will not show many knife marks as it would on wood but however it will dull your knife’s blades much faster.
    
  • The bamboo cutting boards are suitable if you are doing lots of cutting task because bamboo helps you absorb less liquid during your cutting activity than the wood boards.
    
• For those of you who want to clean your cutting board using a dishwasher, then the plastic cutting board is the most suitable material for you to purchase.
  
  • Even though the surface of plastic board can also make your knife dull when you have used it for a long period of time, it does not require you to season it regularly.
    
  • You will also find that some plastic board is designed with non-stick pads beneath it in order to keep it in place on your countertop table.
    
  • Nowadays, you will find that plastic boards are designed with color-coded sets so that you would be able to differentiate its usage. For example, blue is for meats, yellow for poultry, while green color is for vegetables. This method helps you minimizes cross-contamination that might occur if you use the same cutting board for all types of foods.
    
• Tempered glass cutting boards are least porous and most resistant to contamination.
  
  • In addition, it is also heat-resistant, easy to clean and does not absorb stains as well as food odors.
    
• Another material that has almost the same features as glass is the stone cutting boards.
  
  • Although it is easy for you to clean it, the stone and glass cutting boards does have its disadvantage such as having ultra-smooth surfaces which sometimes does not help you to cut your food very well. This is because the knives will always slide and at the same time dulling its blades.
    
• There is also rubber cutting boards which does not crack, swell as well as preventing its surface from absorbing any liquid that can result to bad odor.
  
  • Besides that, it also helps you prevent from contaminations of bacteria to your food that you are preparing.
    
  • This type of boards is easy for you to clean and can last for a long period of time. However, it much more expensive than the rest of cutting boards that you can find in the market.
    

  Always remember that whenever you want to choose a cutting board,
  

  • Make sure that you consider the budget that you want to spend on the cutting board and also the amount of cooking that you will be doing in your kitchen.
    
  • You must also consider the counter top space that you have in your kitchen and also whether your sink would be able to cater the size of the cutting board when you want to clean it.
    
  • Cutting boards can also be used as accessories and part of your kitchen décor of if you do not like it hanging around the kitchen, you can simply hide it in your kitchen cabinet’s drawer.
    

Image Credit:

Flickr CC