Carol’s Essential Gadget #4, The Cutting Board

Carol’s essential gadget #4 is the cutting board. My cutting boards are used not only daily, but multiple times during the day. In fact as I prepare this blog I am also preparing to replace my cutting boards. Why? My wooden ones are old and seldom used. One is used only for slicing bread. My plastic one is way past its’ prime and I am beginning to question if it actually gets clean enough after each use as it has deep cuts in the surface. As with my previously replaced baking sheets, my cutting boards should be purged. I have determined that my favorite kitchen gadgets are nearly as old as my marriage and they were certainly not made to last forever.

I was thoroughly convinced after reading the following article…

When to Replace Your Cutting Board…

At some point, scrubbing and sanitizing might not be enough. When your cutting board has accumulated a lot of deep grooves from repeated use, you probably need to replace it.

“The more grooves it has, and the bigger they are, the more area is available for trapping moisture and giving bacteria a place to proliferate,” Chapman says. Source NC State

Reality check…my board has multiple “deep groves”.

My research has prompted me to order the OXO 2 Piece Cutting Board Set to replace my plastic board. Once received I will offer a review.

The features that appealed to me when choosing the OXO boards were:

• The plastic was specifically designed to reduce knife wear (A big concern of the ‘Ole Buckeye.)

• A depressed grove on one side which drains off liquid (which my current board does not have).

• Non-stick plastic feet to make them more secure.

• Made to resist deep knife gouges which is the problem now with the one I have, plus they are dishwasher safe.

I am continuing my research for a wooden board, since it is a bigger investment. The ‘Ole Buckeye suggests bamboo, but my research is pointing toward maple. The search continues. Always open for suggestions!

While we are on the subject (Carol’s essential gadget #4), I would be remiss if I didn’t share my DIY project using “4” cutting boards.

Jan

Huh. I also am on the hunt for a new wooden cutting board. I have done a lot of online window shopping and am shocked at the price of a good maple cutting board…especially since I want a larger board than those I currently have.

My wooden cutting boards have been with me for years. Recently a chef I follow (Michael Symon) commented that wooden cutting boards are bacteria resistant. He uses wooden boards only, never plastic. I have done a bit of research and many sites confirm this claim. So, I have been using my wooden boards more often.

I also have a set of plastic cutting boards. They are frequently replaced because they are so easily scarred. I like to use them when I am cutting a large quantity of varied items since I can easily segregate meat/poultry/fish/vegetables to various boards; can easily transport the cut food to the pan and pour it in; AND, best of all, can put the plastic boards in the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning!

I do have one more cutting board. No doubt my best quality and most expensive. A Boos corner cutting board. It is wonderful. I will strongly consider buying my new board from Boos. 

BUT, this gem rarely is used for its intended purpose. Instead it is placed in the corner of my kitchen counter where my computer is located. It allows me to put my keyboard on the board at an angle that lets me sit on a stool and comfortably access the computer.

Now, I am inspired to shop the Boos website!

(Postscript: Inspired by this blog I purchased a 20″ x 15″ by 1.5″ maple cutting board by Boos. Shortly after ordering the board this video appeared on my stream and may help you when you are in the market for a cutting board. America’s Test Kitchen: Best Wooden Cutting Board )

Pat

Ah, at last an essential kitchen blog I am totally on board with (see what I did there?) I have MANY cutting boards, wooden and plastic. Cutting boards in our house are real workhorses. 

I’m a proponent of certain boards for certain things, as Jan mentioned in her section. I take it a step further – certain TYPES of boards for certain things.

Meat on plastic

My rule of thumb – no meat on wood. The reason for this is I think wood cutting boards are harder to clean (aka no dishwasher) and hence more likely to crossover contaminate or just plain spoil (all respect to Michael Symon. I’m not saying I’m right here, this is just my little world). 

As has been mentioned in other blogs, The Tinker and I raise beef and have our own beef processed. We also live out in the sticks where a trip to the grocery is a commitment, so we buy in bulk and freeze. I say that to say this – we handle a lot of meat. This big board is the official meat board, and it’s placement is also critical – on our (old and ugly) counter next to the sink. This means spillover of anything is easily cleaned up or diverted to a larger cleanup area. We’ve broken down a lot of meat right here. 

There are some additional meat breakdown tips in my section of the Essential Knife blog (Note – I think sharp knives mean you aren’t pressing so hard to cut = less gouging. Tips on knife sharpening in this blog too!)

Veggies and fruits on wood – with exceptions

Most veggie processing happens on this big splurge of a Boos maple butcher block. We had this odd kitchen cabinet where the counterspace was really kinda useless, and had the idea to create a “chopping center” here, complete with adjacent wall-mounted magnetic knife rack (because it’s really hard to talk about cutting boards without cutting devices!)

We LOVE this board, and the utility it gave the space. It’s about 9 years old now and looks virtually brand new. It gets at least daily if not multiple-times-daily use. We dropped some cash on it – I want to say about $200 give or take at the time – but it was a birthday gift to myself and I absolutely don’t regret it (although we had spec’ed having the Boos logo burned into the side and that didn’t happen, oh well, first world problems). 

I’m also a big believer in Boos’ Mystery Oil for conditioning all my wooden cutting boards, and believe it or not it’s terrific for wiping down stainless steel appliances (no streaks!) I would recommend a Boos maple board to anyone, anywhere and twice on Sundays. BTW, we bought directly from Boos for our custom block.

The only veggies and fruits I move to plastic-on-the-counter aka “the meat setup” are juicy ones, like tomatoes, melons and anything else that could puddle. Liquid sitting on a cutting board for even a short time can cause staining or for a long time warping. Keep the moist stuff near the sink. 

Hope we haven’t “bored” you with all this board talk…