Need dishwashable cutting board...

Not quite sure which forum is best for this question..."gear" seems close enough.

IHAF who recently acquired a couple of Kageros from JKI and is now looking for a new cutting board. She has a decent wood board for veggies/raw food, but is looking for something to use for meats. She's very concerned about contamination/sickness so she really wants something that will be kind to her knife that can also be put in the dishwasher.

Any ideas?

Z, Don't know of a product that can meet both criteria. I like the Epicurean boards for proteins because they are light and can go in dishwasher for sterilization. I do this knowing they are not particularly knife friendly, but they are not (in my experience) as hostile as some have described. And any blunting is easily remedied...

If she's looking for a cheaper idea, there are cutting mats that you can place over your cutting board, then place in the dishwasher. With the knives we use, they most likely won't last too long, as the blade will end up cutting through the plastic, but they run about 4 for $20 usually. Not the greatest thing, but they work if you don't want an entirely different cutting board(where's the fun in that though).

I've put cheapo plastic boards in my dishwasher without any problem, but I have a dishwasher that doesn't use a heating element to dry.

You can run a Sani-Tuff board through the dishwasher; just don't use the dry cycle and lay it flat as soon as it's done.

ecchef said:

You can run a Sani-Tuff board through the dishwasher; just don't use the dry cycle and lay it flat as soon as it's done.

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Plus 1

tell her not to be such a freak about germs and dont destroy cutting boards via dishwasher.

Some rubber boards will take it but might warp a little if not careful.

I think polyethylene ought to be a good choice though...

Just quick question, but why don't you use microwave for plastic board sterilization? Throw the board (at an angle), a container of water and it will be done in a couple of seconds. The way MW works it is guaranteed that any bacteria will be hanged, drown and quartered.

ThEoRy said:

Plus 1

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ecchef said:

You can run a Sani-Tuff board through the dishwasher; just don't use the dry cycle and lay it flat as soon as it's done.

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Thanks guys.

panda said:

tell her not to be such a freak about germs and dont destroy cutting boards via dishwasher.

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I have had, and will continue to have that discussion....but so far, to no effect at all. Won't even touch raw meat with her hands to make 'burger patties. <shrug>

Lizzardborn said:

Just quick question, but why don't you use microwave for plastic board sterilization? Throw the board (at an angle), a container of water and it will be done in a couple of seconds. The way MW works it is guaranteed that any bacteria will be hanged, drown and quartered.

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I had never thought of this before...possibly b/c none of my boards would even fit in the uWave. In fact, I don't think I'd buy a board that would fit...except for cheese maybe

Anybody else doing this?

Lizzardborn said:

Just quick question, but why don't you use microwave for plastic board sterilization? Throw the board (at an angle), a container of water and it will be done in a couple of seconds. The way MW works it is guaranteed that any bacteria will be hanged, drown and quartered.

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Why not use just hot water then?

IIRC, there are tests that show that microwaves, alone, do not kill all bacteria; it's heat that kills bacteria. And you need water to heat things via microwave. So, just put the cutting board in hot water.

If you want to keep the water at a high temp, why not use a thermo circulator, if you have one, instead of a microwave?

daveb said:

Z, Don't know of a product that can meet both criteria. I like the Epicurean boards for proteins because they are light and can go in dishwasher for sterilization. I do this knowing they are not particularly knife friendly, but they are not (in my experience) as hostile as some have described. And any blunting is easily remedied...

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I 2nd Epicurean. Plus, when I cut meat, it's usually just a few slices (and sometimes not even, if I'm breaking down a chicken, my blade doesn't even come into contact with the board half the time), so I don't think it's that hard on knives.

This 18x13 one is $35 and is the biggest size they offer that will fit in my dishwasher (lower rack): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008221B6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Pop over to Home Depot and buy a spray bottle. Fill it with a strong 8-1 dilute bleach solution with a little Simple Green added. Spray on your board, let it sit for ten or fifteen seconds, wipe clean with paper towel. Done. No waiting around for it to run through the dishwasher and it will absolutely sanitize the board. I use this on my Boos board at home and periodically freshen the board by oiling it. At work, we just throw the poly boards through the dish machines and if they get a bit discolored, hit them with a bit of block whitener to bleach out the stains. If she really wants a board that can go through the washer, hit the restaurant supply and pick up an inexpensive poly board. The simplest solution is usually the best, and definitely the most efficient. :biggrin:

Thanks everybody! Looks like she's going to go with the Epicurean for ease. She doesn't do a lot of meat cutting, so the damage should be minimal...besides, just means I'll get to sharpen sooner. :doublethumbsup:

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the only meat you really need to worry about on a wooden board is raw chicken?

I tend to use my board (though it is an edge grain board, as a side note, attempting to make an end grain one this weekend) for most everything and just use a polyboard when cutting raw chicken.

And just wipe the wooden one down with hot soapy water when done (and usually a couple of times through making dinner as I saw from vegs to meat etc. etc.).

Though thanks for the bleach tip, I might adopt that one for extra

malexthekid said:

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the only meat you really need to worry about on a wooden board is raw chicken?

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If you would not eat some stuff raw, you shouldn't cut it on your general board IMO. I think that all raw meat should be treated as contaminated unless it is cured/smoked. I think that during butchering the meat could be contaminated with bacteria from the intestines if the butcher is not careful.

Lizzardborn said:

If you would not eat some stuff raw, you shouldn't cut it on your general board IMO. I think that all raw meat should be treated as contaminated unless it is cured/smoked. I think that during butchering the meat could be contaminated with bacteria from the intestines if the butcher is not careful.

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Yup....I keep a raw board and a cooked board (actually I use both side of my cooked board, one side for raw things that need to be cooked and the other for things that were already cooked).