Cutting Board Questions

[eddiecharete]

Other than aesthetic reasons and utility considerations like size, are there any particularly important features of a wooden cutting board that makes it preferable for working with fine knives?

For instance does hardness of the wood really matter? Or will most any wood be soft enough compared to the hardness of your blade that it's a non-issue?

What about end grain compared to boards that are made along the length of the grain?

Etc...?

Thanks,

Noah

Though there are no scientific evidence it is said that wooden cutting boards kill bacteria, check this link

 

[paulraphael]

Many of the big outbreaks of food-borne illness over the last few years have been from produce ... e.coli in spinach leaves, etc.

You'd be screwed no matter what if making salad, of course, but more broadly speaking this adds to things to consider when cleaning your cutting board. Just because you're not using a board for raw meat doesn't mean it can't be a vehicle for cross-contamination. Veggie boards should be cleaned well.

I think the advantages of wood boards are that they feel good to cut on, they look nice, and they're easy to sand smooth if the surface gets carved up. The advantage of plastic boards is that they're dishwasher safe. Neither has proven to be substantially safer in day-to-day use. They both need appropriate cleaning and attention. Not all the research is in perfect agreement, but if you look at the most thorough studies, the general consensus is that wood and plastic are about even. Buy whichever one you like, and learn how to maintain it safely.

 

[paulraphael]

Here's a question—conventional wisdom says that poly boards can't be sanded when they get carved up. They'll melt. The manufacturers often repeat this. Has anyone figured out a reasonable way to refinish them? Someone in another forum said he'd figured out how to sand his poly boards, and that it was no trouble. But I don't remember his method.

 

[cncrouting]

Here's a question—conventional wisdom says that poly boards can't be sanded when they get carved up. They'll melt. The manufacturers often repeat this. Has anyone figured out a reasonable way to refinish them? Someone in another forum said he'd figured out how to sand his poly boards, and that it was no trouble. But I don't remember his method.

you could sand them or run them through a planer. I have done that many times. but the problem is that the board needs texture on it. I discovered this when I had some hdpe left over and I made a board out of it. the food slid off of it. so without texture it is worthless. a really course textured sandpaper way work. I just tested it with some 40 grit on my random orbit sander worked great nice texture maybe better then the original. but it would need to be flattened one way or the other first and by hand would be a lot of work.

 

[paulraphael]

you could sand them or run them through a planer. I have done that many times. but the problem is that the board needs texture on it. I discovered this when I had some hdpe left over and I made a board out of it. the food slid off of it. so without texture it is worthless. a really course textured sandpaper way work. I just tested it with some 40 grit on my random orbit sander worked great nice texture maybe better then the original. but it would need to be flattened one way or the other first and by hand would be a lot of work.

Interesting! So it's just an old husband's tale that the polyethylene melts?

What would happen if you took a carved-up board and just ran the sander with 40-grit paper over the whole thing? Could you sand out the grooves, keep it flat enough, and get texture in one step?

 

[cncrouting]

Interesting! So it's just an old husband's tale that the polyethylene melts?

What would happen if you took a carved-up board and just ran the sander with 40-grit paper over the whole thing? Could you sand out the grooves, keep it flat enough, and get texture in one step?

well it can melt but it depends on how you sand it. if it is kept moving and a course grit it seems fine. but if it is a high speed belt it may melt it. I used a random oribit sander and 40 grit is not going to add much heat. I used my wood thickness planer on it with no problems at all. it can melt if things are dull though. or if you dwell in one spot too long. it is a low temp plastic. usually when I run it through the planer it stays flat but thats been 3/4" thick. 1/2" stuff may not. any material where you take one face off creates uneven tension and can warp.

 

[jacko9]

Softer wood will be kinder to your knife edge, and the less sharpening you have to do, the longer your knife will last. But at the same time, I never pay attention to this and just use end grain boards that I liked the look of for the majority of my kitchen prepping. I use plastic for raw meat but that is a rare thing for me, and a small edge grain board for cutting cooked meat or for presentation.

I took a couple of my knives on vacation with a bunch of friends at a rental house where there were only plastic boards and they definitely dulled faster on plastic than at home on end grain wood of any type.

Oak end grain looks awesome to me, but the pores are so large. One day I'll cave and buy or make one though...

Get White Oak for smaller tighter pore size. Red Oak is pretty open structure and with a very clean end cuts you can blow bubbles through short sections of red oak.

 

[jacko9]

I have used a RO sander on my plastic boards but you need to sand both sides evenly or they warp (heck they warp most of the time anyway). I've been replacing my plastic boards.