I've been thinking about upgrading my end-grain cutting board (1.5" x 12" x 20" walnut and maple) to something more practical. I've got 3 children under the age of 4, and the ability to use multiple cutting boards (protein & veg) that I can throw in the dishwasher in under 5 seconds is a time saver during a very hectic time of the day.
For me my selection criteria are:
1. Dishwasher safe & Dishwasher sized
2. Minimal Dulling of Knives
3. Minimizes Bacterial Growth Risk
4. Cost Effective
To date the only real options I've seen are wood, plastic, and particle board (epicurean), however I did some work last year with 3d printed food grade silicone molding, and I thought it would be an interesting material to make a cutting board out of. I reasoned that the thing that dulls knives the most is the cutting board, not the food. It seemed a bit short-sighted to spend $$$ on steel with excellent edge retention and then use it on a sub-par cutting board that dulls the knife. I know from experience that silicone varies greatly in hardness (durometer), elasticity, and scratch resistance, and I reasoned it would be possible to engineer something dramatically softer than wood (better edge retention) with superior scratch resistance (relevant because scratches are a breeding place for bacteria). This to me would be an unbeatable cutting board.
I started thinking about silicone cutting boards again recently, and I decided to check on amazon.com to see if such a thing already existed (custom silicone molding is messy, and it would be expensive to experiment with varying durometers). Low and behold I found a solid silicone board on Amazon.com that seems reasonably well reviewed.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q3CAMPM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
One of the claims the manufacturer makes is that the silicone will not scratch "even with the sharpest knives" in normal use; I'll reckon they weren't accounting for this bunch of knife fanatics, some of whom sharpen with the assistance of usb microscopes! The reviews I read supported the claim that the silicone was very scratch resistant, but I'm guessing they had very dull knives.
So my question is this:
Has anyone with really sharp knives ever used a solid silicone cutting board? If so, what were your findings in terms of edge retention and scratch resistance?
For me my selection criteria are:
1. Dishwasher safe & Dishwasher sized
2. Minimal Dulling of Knives
3. Minimizes Bacterial Growth Risk
4. Cost Effective
To date the only real options I've seen are wood, plastic, and particle board (epicurean), however I did some work last year with 3d printed food grade silicone molding, and I thought it would be an interesting material to make a cutting board out of. I reasoned that the thing that dulls knives the most is the cutting board, not the food. It seemed a bit short-sighted to spend $$$ on steel with excellent edge retention and then use it on a sub-par cutting board that dulls the knife. I know from experience that silicone varies greatly in hardness (durometer), elasticity, and scratch resistance, and I reasoned it would be possible to engineer something dramatically softer than wood (better edge retention) with superior scratch resistance (relevant because scratches are a breeding place for bacteria). This to me would be an unbeatable cutting board.
I started thinking about silicone cutting boards again recently, and I decided to check on amazon.com to see if such a thing already existed (custom silicone molding is messy, and it would be expensive to experiment with varying durometers). Low and behold I found a solid silicone board on Amazon.com that seems reasonably well reviewed.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q3CAMPM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
One of the claims the manufacturer makes is that the silicone will not scratch "even with the sharpest knives" in normal use; I'll reckon they weren't accounting for this bunch of knife fanatics, some of whom sharpen with the assistance of usb microscopes! The reviews I read supported the claim that the silicone was very scratch resistant, but I'm guessing they had very dull knives.
So my question is this:
Has anyone with really sharp knives ever used a solid silicone cutting board? If so, what were your findings in terms of edge retention and scratch resistance?
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