Cutting board...Bamboo vs Oak

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HappyamateurDK

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Joined
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Location
Denmark
Hi all.

Over the years I have owned different cutting boards in Bamboo. I would say they where medium priced to expensive. Ofcourse in a forum like this " expensive "is relative.

My problem is that sooner or later they will all dry out and crack, mostly within a year. That happens even though I oil them regularly. So I think of trying something else but Bamboo.

I have come across a local Brand ( Denmark ) who makes cutting boards in oak. Is that a better material for cutting boards and will it last longer if oiled regularly?

This is the board I am considering.

https://www.skagerak.dk/dk/indoor/plank-cutting-board-s1990895

Have a great weekend and happy cooking

Søren
 
Oak is probably better than bamboo, at least as far as your knife edges are concerned.

From the description, it doesn't sound like that board is reversible. Do yourself a favour and, for general-purpose use, get a board without a juice groove. That groove becomes a royal pain in the butt. You can't just sweep things off the edge of the board into a pot or a bowl, and bits of food get eternally stuck in there, making it hard to clean. That's why pretty much all cutting boards (other than dedicated carving boards) do not have a groove.

If you are really keen on a groove, get a board that is reversible and has the groove on only one side. That way, it's dual-purpose.
 
I actually prefer having juice grooves on all of my cutting boards. The groove doesn't bother me when chopping vegetables or other dry things. And I like to be able to use my boards for everything. Including roast and other thing that may drop juice.
 
For that price why not a sanituff or other similar synthetic board?
 
HappyamateurDK said:
Hi all.

Over the years I have owned different cutting boards in Bamboo. I would say they where medium priced to expensive. Ofcourse in a forum like this " expensive "is relative.

My problem is that sooner or later they will all dry out and crack, mostly within a year. That happens even though I oil them regularly. So I think of trying something else but Bamboo.

I have come across a local Brand ( Denmark ) who makes cutting boards in oak. Is that a better material for cutting boards and will it last longer if oiled regularly?

This is the board I am considering.

https://www.skagerak.dk/dk/indoor/plank-cutting-board-s1990895

Have a great weekend and happy cooking

Søren
Click to expand...

My two fave types of cutting boards are maple end grain, http://www.theboardsmith.com makes the best IMO, made from an edible sap tree, they also ship internationally; I also have a good rubber cutting board, Sani-Tuff brand, which I use for meats (my wife's a vegetarian, so I have a dedicated meat board).

I use a bamboo board at my parent's house, hate it, bad on my knife edge.
 
Benuser said:
The silica in bamboo is very hard to the edge, indeed.
Click to expand...
Is it the silica, or just the fact that bamboo is stupidly hard?

It's definitely tough on knife edges though. I'm eagerly waiting for my custom board to replace my large bamboo one (which I'm using mostly with a softer board on top for the time being)…
 
Last edited:
I made this Oak cutting board over 40 years ago, when the surface needs resurfacing i just run my small orbital sander over it.

It's been wet many times and has never cracked.
 

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Bamboo is very hard, and has alot of glue required to assemble it.
Also, it feels like playing basketball on concrete gym floor,
the thin is hard, stiff, and has absolutely no give or feedback.

...I don't hate them, but agree your main board is better
off in another material like EU Oak or whatever else is local to europe
like beech wood.

https://www.tastykitchenn.com/best-wood-for-cutting-board/#4_Beech

Bamboo wood is good to great for portability, storage, and what not
and for serving, or for cheese or bread boards etc...no worries.
 
Thanks a lot for all your inputs. when reading different articles on the internet I notice a lot of them mention oak as a bad material for cutting boards since the grains are to big, and it sucks too much water when washing them.

But on the market here there are a lot of oak boards for sale, also from well reputed and expensive makers. Is that because European oak is different then oak from the rest of the world ?

Søren
 
Mostly oak because oak became fashionable, beech edge grain makes a fine board, and being edge grain easy to smooth down with a handplane as the surface wears
 
TB_London said:
Mostly oak because oak became fashionable, beech edge grain makes a fine board, and being edge grain easy to smooth down with a handplane as the surface wears
Click to expand...

+ 1 for a decent edge grain board in beech. Since you are in Denmark you might consider this one:

https://www.kunstogkokkentoj.dk/da/product/knive/skaerebraet-m-rille-boeg---l-50-b-30-cm

I have the large one (60 x 30 cm), but without the groove. (If I were to buy today I would probably go for 75 x 40 cm, but you can’t get that seize with a groove.)
 
HappyamateurDK said:
Thanks a lot for all your inputs. when reading different articles on the internet I notice a lot of them mention oak as a bad material for cutting boards since the grains are to big, and it sucks too much water when washing them.

But on the market here there are a lot of oak boards for sale, also from well reputed and expensive makers. Is that because European oak is different then oak from the rest of the world ?

Søren
Click to expand...
European Oak is a bit softer than American.
If the end grain is properly made and maintained, the wood is saturated with oil and wax. It won't absorb water.
 
Having used end grain bamboo and end grain European Oak at home, with soft Sabs, 60Rc Herders, 64Rc AS, SG-2, 4116, VG-10, I would say: three times less touching up, sharpening, waste of material, reducing the knife's life span.
 
Benuser said:
Having used end grain bamboo and end grain European Oak at home, with soft Sabs, 60Rc Herders, 64Rc AS, SG-2, 4116, VG-10, I would say: three times less touching up, sharpening, waste of material, reducing the knife's life span.
Click to expand...

But even though teak contains silica. Ain't teak softer then bamboo?
 
I am absolutely in love with the Hagesawa boards. K&S carry them for Australian's. They've just so easy to clean, low maintenance and apparently meant to be anti-bacterial + kind on knife edges.

It's not wood, but does anyone else have much experience with them?
 
Patrick Gilmartin said:
I know you didnt ask, but I've never found any wood I like better than a hi-soft.
Click to expand...

I completely agree, Hi-Soft (or maybe Sani-Tuff or equivalent) is the way to go for best performance and minimum edge wear.

However they don't look as nice as wood boards, and decent performance with better looks seems like a fair tradeoff for a lot of people.

I'll keep my Hi-Softs though :)
 
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