Hello There :) (I dont cook)

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MikeTheBike

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The names Mike, and I’m from Canada. Too be quite frank. I’m not the type of person to be in the kitchen, I usually work on cars and that is where my passion lies, but now that I’m not working on my supra (because it’s the snow season) I’ve been spending more time in the kitchen with my GF. My GF loves to cook, and I love to cook with her. However I’ve been in a predicament, I’m not sure if this is where I should ask about this. But I’ll shoot my shot anyways. Christmas is coming up, and recently she’s complained about her sister ruining her cutting board and needs a new one.

if it matters, her knife is, I’m pretty sure is a
MORITAKA ISHIME GYUTO 210MM

She mainly cuts fruits and vegetables, hardly ever meat. But I’m thinking about getting her a cutting board. A friend of mine who works in a high end restaurant recommended for home use a Larch Wood Cutting board, it is however putting a strain on my budget. But if it is worth the price then I guess I have nothing to argue with as Im not much of a chef. I was also looking into a Shun Hinoki Large Cutting Board. More cutting area for the price, People say it smells nice, and I hear Hinoki is really good for keeping knives sharp for longevity’s sake. But if this isn’t where I should ask about this then I apologize, I just really wanted some proper input from the people who are the most passionate about knife cutlery :)
 
Welcome.

Hinoki is a good material for a cutting board and should be a nice gift. Don't know that having a Shun rebranded one adds anything.

I like Hawagasi (sp?) as a best board but don't know availability in CA.

For a really nice looking and effective board, reach a little deeper for a hardwood from our own Boardsmith (or Boos if more available)
 
Welcome and very thoughtful of you.

I say get the best wood cutting board you can realistically afford. Many will say end-grain is best, and I used to say the same, but I'm not sure I've truly noticed a huge difference over the years. Maybe but for me I will say it isn't enough to keep me from getting a nice edge grained board in the future.

When looking at size, consider your counter space and also your sink space. I would recommend going at least one inch thick.

The juice groove is a trade off affair. Having one can help prevent messes but it also takes up usable board space. I prefer the space and go without one.

A bottle of laxative grade mineral oil would be a nice accompaniment gift. For the board I mean. :) She/you can use it to maintain the board. Also, a good wood board can be sanded if needed in the future so you can get many, many years out of a good one.
 
If price is not really an issue then I would also add larchwood boards (larchwood Canada?). They’re a bit thicker and taller than some options without feet, but I have zero complaints about mine.

The only thing I may add, really just a me thing, is that you might want more than one board - the onion/garlic smell doesn’t wash out easily but transfers onto fruit like there’s no tomorrow.

Also what gen supra? 😬😬😬😬
 
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Welcome to KKF.

I would either go a hinoki board or an endgrain board.

And I wouldn't skimp on that either. Usually, if you take good care of a good board, it will last for years and you will have a lot of fun with it.

Another piece of advice, the board shouldn't be too thin, thin wooden boards tend to warp. This does not normally happen with thick boards.
 
If price is not really an issue then I would also add larchwood boards (larchwood Canada?). They’re a bit thicker and taller than some options without feet, but I have zero complaints about mine.

The only thing I may add, really just a me thing, is that you might want more than one board - the onion/garlic smell doesn’t wash out easily but transfers onto fruit like there’s no tomorrow.

Also what gen supra? 😬😬😬😬
1990 MA70 supra, 7MGTE, doesn’t make any power but she’s a beauty for only 700 canadian rupees. My friend however loved my car so much he went and imported the turbo a with the 1j, and that thing is scary
 
Welcome to KKF.

I would either go a hinoki board or an endgrain board.

And I wouldn't skimp on that either. Usually, if you take good care of a good board, it will last for years and you will have a lot of fun with it.

Another piece of advice, the board shouldn't be too thin, thin wooden boards tend to warp. This does not normally happen with thick boards.
Thank you for the advice, wasn’t sure about board thickness and how much it actually meant
 
Welcome and very thoughtful of you.

I say get the best wood cutting board you can realistically afford. Many will say end-grain is best, and I used to say the same, but I'm not sure I've truly noticed a huge difference over the years. Maybe but for me I will say it isn't enough to keep me from getting a nice edge grained board in the future.

When looking at size, consider your counter space and also your sink space. I would recommend going at least one inch thick.

The juice groove is a trade off affair. Having one can help prevent messes but it also takes up usable board space. I prefer the space and go without one.

A bottle of laxative grade mineral oil would be a nice accompaniment gift. For the board I mean. :) She/you can use it to maintain the board. Also, a good wood board can be sanded if needed in the future so you can get many, many years out of a good one.
Just like you I think without the juice groove is better for more cutting space, and if you’re already cleaning up your cooking area after anyways a little more juice isnt going to hurt
 
Welcome.

Hinoki is a good material for a cutting board and should be a nice gift. Don't know that having a Shun rebranded one adds anything.

I like Hawagasi (sp?) as a best board but don't know availability in CA.

For a really nice looking and effective board, reach a little deeper for a hardwood from our own Boardsmith (or Boos if more available)
Our own board smith? And whats a boos?
 
Board Smith is a vendor here and Boos is a popular cutting board brand.
I was looking into boos, visually they are very nice. But I notice they’re maple. And when I was running around this forum I noticed not a lot of people like maple? Is there a reason for that? Or is it just a theme to dislike maple boards?
 
Ooo I just looked at that, I may just go with the boardsmith, they look very nice, whats a carolina cut? And a butcher block? I assume that’s for meats?
Actually it appears I wont be able to get the order in time so I may have to skip on the boardsmith. Which is sad I always prefer to support “local” (in the context that it is someones buisness) versus a larger corporation
 
Those are the different sizes.
You could always email to ask about specific shipping times. The banner on the website may be a “worst case scenario.”
Ohhhh I see, that makes sense, I may look into it more then👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
 
I was looking into boos, visually they are very nice. But I notice they’re maple. And when I was running around this forum I noticed not a lot of people like maple? Is there a reason for that? Or is it just a theme to dislike maple boards?

There's nothing wrong with maple for a cutting board. Boos is a good brand and a solid choice.

@daveb that originally recommended the brand is a pro chef and widely experienced. If something isn't up to his standards you can bet he won't be directing you towards it.
 
I advise folks to buy a rubber board if they're only looking for performance. Hardwood if they want performance and a nice piece of furniture in the kitchen.

I've two of the Boardsmith boards. They're a pleasure to use. But. They are more difficult to clean, heavy and can't go dishwasher. So I have the Hasagawa, and a Hi-Soft (from Amazon) as well that I use for raw proteins.

Good idea to contact Boardsmith. John may well have some "seconds" available for the holidays. His are among the best boards you can buy anywhere, she cooks for you - she deserves it.
 
FWIW, I'm a home cook, not a pro.

I use a large end grain board. It's Jarrah, a beautiful reddy brown West Aussie hardwood. It's a great piece of kitchen furniture but it is a b*gg*r to wash because it is too big to fit in the sink. I usually keep it for veggies and clean it with vinegar without moving it to the sink. If it gets contaminated with dirt or meat, I usually sanitise with peroxide. A kitchen sanitiser such as benzalkonium chloride works too but I like to rinse it off thoroughly, which is more work. The cutting surface gradually accumulates knife marks which are noticible after a year or two. I have refinished the board twice over 5 or 6 years and it's come back like new each time. Very satisfying.

I have Hasegawa and Ueda rubber boards for meat. I just ordered an Asahi as well. The dishwashability is so handy for meat boards. Just make sure it fits in your dishwasher.
 
One more point against juice groove, its hard to clean properly on a wooden board if animal fat gets in there.
 
Not to go against the flow but buy this cutting board for her …

https://thecooksedge.com/collection...s/hasegawa-fsr-soft-cutting-board-w-wood-core
It’s in stock and available now in CDN dollars from a Canadian store owned by a great guy. It’s widely considered to be amongst the most premium boards available. It (unlike most premium wood boards) is light, attractive and portable. Will go in the dish washer for sanitizing and doesn’t require the application of board butter to keep from splitting. No US Dollar conversion to worry about or customs to pay. Also shipping from the USA can get pretty iffy, and EXPENSIVE at this time of year.

I recently made a move to these boards (I have two … one smaller) from wood and am totally happy that I did.
 
I have a Hasegawa board and I am very happy with it. Hinoki should do the trick aswell.
 
If you go with wood, I recommend getting a gallon of food grade mineral oil, not the small bottles. That way you don't feel bad wasting a bunch. If a board hasn't been oiled in a while, it can take a lot of oil. If you ever put hot food onto the board, it will also leak out some oil. Don't use a cooking oil; it goes rancid. Once your board smells rancid, its hard to fix.
 
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