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What To Look For In A Cutting Board

Discussion in 'Food and Drink' started by James, Feb 16, 2014.

  1. kentos

    kentos Founding Member

    I would be super stoked if it were! Thanks for that info. I always wanted one and to think I might already have one. Very dweebish lol.
     
  2. Lefty

    Lefty Founding Member

    If you have pictures, it might help. Very light colour, and long straight grain, by chance? Dave and Marko would know best, but there's a good chance, I would think.
     
  3. Andrew

    Andrew Have Pen Will Travel Founding Member

    We have a couple camphor laurel cutting boards (one big, one small) that we picked up in Australia. It's an invasive species there, so it's ethically harvested. The oil is supposed to be antimicrobial, and it's a medium density hardwood. It's been kind to our knives, and the wood grain is gorgeous.

    Also, why not just sand your existing cutting board, James?

    -Andy
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2014
  4. James

    James smarter then your average duck Founding Member Gold Contributor

    Its a bit to small for me to work on as well, and a bit dried out. I may give it a shot or go over to mums for dinner and go rummaging through the dusty unused gear at the back of the closet of stuff she forgets she has, free cutting board and Mums cooking would be a great day lol
     
  5. Andrew

    Andrew Have Pen Will Travel Founding Member

    You can rejuvenate any wooden cutting board with mineral oil (the type you get at the pharmacy... it's a laxative, I think). Just rub it in and wipe off the excess. Even if you want a bigger board, you can still make the smaller one nice again. Small boards are good for cheese and meat plates or a ploughman's lunch or whatever.

    -Andy
     
  6. James

    James smarter then your average duck Founding Member Gold Contributor

    Some enabler you are, sheesh. Ill give it a go though lol
     
  7. Andrew

    Andrew Have Pen Will Travel Founding Member

    I know, but I didn't want you to give up on that older board. Get a big, new board for sure! Just whip that older one back into shape, as well, and you'll have two nice boards.

    -Andy
     
  8. John Fout

    John Fout Founding Member

    Andy beat me to the mineral oil...

    I'll let youse all run with that.

    I'm drooling over a boardsmith but want to get out of this condo first.
     
  9. turtle

    turtle Founding Member

    You won't get any grief from me.

    End grain is NICE and I do have several

    [​IMG]

    BUT.....

    99% of the time I grab a NSF/SPE certified board and "get er done" then move on.
     
  10. MotoMike

    MotoMike Founding Member

    I have a couple of the white plastic type that are not hard but not too soft either. I don't really like them for their asthetics, but they seem to be easier on the knife edge than wood and certainly glass. They scrub up easily and occasionally go through the Bosch dishwasher which sanitizes. Not very elegant, but won't absorb anything and pretty tough. I had some wooden boards that I felt demanded too much maintenance. Though, I'd take that one off Jim's hands.
     
  11. Spaz

    Spaz Founding Member

    End grain maple from The BoardSmith.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. WildBoar

    WildBoar Founding Member Contributor

    We use a couple BoardSmiths for 95% of our cutting. And we have two smaller ones for company. Plus a handful of older small edge grain/ slab boards my wife accumulated before we met. Keeping the working boards clean is no problem, and they only need to be oiled now every couple of months.
     
  13. Taylor

    Taylor Professional Craftsman Founding Member

    I use a boardsmith for pretty much everything, and when I know I'm going to be messy with something that drips, I use a rubber mat on top of it. Here's a pic: [​IMG]

    It's nice to know that this will last for generations to come, and it is an absolute knockout! I don't think anything out there can beat a BoardSmith! It is Cherry btw.
     
  14. Taz575

    Taz575 Founding Member

    Man those Boardsmith's are nice! I use a wood board for pretty much everything except watermelon and cutting down whole pork loins, then the big poly board with the big juice grooves comes out. I have a 12x12 Black Walnut end grain from Lone Star Artisans and a bigger 16x17 Black Walnut with a Maple Border with juice groove from Lone Star as well. The bigger one is a PITA to wash in the sink and the 12x12 is OK for quick stuff, but sometimes it a bit too small, so I will probably get a Boardsmith in the future, maybe 14x14 or so? I have a 14x14 bamboo board I use as a pizza/calzone board/plate and it fits easier into the sink to clean. I have like 4 other poly boards at home I haven't used in years.
     
  15. Legion

    Legion Founding Member

    I have an end grain bamboo board that I really like. I have often read that bamboo is not ideal, as it is hard on a knifes edge, but that is the boards that have to wood long-ways. The end grain ones are super durable, affordable, and don't hurt the edge at all in my experience.
     
  16. Taz575

    Taz575 Founding Member

    I noticed a little less edge life on my bamboo board compared to the end grain stuff. IIRC, it was more of an issue of the numerous glue joints (and type of glue, some are harder, others are softer) in a bamboo board due to the smaller size of the individual bamboo pieces vs the larger blocks of wood in an end grain; the glue was hard on the edges, not necessarily the bamboo itself. It wasn't like cutting on a glass board, maybe closer to using a poly board than the end grain woods?
     
  17. John Fout

    John Fout Founding Member

    I can only have poly boards in this state in the work kitchen. There isn't a code against wood blocks but it just easier if the health department never sees them. The poly boards we get are of the cheapest variety for the size we get. I just sharpen often.
     
  18. Jim

    Jim Old Curmudgeon Founding Member

    John the Sanituff boards are NSF, USDA and FDA certified and are a hell of a lot easier on the edges. Is that an option?
    http://www.globalindustrial.com/g/f...ng-boards/sani-tuff-all-rubber-cutting-boards
     
  19. Spaz

    Spaz Founding Member

    I mix 1 oz of bees wax with 8oz of mineral oil and make an oily wax for the board, does a great job sealing it! It works great on knife handles too.
     
  20. Jim

    Jim Old Curmudgeon Founding Member

    The elixir of the gods.
     

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