Cutting Boards

unaveragejane

Sorry to be annoying and post another NCDR thread, but I need some help from the resident cooking guru's. (I'm looking at you, @mapleme.) I need new cutting boards. Mine are all plastic or acrylic, and no matter how I wash/scrub/bleach them, they are staining brown in the middle where all the cutting happens. I'm guessing they need to be replaced, but I don't know what to replace them with. (I try to keep separate meat and veg boards, but DH ignores my system sometimes.)

Rrrrrachel

We have a wooden cutting board we use for most things (it's bamboo) and a plastic one I pull out for meat things.

unaveragejane

Mapleme said:

Truth is, you don't need to be fancy about cutting boards. America's Test Kitchen did a bunch of tests on cleaning cutting boards and found that soap and water cleaned all styles of cutting boards equally well. The place where wooden cutting boards pulled ahead is on aging. An old, grooved wooden cutting board cleaned better than an old grooved plastic one (I think it was something about woods natural antimicrobial attributes, but don't quote me on that part). So wood will last longer. The advantage to plastic is being able to put them in the dishwasher and really sterilize them. So you really can replace your boards with anything you would like (just not a glass cutting board, I've never understood why anyone would spend money to bash the crap out of their knives). But it is key to replace them when you start feeling "icky" about them. Oh, and also make sure they have enough airflow to fully dry after washing. Drying is an important part of getting something fully clean.

This reminds me...the kitchen people gave us a granite cutting board when they cut our counters. I'm guessing that granite would be no more knife-friendly than glass...?

Into+the+Kitty

It will kill your knives. I use my granite cutting board to serve cheese and soft spreads.

unaveragejane

That's a good idea, ITK! Mine is a little big for that maybe, but if I ever get fancy and make a 15 pound cheeseball, I've got the perfect serving platter! lol

CarolineEmma

Like pp, love my epicurean cutting boards. Theyre the best!

stoneycakes

charmingthemoon said:

I love Epicurean cutting boards.

They are made out of compressed wood fibers, and I LOVE that you can put them in the dishwasher. They're also heat resistant so I set them on top of a pan if I need to cover something at times (like helping the cheese melt on my grilled cheese sandwich).

The one thing I've found is that they smell a little bit the first few washes, especially when you get them warm. After that, they're great! They do show the knife lines a bit, but for the most part are gorgeous! None of mine are stained. I have 5 or 6. I buy mine on Amazon, but I did recently find that there were some at my local TJMaxx, so I bought another. I'd recommend getting the small bar board for about $10 to see if you like the style, and then getting the pricier real cutting board later if you decide you like it.

Here's the link to their info about materials:

https://www.epicureancs.com/about.php

Why did I look at this website?  Now I want to buy all of the things!

stoneycakes

So with the epicurean cutting boards...you don't have any problems with warping when you put it in the dishwasher?

YellowLily2013

Ugh... No wonder our knives are dull --- glass cutting board!! Look at me thinking it would be better than plastic. Fail.

unaveragejane

@YellowLily2013 - I thought glass was better than plastic, too! I had heard something about it dulling knives, so that is why I decided to ask.

The Epicureans look really neat! I will look into these when I'm at TJ Maxx again.

@MapleMe - All our counters are now granite. Would it be bad to do the pie dough directly on them?

unaveragejane

Thanks! My computer is being a jerk and denying my love tits, but I am sending thanks and happies to all of you.

YellowLily2013

Man I was looking for this post to follow up with what was said.... And I went back 10 pages!! And then I come back to page 1 and here it is.
Geeze the board is busy these days... And I'm off working.

Maternity leave if finally over and I've been "promoted" so I'm even taking work home!

Miss you gals. See you during pump breaks and bfing times.

CarolineEmma

my huge one is the slightest bit warped from going into the sanitary cycle, but it is hardly noticeable.