Cutting board

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A kitchen knife on a wooden cutting board Chopping Board.jpg
A kitchen knife on a wooden cutting board
Different wood cutting boards on a store shelf Chopping boards on a shelf.jpg
Different wood cutting boards on a store shelf

A cutting board (or chopping board) is a durable board on which to place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food; other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting boards are often made of wood or plastic and come in various widths and sizes. There are also cutting boards made of glass, steel, or marble, which are easier to clean than wooden or plastic ones such as nylon or corian, but tend to damage knives due to their hardness. Rough cutting edges—such as serrated knives—abrade and damage a cutting surface more rapidly than do smooth cutting implements.

Contents

Materials

Freshly oiled cutting board End grain cutting board.jpg
Freshly oiled cutting board

A knife edge is a delicate structure and can easily be blunted by a too abrasive surface. Alternatively, it can be chipped if used on a surface that is too hard. A good cutting board material must be soft, easy to clean, and non-abrasive, but not fragile to the point of being destroyed. Hard cutting boards can, however, be used for food preparation tasks that do not require a sharp knife, like cutting cheese or making sandwiches.

Wood

This wooden cutting board shows signs of scoring after repeated use. Brod med Vasterbotten-ost og roget gedeost (5205155586).jpg
This wooden cutting board shows signs of scoring after repeated use.

Wood has some advantages over plastic in that it is somewhat self-healing; shallow cuts in the wood will close up on their own. Wood also has natural anti-septic properties. [1]

Hardwoods with tightly grained wood and small pores are best for wooden cutting boards. Good hardness and tight grain help reduce scoring of the cutting surface and absorption of liquid and dirt into the surface. Red oak, even though a hardwood, has large pores which retain dirt even after washing. This makes it a poor choice for cutting-board material.

Teak's tight grains and natural coloration make it a highly attractive cutting-board material, both for aesthetic and durability purposes. Teak, a tropical wood, contains tectoquinone, a component of natural oily resins that repel moisture, fungi, warping, rot and microbes. [2] Wooden boards can also be refinished with sanding and a reapplication of oil and wax. [3]

Wood boards need to be cared for with an edible mineral oil to avoid warping, and should not be left in puddles of liquid. Ideally, they should be suspended freely while drying. Care must be taken when selecting wood, especially tropical hardwood, for use as a cutting board, as some species contain toxins or allergens.

Bamboo

Bamboo cutting boards are an alternative to plastic or glass cutting boards, partially because bamboo is commonly thought to be naturally antimicrobial (although studies show otherwise [4] ). During the harvesting process, bamboo is carefully chosen for maturation, markings, and size. The stalk is then cut into specific sizes and sent through a pressing process that strips the stalks into smaller plank-like pieces. Once the bamboo is pliable, a cutting board can be produced from multiple pieces by lamination. Bamboo has not been used historically in Asian nations due to its extreme hardness.

Plastic

A plastic cutting board Snijplank.JPG
A plastic cutting board

Plastic boards are usually called PE (polyethylene) cutting boards, or HDPE (high-density polyethylene plastic), the material of which these boards are made. There are basically two types of HDPE boards being made. One version is made from injection-molded plastic, while the other is HDPE from an extrusion line.

There are several certifications of plastic cutting boards, one being NSF, that certifies the plastic has passed requirements to come in contact with food. Unlike wood, plastic has no inherent antiseptic properties. [1] However, unlike wood, plastic boards do allow rinsing with harsher cleaning chemicals such as bleach and other disinfectants without damage to the board or retention of the chemicals to later contaminate food.

Most HDPE boards are specifically designed not to dull the edge of a knife. If a score line is present, the knife is safe. A serrated knife should not be used on a plastic cutting board. The sharper the knife, the longer the cutting board will last. Semi-disposable thin flexible cutting boards also ease transferring their contents to a cooking or storage vessel.

Silicone

Like rubber, silicone is soft on the blade, while being just as self-healing and anti-bacterial as wood. Silicone is also heat-resistant, and lacks the rubbery smell of rubber boards.

Glass

While glass looks like an easy surface to keep clean, glass cutting boards can damage knives because of the high hardness of the material. Cutting on glass tends to dent, roll or even chip knife edges in a rapid manner. Additionally, if used for chopping instead of slicing, glass can shatter or chip itself, contaminating food.

Steel

Steel shares with glass the advantages of the durability and ease of cleaning, as well as the tendency to damage knives. Depending on the exact steel and heat treatment used, at best a steel cutting board will wear the edge on knives quickly; at worst chip, dent, or roll it like glass.

Hygiene

Sanitation with cutting boards is a delicate process because bacteria can reside in grooves produced by cutting, or in liquids left on the board.

Preventing cross contamination of food

Bacteria or allergens can easily be transmitted from one part of the kitchen to another or from one food to another via knives, hands, or surfaces such as chopping boards. To reduce the chance of this it is advised to use separate boards for different types of food such as raw meat, cooked meat, dairy and vegetables. Many professional kitchens follow this standard colour-coding system: [5]

Care of boards

Regardless of the material, regular maintenance of a cutting board is important. A very diluted bleach solution is best for disinfecting cutting boards.[ citation needed ] To remove odors, the board can be rinsed and then rubbed with coarse salt and left to stand for several minutes before being wiped and rinsed clean. In a wooden board, this procedure will also smooth out minor imperfections on the surface.

Wooden boards

This upcycled cutting board was made from boxcar floorboards that were taken from a railroad salvage yard. Upcycled Cutting Board.jpg
This upcycled cutting board was made from boxcar floorboards that were taken from a railroad salvage yard.

Wooden boards should never be placed in the dishwasher, or left immersed for long periods, as the wood or glue may be affected. To prevent cracking, wood cutting boards should be treated monthly, under normal usage. A standard recommendation is 5–7 times a year, or as needed. A light food-grade mineral oil is a good preservative for wooden cutting boards, as it helps keep water from seeping into the grain. Alternatively, one may also use a food-grade drying oil such as poppyseed oil, tung oil or linseed oil. The first two dry much faster than linseed. Note, plant based oils will go rancid, and cause wood cutting boards to pick up unpleasant smells.

Most commercially available linseed and tung oils are not “food grade”, as they contain metallic driers. In general, edible savory vegetable or olive oils are not recommended because they tend to go rancid, causing the board to smell and food to pick up the rancid taste. When heavily or deeply scored, wooden boards need to be resurfaced as scoring can harbour bacteria. Boards can be easily resurfaced with various woodworking tools, such as scrapers or planes, even sandpaper.

Plastic boards

Unlike wood, most plastic boards are non-porous, which means that bacteria cannot enter below the surface. It is still equally as important to clean the boards thoroughly after each use as bacteria can lie and grow in any imperfections on the surface. Although many boards are dishwasher safe, both domestic and professional boards which are HDPE will be warped by the hot water, making them unsafe. When heavily or deeply scored, boards need to be resurfaced as scoring can harbour mildew and bacteria. However, resurfacing a plastic cutting board is quite difficult and replacing it is recommended instead.

Bacterial contamination

One 1994 study found that wood was more likely to retain bacterial contamination, [6] while another 1994 study found the opposite. [7] In 2002, another study found that pine wood in particular had antibacterial properties, while two other types of wood did not reduce bacteria relative to plastic. [8]

While pine has been found to have antibacterial properties, it is not typically used as a cutting board because it is a "softwood". [9]

In 2005, a study found that oak was followed by pine in antibacterial properties. [10] Oak is also not a common cutting board material due to its relatively large pore size. [9]

Another study in 2012 found that bamboo had high antimicrobial activity compared to wood. [11]

In 2016, a literature review summarizing wood and microbial safety was published. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes. Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting cordage, cutting/scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish scales, reshaping timber, and other tasks. Craft knives are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as carving and papercutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife</span> Tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade

A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil painting</span> Process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil

Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel or copper for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of the world. The advantages of oil for painting images include "greater flexibility, richer and denser colour, the use of layers, and a wider range from light to dark". But the process is slower, especially when one layer of paint needs to be allowed to dry before another is applied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dishwasher</span> Machine that washes dishes automatically

A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between 45 and 75 °C, at the dishes, with lower temperatures of water used for delicate items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blade</span> Sharp cutting part of a weapon or tool

A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historically, humans have made blades from flaking stones such as flint or obsidian, and from various metal such as copper, bronze, and iron. Modern blades are often made of steel or ceramic. Blades are one of humanity's oldest tools, and continue to be used for combat, food preparation, and other purposes.

An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflective surface, the process can also involve roughening as in satin, matte or beaded finishes. In short, the ceramics which are used to cut, grind and polish other softer materials are known as abrasives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grind</span> Cross sectional shape of a blade in a plane normal to its edge

A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back. The grind of a blade should not be confused with the bevel forming the sharpened edge; it more usually describes the overall cross-section of the blade, not inclusive of the beveled cutting edge which is typically of a different, less acute angle as the bevel ground onto the blade to give it a cross-sectional shape. For example, the famous Buck 110 hunting knife has a "hollow ground" blade, with concave blade faces, but the cutting edge itself is a simple, flat-ground bevel of lesser angle. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to put a "hollow grind" onto the actual cutting edge of the blade itself, which is a very narrow and small bevel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen knife</span> Knives intended for use in the process of preparing food

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In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most Western cooks.

<i>Santoku</i> Kitchen knife originating in Japan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharpening</span> Creating or refining the edge of a cutting tool

Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material on an implement with an abrasive substance harder than the material of the implement, followed sometimes by processes to polish/hone the sharp surface to increase smoothness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go equipment</span> Game equipment used in go

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceramic knife</span> Knife with a blade made out of non-metallic material

A ceramic knife is a knife with a ceramic blade typically made from zirconium dioxide (ZrO2; also known as zirconia), rather than the steel used for most knives. Ceramic knife blades are usually produced through the dry-pressing and firing of powdered zirconia using solid-state sintering. The blades typically score 8.5 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, compared to 4.5 for normal steel and 7.5 to 8 for hardened steel and 10 for diamond. The resultant blade has a hard edge that stays sharp for much longer than conventional steel blades. However, the blade is brittle, subject to chipping, and will break rather than flex if twisted. The ceramic blade is sharpened by grinding the edges with a diamond-dust-coated grinding wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife making</span> Process of manufacturing a knife

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countertop</span> Horizontal work surface

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife sharpening</span>

Knife sharpening is the process of making a knife or similar tool sharp by grinding against a hard, rough surface, typically a stone, or a flexible surface with hard particles, such as sandpaper. Additionally, a leather razor strop, or strop, is often used to straighten and polish an edge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scraper (kitchen)</span> Kitchen implement used to remove material from containers

A kitchen scraper is a kitchen implement made of metal, plastics, wood, rubber or silicone rubber. In practice, one type of scraper is often interchanged with another or with a spatula for some of the various uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen utensil</span> Tool used for food preparation

A kitchen utensil is a small hand-held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils are made for each task. A general purpose utensil such as a chef's knife may be used for a variety of foods; other kitchen utensils are highly specialized and may be used only in connection with preparation of a particular type of food, such as an egg separator or an apple corer. Some specialized utensils are used when an operation is to be repeated many times, or when the cook has limited dexterity or mobility. The number of utensils in a household kitchen varies with time and the style of cooking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese knife</span> Type of knife used for cutting or serving cheese

A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require different knives, according primarily to hardness. There are also a number of other kitchen tools designed for cutting or slicing cheese, especially the harder types. These include the cheese cutter, cheese slicer, cheese plane, cheese scoop for soft cheese and others, collectively known as cheese servers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fillet knife</span> Flexible knife used in the preparation of filets

A fillet knife is a kitchen knife used for filleting. It gives good control and aids in filleting. It is a very flexible member of the boning knife family that is used to filet and prepare fish. Fillet knife blades are typically 15 to 28 cm long. This allows them to move easily along the backbone and under the skin of meat.

References

  1. 1 2 Ak N, Cliver D, Kaspari C (1994). "Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria". Journal of Food Protection. 57 (1): 16–22. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-57.1.16 . PMID   31113021. PDF fulltext
  2. ↑ "Equipment: Cutting Boards". Cook's Illustrated magazine. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "How To Refinish a Cutting Board - Sawed Off Woodworks". Sawed Off Woodworks. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  4. ↑ Xi, Lixia; Qin, Daochun; An, Xin & Wang, Ge (2013-10-31). "Resistance of Natural Bamboo Fiber to Microorganisms and Factors that May Affect Such Resistance" (PDF). BioResources. 8 (4): 6501–6509. doi:10.15376/biores.8.4.6501-6509 . Retrieved 2014-10-06.
  5. ↑ "Food Hygiene Regulations 2006".
  6. ↑ Abrishami, Simin H.; Tall, Ben D.; Bruursema, Thomas J.; Epstein, Paul S.; Shah, Dhiren B. (1994-05-01). "Bacterial Adherence and Viability on Cutting Board Surfaces". Journal of Food Safety. 14 (2): 153–172. doi:10.1111/j.1745-4565.1994.tb00591.x. ISSN   1745-4565.
  7. ↑ Ak, Nese O.; Cliver, Dean O.; Kaspari, Charles W. (1994-01-01). "Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria". Journal of Food Protection. 57 (1): 16–22. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X-57.1.16 . PMID   31113021.
  8. ↑ Schönwälder, A.; Kehr, R.; Wulf, A.; Smalla, K. (2002). "Wooden boards affecting the survival of bacteria?". Holz Als Roh- und Werkstoff. 60 (4): 249–257. doi:10.1007/s00107-002-0300-6. ISSN   0018-3768. S2CID   23943541.
  9. 1 2 "Why Some Woods are Better than Others in the Kitchen" . Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  10. ↑ Annett, Milling; Rolf, Kehr; Alfred, Wulf; Kornelia, Smalla (2005-01-01). "Survival of bacteria on wood and plastic particles: Dependence on wood species and environmental conditions". Holzforschung. 59 (1): 72–81. doi:10.1515/HF.2005.012. ISSN   1437-434X. S2CID   23632274.
  11. ↑ Kim, Ji-Young; Lee, Hyoung-Jae; Cho, Jeong-Yong; Lim, Hyun-Cheol; Choi, Gyeong-Cheol; Kim, Du-Woon; Park, Keun-Hyung; Moon, Jae-Hak (2012). "Antimicrobial Effect of Various Chopping Boards against Food-borne Bacteria". Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology. 44 (1): 114–120. doi: 10.9721/kjfst.2012.44.1.114 .
  12. ↑ Aviat, Florence; Gerhards, Christian; Rodriguez‐Jerez, José‐juan; Michel, Valérie; Bayon, Isabelle Le; Ismail, Rached; Federighi, Michel (2016-05-01). "Microbial Safety of Wood in Contact with Food: A Review". Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety . 15 (3): 491–505. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12199 . PMID   33401823.
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