Cutting board has another name - chopping board. Chopping board term is more commonly heard among users. It is a hard flat surface for you to put raw or cooked food items to cut them into pieces. This item is used in all types of kitchens for food preparation. There are other types of cutting boards available for cutting materials like plastic, leather, etc.

These boards are usually made of plastic, wood, or stone, and come in many sizes and shapes. You can also see marble, steel, or glass cutting boards in the market. Materials like corian, or nylon are easier to clean than plastic or wooden boards. However, they can damage your knives as they are very hard. Serrated knives or knives with rougher cutting edges can damage cutting surfaces of a board. 

Building Materials

If the cutting surface is too rough or abrasive, it can blunt a knife’s edges which are very delicate. If the cutting surface is tough or hard, the edge of a knife can be chipped. Good cutting boards have soft building materials. These materials are very easy to clean, not very abrasive, but also not too fragile that it would be destroyed by the pressure of a knife. However, you can use hard chopping boards to cut cheese or sandwiches. Let us have a look at the various building materials of cutting boards.

Wood 

Wood is one of the most commonly used materials for cutting boards. It has some merits over plastic as building material in the sense that it has a kind of self-healing property. Even if shallow cuts occur on the wooden boards, they will close up over time. It is also naturally anti-septic. The pores on hardwood are small and hardwood is also tightly grained.

That is why hardwood is the best material for cutting boards. The tightness of the grains and the hardness of this wood type help in reducing the cutting surface scoring. These properties also help reduce the absorbing of dirt and liquid into the cutting surface.

Another type of wood called Redwood is also a hardwood but the pores on this wood are bigger and over time this type of wood becomes really dirty although you wash it regularly. This makes redwood the worst among hardwood cutting boards as cutting board material. 

Teak

Teak is also a cutting board building material. It is very attractive because of its natural coloration and very tight grains. These properties make it a good choice for cutting boards. It is both aesthetically beautiful and durable. Teak is a wood from tropical environments. It contains a kind of natural resin which is oily in nature and resistant to moistures.

The resin is called tectoquinones. It also repels warping, fungi, microbes and rot. Cutting boards made from wood can have a sand finishing and then wax and oil can be applied. Cutting boards made from wood need proper care. You need to apply edible oil to prevent warping from happening.

You should never put it inside of a pool of liquid such as water. You need to hang it from a hook freely to dry properly. You need to carefully select wood for the cutting board. Always use hardwood from tropical areas. Some woods can contain allergens or toxins, so proper care must be taken while choosing chopping board material.

Bamboo

Alternative to glass and plastic cutting boards are the bamboo boards. It is partially so because bamboo commonly is a material thought to be antimicrobial naturally. However, science has a different point of view. Bamboo is chosen carefully during its harvest for size, markings, and maturation. After that the bamboo stalks are cut into pieces for specific sizes. Then the pieces go through a process called pressing.

As a result the stalks become smaller pieces that look like planks. Through a lamination process, a chopping board can be produced from several pieces after the pieces become pliable. Because of the nature of the hardness of the bamboo cutting board, there is no history of use of this cutting board.

Plastic

The alternate name for the plastic cutting board is PE or polyethylene chopping or cutting boards. You can also call them HDPE or high density polyethylene plastic. Because, these boards are made from these materials. HDPE boards are of two types - one type is made from injection plastic, and the other one is made from the extrusion line.  

Plastic needs to pass a few certifications. The certifications ensure the food grade quality of the plastic used in making cutting boards. One such certification is NSF. This certification will ensure that the plastic is safe for food preparation. Plastic does not have any antiseptic properties like wood.

However, you can clean a plastic chopping board with strong chemicals and it does not retain chemicals like wood, hence making the plastic board safe to use with food. It is easier to rinse, wash, and clean plastic boards.HDPE cutting boards are made in such a way that it does not damage the sharpness of a knife. It is highly recommended not to use serrated knives with plastic chopping boards. If the knife is sharper, then the board will also last longer. 

Silicone

Silicone is a soft material similar to rubber. It has anti-bacterial and self-healing properties also, just like wood. This material is resistant to heat, and does not smell like rubber. 

Glass

Glass is attractive because it looks clean and beautiful. However, glass is so hard that the edge of a knife can be damaged. If you use glass boards, your knife will surely get damaged over time with roll, dents, and chipping of the edges. Besides, glass is also risky in a sense that a knife can chip or shatter glass during food preparation and the food will then get contamination from glass shards. 

Steel

The next material is steel. As a material it has the advantages of cleaning and durability. However, it can damage knives because it is also very hard. Based on the heat treatment used to make the steel and the kind of steel in use, your knives can either become dull or completely damaged over time with roll, dent, or chip. 

Hygiene

Hygiene is very important because while preparing raw meat products or vegetables, bacteria can remain on the board even after normal cleaning and thorough rinsing. The bacteria can remain in the grooves of the board. Proper care is needed to prevent contamination.

Features

1. The cutting board is made from wood.

2. The dimension of the board is 38 × 26 × 2 cm.

3. It weighs 2 kgs.

Advantages

1. Wood has self-healing property

2. Even if shallow cuts occur on the wooden boards, they will close up over time.

3. It is also naturally anti-septic.

4. The tightness of the grains and the hardness of this wood type help in reducing the cutting surface scoring.

5. Reduces the absorbing of dirt and liquid into the cutting surface.

   
   

Although there are so many options for cutting boards, none beats a beautiful heavy wooden cutting board in the kitchen. It has so many merits over other types of materials. So, if you are in the market to buy one, please keep this article in your mind.