Cutting Boards - Wood or Plastic?

[Ben]

I've recently switched mostly back to wood. I still keep a couple of plastic boards in the cupboard, but have switched back to wood for day to day stuff. I have one wood board dedicated to bread (I rarely buy bread, so I'm slicing daily) and the other to most everything else.

I used to worry about contamination, which is what switched me to plastic to begin with, but recently read some interesting articles that negate the plastic "advantage". Truth be told, I should be more worried about sterilizing and more often replacing the sponges I use to wipe down the boards than the boards themselves. Growing up, wood is all there was, and I don't think I ever got food poisoning from my parents using wood boards. :)

I treat mine with mineral oil, and when they get enough overly deep scratches, I think I'm going to try sanding them down and re-oiling them vs tossing and buying new.

[K Frame]

For most tasks I use flexible cutting mats.

They're cheap, they're really convenient, and they can be replaced often enough that it's generally not really an issue about contamination.

I gave up on wood boards some years ago after my last one started to split and warp.

I got several plastic cutting boards, but over time those started to warp. Some really badly to the point where I tossed them.

I have a really large plastic one that I use when I'm working with large piece of meat, full birds, etc.


Overall, though, I really like the flexible plastic cutting mats.

This set would be good. Less than $2 a mat. https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Plastic-Cutting-Colorful-Kitchen/dp/B01HN7ZGUQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1514045313&sr=8-4&keywords=flexible+plastic+cutting+mat

[RoadKingLarry]

We've gone to all plastic.
My wife could seriously *expletive deleted*ck up a good wood cutting board.

[Larry Ashcraft]

We have all three, mat, plastic and wood.  Mostly use the mats and plastic boards in the kitchen, but come green chile time, wood works better for processing chiles.  My dad left me a bundle plus of oak flooring about 1.5" wide.  I cut those about 10" long and glue and pipe clamp them into boards about 8x10, and cap the ends with walnut, then soak in mineral oil.  A couple have split, but they are cheap and easy to make.  The way we process chile is, put the board in a large cookie sheet, scrape off any excess peel, cut the stem and remove the core and most of the seeds, and then scrape the waste of the board and grab another chile.  It works well, wife and I can process a bushel of roasted chiles in an hour or so.  In September, we'll get 6-12 family members and friends over and process chiles on folding tables out on the lawn, taking bowls of finished chiles into the house for further processing and freezing.  Wearing nitrile gloves with the obligatory bottle of beer by your side, naturally.

Guess I got a little off topic there, but wood works better because of the thickness.

[zxcvbob]

Wood is more sanitary than plastic.  Plastic is hard to clean totally once it gets little cuts in the surface. Wood is antibacterial somehow; clean it as best you can, and it kills the germs as it dries.  (I read that somewhere)  And if you do need to use a sanitizer on it, the wood doesn't repel it like plastic.

I do use plastic cutting boards anyway; I have both kinds and use whichever is clean and available.

[bedlamite]

I generally use wood for veggies, plastic for meat. Roll up plastic mats are under $1 each locally.

[Fly320s]

Wood is more sanitary than plastic.  Plastic is hard to clean totally once it gets little cuts in the surface. Wood is antibacterial somehow; clean it as best you can, and it kills the germs as it dries.  (I read that somewhere)  And if you do need to use a sanitizer on it, the wood doesn't repel it like plastic.

I do use plastic cutting boards anyway; I have both kinds and use whichever is clean and available.

The wood isn’t anitbacterial, the oil protecting the wood is.  That is why wood cutting boards are less likey to have germs than plastic, but that is only true as long as the wood is properly maintained and oiled.

[lupinus]

I really like and prefer my butcher block boards, and will use them for everything. Concerns about bacteria and stuff with them are largely overblown.

That said, I do use plastic a lot. I don't like it as much. But I'm lazy and plastic can goin the dishwasher.

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[p12]

My latest cutting board purchase was bamboo. Love em.


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[grampster]

Swmbo has Corian and glass.

[zxcvbob]

Swmbo has Corian and glass.

Glass will quickly dull your knives.  If you're okay with that and can resharpen them yourself, it's a good choice.  I don't know about Corian.

[Firethorn]

The wood isn’t anitbacterial, the oil protecting the wood is.  That is why wood cutting boards are less likey to have germs than plastic, but that is only true as long as the wood is properly maintained and oiled.

Well there's this, and that wood, for whatever reason will have bacteria in it, but not transfer it.  It holds the bacteria better than most things you put on the board, basically.

[K Frame]

Corian is ATROCIOUS for knives!

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[KD5NRH]

Lead won't damage your blades as badly, and when it gets too scuffed up you can just melt it down and recast, with the bonus of sterilizing it at the same time.

[Ben]

Lead won't damage your blades as badly, and when it gets too scuffed up you can just melt it down and recast, with the bonus of sterilizing it at the same time.

Ah... lead exposure. Finally we understand.

 

[lupinus]

The wood isn’t anitbacterial, the oil protecting the wood is.  That is why wood cutting boards are less likey to have germs than plastic, but that is only true as long as the wood is properly maintained and oiled.

Actually the tannins in the wood do have some antimicrobial properties to it.

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[Mannlicher]

no reason to choose anything other than wood.  Better for your knives, more sanitary, looks better.

[Kingcreek]

Wood in the kitchen, one for veggies only and one for meat only.
Plastic for butchering because it's easier to get BIG plastic cutting boards than it is wood.

[French G.]

Wood. Plastic is gross and glass is a crime against knives. I am fond of giving my wood boards the Jewish treatment, if they have been used for meat I scrub them down with salt, lots of salt and let the slurry sit for awhile. Don't like soap on them.