What is the Best Cutting Board?
Traditionally, cutting boards have been made from hardwoods like Maple however over the past few years new cutting boards have emerged onto the market that are made from various materials like: wood, plastic, marble, and even bamboo cutting boards; they all have a place in the modern kitchen and each type has its own benefits and drawbacks, but just what is the best cutting board?
It’s all very well having a nice stylish cutting board in your kitchen but is it safe? One of the most common causes of food poisoning is due to cross contamination which is the transfer of harmful bacteria from one type of food to anther – cross contamination from chopping boards is one of the main culprits of food poisoning due to the fact that many types of foods in the kitchen are being prepared on a chopping board.
Also pick the wrong type of cutting board and you will soon have to invest in a new set of kitchen knives – Yes some cutting boards can dull your knives.
Don’t fret just yet! There are ways to reduce or even stop the threat of cross contamination and there are cutting boards that are kitchen knife friendly too – read on!
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Best Cutting Board To Avoid Bacteria
By far the best cutting board to prevent cross contamination from harmful bacteria is the acrylic cutting boards. Every modern professional kitchen now uses acrylic cutting boards and you’ll find that they utilize many colors of boards all of which are used for different food preparation.
By using different cutting board colors you can help reduce the risk of cross contamination. The colors help you to keep track of which cutting boards are for reserved for which types of foods.
Here are the different cutting board colors and their uses in the kitchen:
- Green: Fruits & Vegetables
- Yellow: Raw Poultry
- Red: Raw Meat
- Blue: Cooked Food
- White: Dairy Products
- Brown: Fish & Seafood
Acrylic or plastic cutting boards are easy to clean, you can just throw them in the dishwasher but they aren’t very knife friendly.
Best Cutting Board For Your Knives
Wooden cutting boards are the best cutting boards for your knives, if you want to prolong the life of your best kitchen knives wooden cutting boards are the way to go.
Today wooden cutting boards come in many styles and are usually made from hard maple wood; however other woods and styles have emerged in recent years for the trendier chefs who want to stand out from the crowd.
They may not be as hygienic as the plastic acrylic cutting boards but if looked after and treated correctly wooden cutting boards can last for many years, with no issues.
To help reduce the risk of cross contamination and bacteria growth on your wooden cutting board try rubbing it down with salt after washing and giving it a quick blast in the microwave to kill any harmful bacteria that maybe lurking in the wood.
Some of the other woods used in cutting board construction are bamboo, which is not technically wood at all but grass. Bamboo has become popular due its hardness and resistance to bacteria and they also have a longer lifespan than the regular wooden boards.
One of the downsides of wooden cutting boards however is that they are harder to clean and are not dishwasher safe, but the best feature of wooden cutting boards is that they are knife friendly and many people prefer the sound of chopping on wood as opposed to other types.
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So it’s really up to personal preference to which cutting board is right for you, like a Chef’s Knife, there is no one knife for all and each has their own preferences and merits. What is the best cutting board for me? I prefer the plastic acrylic cutting boards, they’re easy to clean and cheap.
What’s your favorite cutting board? drop a message below!
