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Getting the right cutting board for the job is not as hard as you may think.  What you are preparing should dictate what kind of board you use.  If I am dicing vegetables, mincing garlic, or chopping herbs I always opt for my big wooden board.  Whenever I am prepping non-meat items, this is what I use.  I love my 3 inch thick slab of wood.  It’s heavy and study and doesn’t move around when I am working on it.  It’s is easy to clean too.  Just rub a generous amount of salt on the board and let it sit a few minutes then rinse with hot water.  The salt will absorb any flavors like garlic and onions that tend to get absorbed into the wood and smooth out the small cuts in the wood essentially resurfacing your board.  Stand on its side to dry and then rub with a light coating of mineral oil (olive oil will work in a pinch too).  I never cut raw meats on a wooden board.  Wood is porous and can absorb bad bacteria.  Cooked meats are okay but will likely make a juicy mess.

That leads me to my plastic, anti-microbial board.  It has a well that runs around the outer edge to catch all the juices that will flow from your meats pre- and post-cooking.  I always use this board when cutting up raw meats.  I usually put a damp towel underneath it to keep it from sliding, but that may be more a function of my counter tops than of the board itself.  These boards are easy to clean and can be put into the dishwasher, unlike wooden boards.  You can use a mild bleach solution on the plastic boards, to kill off all the bad bacteria from raw meat, without fear of it getting absorbed into the board. Chemical solutions should never be used on wooden boards.  The plastic boards are also easy on the knife’s edge, although wood is better.

Glass boards?  Why? Why? Why?  I’m not sure who thought that a glass cutting board would be a good idea because it’s not.  Why anyone would want to use a glass board for chopping is beyond me.  It has no give, will dull your knife like nobody’s business, and will make an awful sound when you attempt to drag your knife through whatever you are working on.  Not to mention that glass can chip and introduce shards into your food. They are useful as presentation pieces, for example, when you are serving cheese.  In this application you won’t run the risk of dulling any knives and it will make for an easy clean-up, especially if you are serving runny cheeses.

Happy Chopping

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