Why Should You Choose A Wood Cutting Board?
Hands down, the most important tool in the kitchen is a good chef's knife. whether you are an expert chef or what you make is barely edible... If you're going to cook, you need a good knife. A good knife makes cooking far easier and more pleasant.
The second most important tool in the kitchen is a proper cutting board. It will help keep your counters clean as well as keep your knife from going dull too soon.
This is where the jury is split. A lot of people still prefer the plastic cutting boards. However multiple studies show that wood is actually better at absorbing and trapping bacteria from raw meats and vegetables. Wood posses natural antimicrobial qualities that can kill bacteria, where as plastic does nothing but hold it until the next time you use your cutting board, (ewww!) even after washing with soapy hot water.
Dean O. Cliver, a Professor of Food Safety at University of California Davis, and lead researcher on this topic says, "With the plastic, after manual washing as I would do under my kitchen faucet, we could still recover bacteria from grooves. Dishwashers didn’t eliminate the problem either because the bacteria didn’t actually die—they were re-deposited on other surfaces in the dishwasher. And tests on old plastic boards treated with disinfectants such as chlorine bleach still found levels of residual bacteria hiding in grooves."
There are other options out there such as glass and stainless steel, but these are more damaging to your knife and not worth exploring unless you plan to constantly sharpen your knife.
Wooden cutting boards are the way to go. They make sense from a financial and environmental standpoint. If your plastic cutting board is damaged, it should be thrown away to prevent the contamination of bacteria. Consistently replacing a plastic cutting board is not cost efficient or environmentally sound.
A good, hardwood cutting board does cost more up front, but can easily last decades, even an entire life with proper care.
Proper Care: Wash promptly with soapy hot water after preparing foods and towel-dry to avoid warping. If possible, keep separate cutting boards for meat and non-meat foods. Rub walnut or almond oil into the board once a week.
Looking for a way to make it a little more decorative?
Wood Cutting boards are really easy to customize with laser engraving! Our lasers burn the surface of the wood leaving a nice dark contrasting mark. Your design options are endless - from a handwrittten copy of great grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe, to a wedding monogram for a brand new couple, to your company logo. What do YOU want to engrave?
We have several designs to choose from but welcome custom orders as well! If you have any questions, please contact us. We're here for you and we're happy to help!