For many home cooks, choosing the best kitchen knife is a topmost priority. Some of them even invest a considerable amount of money on this kitchen tool. However, they do not seem to display the same kind of dedication when it comes to the selection of their cutting board.
As a home cook, , you should be aware that, in your kitchen, knives and cutting boards are as important as salt and pepper. Moreover, you should have a good grasp of how the surface of your cutting board affects your knife. Suffice to say, choosing the right cutting board is as essential as selecting the right knife. Carefully selecting your cutting board means ensuring that your knife lasts long and improving your food preparation or cooking experience.
Glass, composite, plastic and wood are just some of the materials used in making cutting boards. Each cutting board surface affects knives differently.
Why do knives become dull? A knife becomes dull because its blade starts to curl over on itself. The cutting surface plays a critical role in this process. The harder the surface of the cutting board is, the quicker it is for a knife to lose its edge.
DO NOT choose glass cutting boards! This is the worst board you could use as tests showed that a glass cutting board can dull brand new knives within 10 strokes. Their popularity really just lies in the fact that they look pretty.Hence, it’s better to use them as trays for food presentations instead of cutting boards.
Other hard materials used in making cutting boards are ceramic, granite, marble and composite. Made up of resins and a combination of wood fibers, composite cutting boards are famous because they're less likely to get indentations or gouges from repeated use. This is one of the reasons why they last longer. Unfortunately, due to their hard surface, they are not good for your knives as well.
There are also plastic cutting boards. As they may cause knives to slip, these boards are not also recommended. Moreover, much like glass boards, acrylic plastic cutting boards easily dull knives.
For many chefs, wood cutting boards remain the favorite choice as they can be used for most foods. There are different types of wood used in making wood cutting boards - bamboo, oak, beech, maple, chestnut, cherry and black walnut. Lately, bamboo cutting boards are getting more attention from chefs and home cooks. The rise in its popularity may be attributed to the fact that using this type of board has countless benefits. For one, it is considered a sustainable choice. Bamboo, a type of grass, matures in about three to six years. As it grows fast, replenishing it doesn’t take too long unlike trees such as maple. Additionally, its quick growth makes harvesting it economical.
Bamboo cutting boards are also durable. They are less likely to split or crack as bamboo is resistant to absorbing water unlike other wood boards. Most importantly, naturally found in the bamboo fibers which make up the boards is the antimicrobial bio-agent called bamboo kun. This gives bamboo cutting boards their unique anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and odor-resistant qualities. Its antibacterial property is also the reason why the same bamboo cutting board may be used for meat and vegetables,provided that the board is washed with warm, soapy water. This has been proven in laboratory tests wherein bamboo boards came out bacteria-free after washing them.
Given its durability, anti-bacterial properties and elegance, a bamboo cutting board is a valuable addition to your kitchen tools. Purchase our Organic Bamboo Cutting Board now to preserve your knives and enhance your cooking experience!