Gear Heads | Which Type of Cutting Board is Best for Your Kitchen? 

exactly right!

Beets are worse

Tip it on a corner.

That is why a thick board can be nice. If it touches a cupboard it can leave an oil mark. Thick ones can stand on there own. Also if you get a new board, be ready to sand it a bit if the grain pops after the first washings. I got 2 new boards ( very nice teakwood, they came highly recommended) they both poped the grain after the first washing. Don't go crazy, just sand them with some 220 sandpaper till smooth. LIGHTLY!!! Till smooth and oil them for a week.... All will be good.....

Again, why plastic?? Dishwashing plastic releases micro plastics into our water supply.

@@fredflintstone2234 gets filtered out in any water filter in a house, is filtered by any city water plant, like if your this concerned get a Brita filter

You're Right WRONG. micro plastics do NOT get filtered. They bypass municipal and your house's filtration system, which is why thus is such a problem for our ecosystem. Marine life such as turtles ingests it, we ingest it. Get your facts straight.

@@fredflintstone2234 2 minutes on Google proves you wrong. Low micron carbon filters and TAPP filters both filter microplastics out. And the WHO says ingesting microplastics isn't harmful. So you got double proved wrong. Ouch

You're Right I don't care what two minutes in Google does. Ask any waste management treatment employee. Further, if you remember how they were put tic those little colored beads in toothpaste, those were getting through. So, you're still wrong. But if you really feel you're right, please go ahead and drink a gallon of micro plastics. Can't hurt you, right?

Thanks for the tip! I destroyed some wooden boards recently and want to do my new one justice :)

Great tip! Especially for the more expensive end grain boards!

Wow! Thanks!!!! I think that is the reason mine warped :P

It helps to give it a good drink of cutting board oil, then it doesn't soak in water or bad bacteria, lasts longer, and looks better.

I've always heard to wash both sides of a cutting boards even if I've used only one side. Just never know what's been sitting on the kitchen counter that might get transferred onto the underside of the board during use.

Yes I agree ! It’s been a bit scripted and informercial style in the past year.

That's the way they were before. They are going back to the way they should have stayed.

I noticed that right off the bat. Very refreshing and I washed the entire video!

My thoughts too, hehehe

They know this

Turmeric and beets!

TRUTH

It leaves everything it touches a nice golden yellow

When I replaced my faucet about five years ago, I was shocked at how inexpensive the detachable type has become! It was the height of luxury when I was a kid, and now I think they should be standard! Mine was maybe $80, and wasn’t the cheapest, by far.

My husband recently surprised me with a detachable sprayer😁😁😁I just LOVE it!!!

Not only that but I love the faucets that are high enough that you can put your stock pot right under them with no porblem

I was that friend, lucky for me, but not rich, just comfortable, and my parents always bought the newest thing, we had the Dishmaster kitchen faucet with built in soap dispensing brush for around a $100, now it's $259 (They still make it) We were also first on the block with a microwave $800 with an on/off switch, and a timer. Too funny the Dishmaster is still being made, but is more expensive, and that $800 basic microwave can now be bought for $100 with more features. Same with TV's, I bought a 36" glass tube tv back in eighties for $1600, and just bought a 43" led for $249! Crazy how technology, luckily, trickles down to we poor folk as I can no longer afford that $1600 tv! I can't afford the $259 Dishmaster either, it costs more than my TV! 🤣😁✌

Don't forget a range hood that vents to the outside

I feel like sink size is the last thing we think of. I put in a 9” deep doublewide tub and can fit all my meat boards (up to 18x24) to wash but if I had my old 6” sink with divider, I would have to wash most of them outside.

For my big plastic board, I just sit each corner on a silicone trivet. That way I have no worries about sanitizing seams with stick-on stuff and the board won’t move at all.

@MK25 big is nice just for the room offered.. but like I said it's a pain to clean in a sink ;)

Honestly, we have 3 Rubbermaid boards(sm/med/lg) and they’re double sided with rubber handles. They don’t slip, stain (I wash by hand) or smell. Have had them for about 3 years and they’re still going strong!!! I’m a professional cook and I’m more happy with mine than the ones at work 😁

They literally mention that

Ya that giant wooden board would be a huge pain to clean after chopping 1 piece of raw meat, f that.

@@drpepper3726 it might be a good idea to scale to family/use

Same here

I know, right.

You see through our eyes.

Right on. We have about five or six thin plastic cutting boards the size of the board she threw out. They get the job done and fit in the dishwasher. Then we have a couple of slightly larger ones, one with some grippy rubber at each end for when that's necessary. It works in our small kitchen, and I've been feeding a family of four most nights of the week on them.

@@mahna_mahna I have a medium sized plastic board for most things and a smaller plastic board for meat.

This is nothing new. Bateriocidal end grain cutting boards are the best, also for your knives.

@@BeeRich33 It's not a competition. If you have something to show us from prior to the study I mentioned, I'm keen to know more. Your comment has told us nothing new.

@@BeeRich33 well it was “new” to me, so the comment was appreciated; yours not so much

They said they did a lot of tests but they didn't go over any of the tests in this video outside of the stain test, so I wonder if there's an article or more detailed video about this. Maybe it's in the description I haven't looked ironically but I'm definitely interested also. To be fair plastic isn't that hard so I doubt it's going to harm your knives any more less than wood.

@@waltermh111 I think that the "Test Kitchen" basically exists to promote the "winning" products on Amazon, which is why you never see the results of test, so take anything they say with a grain of salt.

The softer the better, if edge retention is the goal. However, it means that you will be cutting more grooves into your board. Personally, I find teak too hard hard because of the silica content of the wood. Bamboo is even worse; they are the most durable "wooden" boards, but dulls knives far too quickly, in my experience. I'd go for walnut or cherry if you want a board on the softer side; otherwise, maple, oak, birch are all good.

Edge retention is not a function of how expensive your knife is :) However, carbon steel should hold an edge longer, all else being equal.

The problem with plastic boards with high Rockwell hardness is that the blade digs into the plastic and chips your knife. Better to have a harder cutting board for those types of boards. They did not even mention that at all. Kind of important.

Yes, it's a rolling cart, not really designed for pounding chicken cutlets on--but I'm working with what I've got for video :)

Not had that problem so much with plastic. But, once I bought one of those acrylic cutting boards, (Don't know if they still make them) and you wouldn't believe how fast it dulled my knives. No give at all in the surface.

Good wood, bamboo, or plastic shouldn’t harm the edge of your knife. Glass, ceramic, etc are a no-no. I use the white plastic boards similar to what you see here with my good Japanese knifes without problems or undo dulling...

They mentioned durability, even sending the wooden boards to Autodesk for automated tests at 1:45 to see if the knife dulled, and then didn’t refer to the results. 🙁

They also didn't mention that, with wooden boards, there is a huge difference in hardness depending on what type of wood you have. An Australian buloke board would cause your knife to shatter, while japanese cypress is just slightly harder than butter. I wanted a softer wood that wouldn't dull my Japanese chef's knives, so I got a small American cherry board and a large mahogany board. Both of them are great, and my knives hold their edge for a long time.

As with many questions, details make a big difference. Both wood and plastic cover a wide variety of possible characteristics. I've heard similar comments as well, and I can only imagine that they're not in full context, or the original information was lacking some important details. Acrylic is hard, and frequently criticized as dulling a knife, but still called plastic. Polypropylene, or other similar plastics are far softer, and unlikely to dull a knife. Though personally, I find them soft enough that very sharp knives dig into them, damaging the board a bit, and making for an awkward feeling chop. As with most tools, it's important to address how you will be using it. Personally, I have multiple cutting boards, that I use in differing situations. I like a bamboo board for rough, or borderline abusive applications, as it's a hard and durable surface. Say when I break out the cleaver, a plastic, or softer wood board would probably take some damage. For general purpose, a poly, or side grain board work well. For using fancy extra sharp knives, I like an end grain board. As it has a better feel when cutting, and it compensates a bit for the sharp knife cutting into the material, by being somewhat self healing. While a side grain board would develop more cuts on its surface. If you want to get really fancy, there's pricy rubberized boards, typically made in Japan. But while I think those are probably awesome, the price point will keep them out of most home kitchens, like mine. They usually end up in sushi restaurants, or the kitchens of people willing to pay a lot for the best. They seem to have similar characteristics to end grain boards. And it should go without saying that really hard surfaces are to be avoided. Such as glass, acrylic, and I've even seen some stainless steel cutting boards. So a lot depends on your knives, and how you use them. If by more expensive knives, you're referring to something like a high hardness, extra sharp knife, like upscale Japanese knives can be, a board such as end grain tends to be popular. But I think that's more because of the way the board works with the knife, than because it dulls the blade less. I do think a harder material, like bamboo for example, can potentially be harder on the edge of that sort of knife. There are somewhat pricey western style knives, such as Wusthof's that while of course sharp, are sharpened to a less acute edge. And thus have less of the property that I like my end grain board for. Oh and I'm personally not using the large sizes that they love to recommend. I simply don't have the space for those.

Why not coconut oil? Less toxic.

Totally agree that spoon butter is better, but mineral oil is a simple, inexpensive solution that most people can implement immediately.

I've used the mineral oil+beeswax concoction for wood handles on my knives. They look great and feel good until you start chopping and interacting with water and residue from fish or chicken - the wood surface gets very slippery and the knife doesn't feel secure. I assume that it is probably the beeswax that is causing the slipperiness. I have one wooden chopping board and a medium and small size plastic board. Both show stains that will eventually fade after several washings. The wood is soft and feels good under the knife. My wife bought me a glass-like board, with feet, that is pretty - the first time my knife jarred against that hard surface, I rejected it for chopping duties - I use it to put hot stuff on. We downsized on our house when we neared retirement age - I don't have room for the monster chopping board and I'm usually just fixing a meal for two these days.

@@pattijesinoski1958 Ooh would not recommend any food/cooking oils, like they mentioned in this video those oils will get rancid and smell terribly - and that smell will not go away no matter how much you try to disinfect it, my and my roommate's experience agrees lol 😅 I'll go back and get the timestamp. 7:32 is where she says you don't want to use vegetable oil or olive oil 👍

@@pattijesinoski1958 There is nothing toxic about food grade mineral oil.

I'd assume the one they recommended.

End grain. They also left out super steel knives vs traditional / European. A good super steel knife with a smaller edge angle and harder steel will likely sink in to their plastic board and micro chip / crack when trying to free it.

@@madthumbs1564 I was actually wondering this too. I am considering investing in a powder steel knife and would hate for anything to happen to it. Chips are hard to fix. And I was wondering what like an S3 would do on the teak Vs plastic board.

@@KitarraChaosWeaver I have some PM steel knives. Edge retention and angles are awesome! -But I mostly use Victorinox because I can quick and easy sharpen them and don't have much worry (even letting them sit dirty).

@@madthumbs1564 I agree, I have knives that cost hundreds of dollars each yet I always find myself reaching for my Victorinox boning and breaking knives. they're well built, easy to sharpen to a razor edge, and best of all they're relatively inexpensive.

🤔 honestly, kinda expected at this point from ATK. Especially since they have multiple shows on pbs, several cookbooks, classes, an online website, an app, and a Nintendo DS game.

I've had mine for over 15 years and it still looks great but I don't put it in the dishwasher. I do have to dry it on it's side or it will cup and I have to flip it over to use it.

Or perhaps she has the dishwasher with a slightly narrower upper basket

Sears sold a few such models a while back

I peeped that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha.

One of the reasons I switched to wood because a large plastic cutting board does NOT fit in the dishwasher anyways.

Did anyone else notice that on the plastic cutting board demo, they showed the backside as if it were the right side. So no stain, of course. Heehee

yes she did! i like both :)

I have both plastic and wood cutting boards.

@@hannahcrowley2030 It is great seeing the ATK members interacting with the viewers. Thank you.

Hannah Crowley I want to know where you found that magnificent fish vase??

Yes😁

Deborah Kennedy If you have someone around you with a table saw, they are all easy to cut to whatever size you want. I have four at 16X12, and large one I do butchering on, which is 21X36-inches. The butchering one, gets laid on a run of sticky padded shelf liner, and overhangs my sink.

Yup😉👍

What happens when you cut meat then need to cut veggies? With the size of the wooden board she has, F*** that. Also REALLY you should be using separate boards for meat and veggies.

Edward Cullen. When prepping food I cut all the veggies first. Then cut the meat. Then wash the board.

Yeah, I've lived in a number of places that only had enough counter space for the small cutting boards. And seeing as how I was mostly cooking for myself, they were the perfect size!

Same! I have wooden for veggies. Plastic for meats then sharpen my knifes. No mixing my boards.

And you can also use it to condition the fret board on your guitar, if you have one.

So it's not wooden all the way! I agree...use both.

ispymoni if I had to choose one or the other. It would be wooden

I have a humungous plastic board that I use for cleaning fish. It goes outside and gets washed with a hose when I'm done. No use for it the kitchen except for a cabinet divider to hold the other wooden boards up on their edge.

I agree about ProTeak. If kept in a stationary place, you *could* be extra conscious about what you cut on it so all you need to do is wipe the top with a lightly soapy washcloth, followed by a damp washcloth to wipe away the soap. Don't cut meat or anything with too much soil and it would be fine so as to not lug it to the sink.

Jake we have the Winco board, as seen in Hannah’s test. I love it, it is everything that Hannah said and I have tendinitis in my hands so c@n handle it easily. Washed in DW about 250 times now and no bowing or de lamination. However, in my younger years, I used an old wooden cutting board that my mom got during WW2 in Biloxi Mississippi where my dad was stationed. She bought it at the PX and it is a 1 1/4 inch thick wooden cutting board shaped like a pig 14” by 18” but is too heavy for me to handle anymore so it hangs like a decoration on wall of the kitchen. God, I loved that pig, best cutting board I ever had or have seen (barring Lisa’s behemoth which I could not handle today), but it looks equally comfortable upon the wall and brings back so many memories.

Imagine how informative this video could be if the runners up were mentioned by name. Or maybe the disadvantages of different woods. Or maybe a list of the losers and what went wrong. Otherwise we just have an infomercial. Comments have the bulk of useful information for me.

@@nyohaku The full testing stories are on our website, www.americastestkitchen.com

Jake: warping is a result of how a board is dried. Always dry it vertically not horizontally so that both sides (top and bottom) have equal air circulation when drying. In your case, is sounds like your water is too hot. And you can always call OXO customer service, or could have returned the board to Target.

We hear you, Josh!! :)

The problem is that bamboo is not wood (it's a grass), and they are infamously hard on knives. Bamboo is 19 percent harder than traditional maple, which means it’s also harder on your knives. Also, the small grooves may ever-so-slightly catch your knife, interrupting a smooth cutting action. And many of the glues used for bamboo boards use formaldehyde. You want to make sure it says formaldehyde-free glue is used.

how do you sharpen it?

Axe Avier check out their review for electric knife sharpener. Well worth it!

@@axeavier My favorite way is with a diamond rod, but for extreme maintenance I'd use stones.

Lisa’s or Hannah’s?

You "could" get a heavier board and be extra conscious about what you cut on it so all you need to do is wipe it with a lightly soapy washcloth, followed by a damp washcloth to wipe the soap. Don't cut meat or anything with too much soil and it would be fine. But yes, there are "lightweight" wood boards. And there are bamboo boards (not wood) but hard on your knives.

We've tested them in the past, and they're very hard. The knife kind of clacks as it hits. They're made of composite material.

@@lisamcmanus6656 Oh, thank you for that info!! ❤️

I can't recall when or where I saw or read about a test of that aspect, but in whatever test it was I recall that plastic and real wood were equal in knife edge retention, but that bamboo was hard on knives.

SeikiBrian now that you mention it I do recall the part about bamboo

most commonly used woods are probably good but some wood types are much harder than others. bamboo is really hard despite being common though some types of woods also absorbs more water than other.

Bamboo is high in silica (glass) which is why it's bad. It's also a grass (not wood) and needs a lot more glue than woods. If you have truly sharp knives with small edge angles; they'll sink into the plastic boards too much and some may crack or chip as a result. If you want a cheap route: End grain Acacia. If you want the best; end grain hard maple (but from a reputable maker like BoardSmith or Boos).

Brian Klaus: It depends on the type of wood and type of plastic specifically for cutting boards. There is not a universal answer. Maple is the best for knives. Acacia comes in second but then it depends on the cultivar of Acacia, some are too hard on knives, others are ideal. Same concept for plastic. The problem is that bamboo is not wood (it's a grass), and they are infamously hard on knives. Bamboo is 19 percent harder than traditional maple, which means it’s also harder on your knives. Also, the small grooves may ever-so-slightly catch your knife, interrupting a smooth cutting action. And many of the glues used for bamboo boards use formaldehyde. You want to make sure it says formaldehyde-free glue is used.

6:20 in video, "When you wash with hot, soapy water...the bacteria are killed".

@@anmnou True, but it's more convenient for me to switch than wash while cooking, then just wash both and be done with it. 🙂

Good question.... But that begs: is wood any better at not giving up "micro pieces"?

@@DanHarasty at least wood is organic

Right?!

Lightweight wood and bamboo cutting boards can also be great! Ikea makes a really nice large bamboo one that’s only about a half inch thick, and i think it’s actually lighter than similar sized plastic boards I’ve used

Once you get a plastic board all cut up so that you are getting all the delicious pieces of microplastics into your food, you'll find that a plastic board holds onto food about the same as a nicked up wooden board. Here's a good piece of advice; since you can't cut on a plastic board w/o losing control of the knife, do NOT attempt to move up to the expert level of cutting boards and buy a glass one! I've been using the same glass cutting board for about 25 years, and you have to be really good at controlling the food on the cutting board. Since it's glass you don't build up all the scratches you get on wood and plastic that people depend on to hold the food in place. On a glass board you actually have to pay attention to what you are doing....

Years ago my husband worked for a company that installed tile and other products in commercial buildings, malls etc. He brought home a large Corian cutting board that we had for years. It was pretty heavy though and I eventually let it go. Your comment jogged my memory about it.