The cutting board is a tool that has the task of creating a workspace intended for cutting meat, fruit, and vegetables. To ensure maximum hygiene, the ideal would be to have one for each food you intend to use in the kitchen.
If you are wondering which cutting board to buy, we have prepared a buying guide containing valuable information to help you choose the model that best suits your needs, with an eye to saving.
Generally speaking, cutting boards are often available at low prices, accessible to all budgets, and you can save even more by buying during the sales.
Here we had selected some of the best models of the cutting boards that are listed below.
Buying Guide to Select the Best Cutting Board
Among the kitchen utensils that should never be missing, there is the cutting board that serves, as the name suggests, in the cutting operations of cured meats, meat, bread, and food of this type. Not using it means exposing the kitchen table or counter to the risk of damage.
Materials
If you are one of those who compare prices and features, you will not have missed the recent proliferation of materials, with relative even substantial cost differences, with which the cutting boards can be made.
Given that the classification of the best material is difficult to draw up and that often the preference of one type to another is purely subjective, we can simply list what is on the market and what advantages or disadvantages each solution offers.
Wood is undoubtedly the most used material, better to choose one that is particularly robust and not very porous because it does not absorb too much food liquids. They require some maintenance, using specific oils to make them waterproof, and are also quite heavy.
Plastic is widespread: it is lighter and more practical to use but tends to wear easily and crumble under the constant pressure of the knife. It has the advantage of being able to be washed even with aggressive detergents such as bleach without retaining harmful traces.
The glass represents another solution: it is resistant to scratches but less impact-resistant. It could break by filling the food with chips, and another disadvantage is that it is a very hard and resistant surface, which soon ruins the knife edge.
The last possible solution is to choose silicone, suitable for food use, it is proving to be the king of accessories in the kitchen, but it is not always easy to find cutting boards made with this particular material.
With or Without Grooves
The review of each product will highlight the different characteristics, highlighting for what purpose a model or another is best suited.
The cutting board with grooves will be used to collect the liquids that disperse a food while it is being cut, in this way, avoiding that they spill on the work surface.
Vegetables such as tomatoes or fruit that lose their juice once opened can easily be separated from their liquid to be used just as required by the recipe.
There is no shortage of alternative solutions on the market to better serve the different contexts. If it is difficult to establish a priori, which is the best brand, we can remember here the importance of choosing different models and sizes to process food separately.
To dedicate always the same support for cutting meat, or only bread or only vegetables. By the way, do you have a good vegetable peeler? If you miss it, find out which are the recommended models.
Big or Small
The particular size of the cutting board will make it suitable for different purposes to make it more or less functional and versatile.
In addition to being useful to support cutting food, it is possible to use the cutting board, especially the most aesthetically beautiful ones, to bring cured meats or cheeses to the table to be cut at the moment to preserve their freshness and taste them at their best.
Particularly large tops can also be used to knead and then cut the homemade pasta into the shapes required by tradition.
How to Use a Cutting Board?
Kitchen utensils perform a specific task, and among these, some cannot be missing, such as the spoon, for example, the spatula and, of course, the cutting board. Each of these tools is available in different materials, shapes, and sizes.
Below we will try to clarify some element that characterizes this article, to allow you to use it in the best way. We had also shared a video guide to getting a proper idea about that.
Wood or Plastic
The cutting board, in its original form, letโs say, is made of wood. But for sale, there is no shortage of tools made of plastic. The question is to choose the type of material.
The traditionalist will focus on the wood with his eyes closed, but plastic has significant advantages. First of all, it is our opinion that plastic is more hygienic.
Bacteria that can escape even thorough washing can nest in the wood, which does not happen with plastic. Wood can absorb odors and anything else released from food. Again, this does not happen with plastic. Last but not least, a plastic cutting board is lighter. On the other hand, it can be subject to deformation.
At the Table
A cutting board does not have the only basic function for cutting food: it can also be served on the table with cold cuts, sliced โโand arranged with care.
In this case, in our view, wood is more suitable because it is more beautiful to look than plastic.
The Right Size
The cutting boards differ in size, which concerns not only the width but also the thickness. It is clear that if it is to be used in a butcher shop, a tool will be needed not only with a very large surface but also the thickness must be appropriate to the situation.
Just think that it will have to absorb cleavers, among other things. The opposite is true for home use, where it is good not to overdo the size.
You have to opt for something with content that, if necessary, can also be brought to the table. For this purpose, we suggest taking the cutting boards with the handle into consideration.
The Grooves
There are cutting boards that have small grooves: they are very useful for conveying liquids lost from food; think, for example, when cutting fresh meat with the consequent release of small quantities of blood which, otherwise, would form a small and inconvenient pool
The Maintenance
Probably not everyone knows, and consequently, not everyone does it. We are talking about maintenance. Nothing complicated, it is clear, but in the case of the wooden cutting board, you have to take small precautions.
For example, on the market, there is an oil for wood suitable for the tool in question and which does not involve the risk of contaminating the food. A few drops are poured and spread along the surface with a cloth.
