News — bamboo boards

If you clean and replace boards correctly, high quality wood is usually more hygienic than plastic for cutting boards. Studies from food safety bodies show that bacteria on hardwood and bamboo boards can drop by up to 98% within a few hours as moisture is drawn into the wood fibres, while plastic boards often keep bacteria in deep knife scars until they are fully scrubbed or replaced. Wood vs plastic: what actually happens to bacteria When you slice chicken, beef or fish, you leave a thin film of protein, fat and liquid on the board. What happens next depends on...

If you want to know what the best way is to reduce cross contamination in a busy kitchen, the answer is simple: use separate, colour coded chopping boards and keep raw meat, cooked food and vegetables on different boards every single time. Studies from UK food safety bodies show that using dedicated boards for raw meat can cut cross contamination risk by more than 50%, which is a huge gain for a very small change in habit. Why use colour coded chopping boards in a home or professional kitchen? Colour coded chopping boards solve one clear problem: bacteria from raw...

If you want a safe, hygienic setup for raw meat in a UK kitchen, the best approach is to use a dedicated board that is at least 38x28cm, made from a food safe material, and clearly separated from your boards for bread and vegetables. In practice, most home cooks do best with 1 large board for joints and whole birds plus 1 medium board for daily chicken breasts and steaks, such as a 45x35cm board paired with a 38x28cm board. What makes a cutting board good for raw meat in the UK? When you are handling raw chicken, beef, pork...

If you care about how long your knives stay sharp, plastic chopping boards are usually gentler on the blade edge than glass or ceramic, but a well made wooden board around 45x35cm will keep a quality kitchen knife sharper for 2 to 3 times longer than a cheap, hard plastic board. In other words, plastic is not automatically better for knives, and premium bamboo or acacia often wins for long term edge protection. Plastic vs wooden chopping boards: what is actually better for your knives? When people ask “are plastic chopping boards better for knives”, they usually want to know...