News — chopping boards

If you cut raw chicken on a chopping board and leave it unwashed for just 2 hours at room temperature, the surface can reach over 1,000,000 bacteria per square centimetre. So what’s the best way to stop your chopping board harbouring bacteria? Choose a low porosity board like bamboo or acacia, clean it within 10 minutes of use, and keep separate boards for raw meat and ready to eat foods. Why do chopping boards harbour bacteria in the first place? Chopping boards harbour bacteria because they combine moisture, food residue and tiny cuts in the surface. Every slice from a...

If your main goal is to preserve knife sharpness, the best material for chopping boards in everyday home kitchens is medium hardness wood such as bamboo or acacia, used on boards around 2 cm thick. In tests and real kitchens, these woods are soft enough to protect the edge, yet firm enough for stable cutting, helping knives stay sharper for 2 to 3 times longer than on glass or very hard plastic. Why board material affects knife sharpness Every cut is a collision between your knife edge and the board. If the surface is too hard, the fine edge will...

If you want to keep a sharpened chef's knife cutting cleanly for 3 to 4 weeks of daily use instead of just 1 to 2 weeks, then yes, true end grain boards are usually better for knife edges than standard edge grain or plastic boards. The fibres stand upright and part under the blade, which reduces microscopic chipping and rolling of the edge. However, a well made edge grain board in the right wood can still be very gentle on knives and is often easier to live with day to day. End grain vs edge grain: what actually protects your...

If you are wondering how bamboo cutting boards prevent bacterial growth, the short answer is this: dense moso bamboo absorbs around 15 to 20 percent less moisture than many soft woods, which means fewer deep cuts, less trapped liquid and less space for bacteria to multiply when you clean the board properly. How bamboo cutting boards actually slow bacterial growth Moso bamboo has a very tight, vertical grain. On a cutting board this does three important things that help limit bacterial growth when you wash and dry the board correctly: Less water absorptionCompared with many soft wood boards, quality moso...