News — Deer and Oak

If you cook at home at least 3 or 4 times a week, colour coded chopping boards are helpful but not strictly necessary. What you do need is at least 2 separate cutting boards so raw meat never touches the same surface as ready to eat food, whether those boards are colour coded plastic or natural wood like a 45x35cm bamboo board and a 38x28cm vegetable board. Do you really need colour coded chopping boards at home? In professional kitchens in the UK, colour coded chopping boards are required by food safety guidelines. At home, they are not required by...

If you want to keep meat and veg completely separate, the most reliable setup is to use two boards of different sizes or colours. For most British kitchens, a very practical choice is pairing the Deer & Oak Large Bamboo Board 45x35cm for meat with the Medium Bamboo Board 38x28cm for vegetables, giving you 2 dedicated boards, 83x35cm of total prep space and 3.0kg combined weight when bought as the Bamboo Double Pack. Why you should never use one chopping board for both meat and veg Raw meat carries bacteria that you simply do not want on your salad, herbs...

If you want your bamboo chopping board to last 5 to 10 years in a busy UK kitchen, the single most important rule is simple: wash by hand within 10 minutes of use, dry it upright, and oil it every 3 to 4 weeks. Follow that routine and a quality moso bamboo cutting board, like the Deer & Oak Large Bamboo Board (45x35cm, 1.8kg), will stay smooth, hygienic and warp free for years. Why moso bamboo chopping boards need special care Moso bamboo is naturally dense and absorbs less water than many soft woods, which is why it is popular...

If you want to know how to get rid of smells on wooden cutting board surfaces, the most effective routine is a 3 step process: scrub with coarse salt for 60 seconds, neutralise with lemon or vinegar for 2 minutes, then dry the board upright for at least 12 hours. Used weekly, this keeps odours from onions, garlic and raw meat from lingering for more than a day. Why wooden boards hold smells (and how to stop it) Wood is naturally porous. When you chop onions, garlic or raw meat, tiny particles and juices get into the surface fibres. If...