News — Deer & Oak

The best food-grade oil for seasoning bamboo chopping boards is pure, food-safe mineral oil applied in 2 to 3 thin coats every 4 to 6 weeks. For Moso bamboo boards like the Deer & Oak Large Bamboo Board (45x35cm, 1.8kg), pairing mineral oil with a beeswax conditioner helps keep the surface water resistant for up to 4 to 6 weeks between treatments. Why mineral oil is the best food-grade oil for seasoning bamboo chopping boards Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood, and Moso bamboo in particular is dense and naturally moisture resistant. That means it needs an oil...

If you care about reducing your kitchen footprint, bamboo cutting boards are typically around 2 to 3 times more sustainable than plastic boards over a 5 to 10 year period, especially when they’re made from fast growing Moso bamboo and looked after properly. Plastic boards can last, but they rely on fossil fuels, shed microplastics and are rarely recycled, so they struggle to compete on overall eco impact. Is bamboo or plastic cutting board more sustainable overall? When you compare the full life cycle, bamboo usually comes out ahead. Moso bamboo can grow up to 90 cm per day, reaches...

If you care about hygiene, a high quality wooden chopping board is usually safer for everyday use than glass, because wood can trap and reduce bacteria within its fibres while glass boards often develop deep scratches that can harbour germs and are harder on knives. In most home kitchens, a well maintained wooden or bamboo board, cleaned within 10 minutes of use and dried fully, gives better long term hygiene than a scratched glass board. Glass vs wooden chopping boards: which is more hygienic? On paper, glass looks more hygienic. It is non porous, can go in a hot dishwasher...

If you want the best hygiene when cutting raw meat, the safest setup is not one single plastic board, but a dedicated raw meat board that never touches ready to eat food. Many home cooks in the UK now pair a colour coded plastic board for raw meat with a heavy, non porous board like the 45x35cm Deer & Oak Carbonised Bamboo Board for everyday prep, so raw juices stay strictly separate. Why plastic is often chosen for raw meat hygiene Plastic chopping boards became popular for raw meat because they feel easy to sanitise. You can usually put them...