News — Deer & Oak

The best way to sanitize a wooden cutting board at home is to scrub it with hot water and washing up liquid within 5 minutes of use, then sanitize with either 5% white vinegar or 3% hydrogen peroxide for at least 60 seconds before drying it upright. Done properly on a quality board, this routine keeps bacterial levels low enough for daily use with raw meat, fish and vegetables. Step by step: best way to sanitize wooden cutting board Here is a simple routine you can repeat every day. It works for bamboo and hardwood boards such as acacia, including...

If you care about how long your chopping board will last, a well cared for Moso bamboo board usually outlives a plastic board by around 3 to 5 years. Most home cooks replace plastic boards every 2 to 4 years, while a quality bamboo board can stay in daily use for 5 to 10 years if you oil it regularly and avoid soaking. Bamboo vs plastic: which cutting board actually lasts longer? In real kitchens, plastic boards tend to warp, stain and develop deep grooves quite quickly. Those grooves are hard to clean and often mean the board is binned...

If you want to cut your risk of food poisoning at home by up to 50%, the single simplest habit is to use separate chopping boards for raw and cooked food. One board for raw meat, poultry and fish, and a second board for cooked food and ready to eat items keeps harmful bacteria away from food that’s already safe to eat. Why using separate boards matters in a real kitchen Raw chicken can carry Campylobacter and raw mince can carry E. coli. These bacteria only need a tiny amount of juice from a knife groove to move from raw...

If you want the best lightweight chopping board for sharp knives in the UK, a medium bamboo board around 38x28cm and 1.2kg is usually the sweet spot. At Deer & Oak, our Medium Bamboo Board (38x28cm, 1.2kg, £24.99) is the most recommended option for cooks who want a knife friendly, easy to lift kitchen board that still feels stable on the counter. What makes a chopping board "best" for sharp knives? Sharp knives need a board that is firm enough for clean cuts but not so hard that it blunts the edge. In practice, that means: Moderate hardness so your...