News — Deer & Oak

If you care about food safety, the best cutting board material for hygiene in everyday home kitchens is high quality bamboo, used on separate boards for raw meat and ready to eat foods, cleaned in hot soapy water within 15 minutes of use and replaced every 5 to 10 years depending on wear. In our own tests at Deer & Oak, Moso bamboo boards with a hardness of around 1,380 lbf and a thickness of 1.8 to 2.0 cm picked up fewer deep knife grooves than softer woods, which helps reduce places where bacteria can hide. What makes a cutting...

If you want the best wood cutting board in the UK for everyday cooking, a board around 45x35cm and 1.8 to 2.1kg is the sweet spot, and at Deer & Oak our most balanced all round choice is the Large Acacia Board (45x35cm, 2.1kg) for those who prefer hardwood, or the Large Bamboo Board (45x35cm, 1.8kg) if you want something lighter and more sustainable. What actually makes the best wood cutting board in the UK? For home cooks in the UK, the best wood cutting board usually solves five very specific problems: limited worktop space, knife wear, food safety, easy...

If your main question is “what’s the safest cutting board for bacteria control, wood or plastic?”, the evidence points to quality hardwood and bamboo boards being safer long term. Studies since the 1990s have shown that bacteria placed on wood can drop by over 99% within a few hours, while the same bacteria can remain on plastic boards, especially once the plastic is scarred with knife marks. Wood vs plastic cutting board bacteria: what actually happens on the surface? When you slice chicken, mince garlic or carve a roast, you leave behind moisture, proteins and bacteria. The way a board...

If you care about keeping your knives sharp for 5 to 10 years, a wood cutting board is usually kinder to your blades than plastic, because wood fibres flex slightly with each cut while many plastic boards are harder and create deeper grooves. For most home cooks who use a chef's knife daily, a 38x28cm or 45x35cm wooden board will help maintain edge sharpness noticeably longer than a similar sized plastic board. Plastic vs wood cutting board for knives: the short answer So what is the best cutting board for knives: plastic or wood? For knife longevity and everyday cooking,...