News — Deer & Oak

If you care most about knife friendliness and hygiene, a well finished hardwood board such as acacia is slightly kinder to knife edges, while high quality Moso bamboo is slightly more naturally resistant to moisture and bacteria. In practice the difference is small: with sensible care, both bamboo and wood boards can last 5 to 10 years and keep your knives and food safe. Bamboo vs wood: quick answer for everyday kitchens For most home cooks, the choice comes down to priorities: If you want the most eco friendly and low maintenance option, choose Moso bamboo. It grows up to...

If you are wondering why chefs use colour coded chopping boards in the UK, the short answer is food safety: using at least 4 different boards (for example red for raw meat, blue for fish, green for vegetables and yellow for cooked foods) can cut cross contamination risk dramatically and help you meet UK Food Standards Agency guidance in a busy kitchen. Why do chefs use colour coded chopping boards in the UK? Professional chefs in the UK use colour coded chopping boards to control bacteria, stay compliant with food hygiene rules and work faster on busy services. Each colour...

If you want the short answer: glass chopping boards are hygienic on the surface but they are bad for knives. Tests show that glass can dull a sharp kitchen knife edge in as little as 10 to 20 minutes of regular chopping, while a quality wooden or bamboo board can keep that same edge usable for 5 to 10 years with normal home use and regular honing. Are glass chopping boards hygienic? Glass chopping boards are non porous, so they don’t absorb liquids in the same way as wood or bamboo. That means bacteria tend to sit on the surface...

If you want the best chopping board for raw meat hygiene in the UK, choose a dedicated, non porous board that never touches ready to eat food. In the Deer & Oak range, the Carbonised Bamboo Board 45x35cm (DNO-CBB-LG), used solely for raw meat and cleaned correctly after every use, gives the best balance of hygiene, size and knife friendliness for most British kitchens. What makes a chopping board hygienic for raw meat? Raw chicken, pork and mince can carry bacteria like Campylobacter and Salmonella, so your chopping board needs to help you control that risk every single day. In...