need a cutting board: plastic or wood?

[Jackhammerz]

use a wood one. Just sanitize it with bleach when you are done using it to help kill the bacteria.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Rakkis
whatever you do, get rid of the glass one. it's owning your nice knives

yeah thats why i want a new one

 

[Sundog]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Plastic. Wood is a bacteria sponge.

And your source would be? Or perhaps you have a background that can attest to this?

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

wood is fine for veggies, etc.

plastic is best for meats. Wood is near impossible to clean well. buy several cheaper plastic boards and consider them disposable when they get cut up too badly. You will spend about $4-10 for most plastic. Wood will be much more expensive.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: xSauronx
so im starting to cook more, got me some nice knives but i need a cutting board. i have a relatively small glas one that i dont like, and want to replace.

ive heard some people reccomend wood, and that was my first thought. others have said not to get wood, because it can soak up stuff when cutting meat and what not (salmonella and the lke) and that i should get a thick plastic board

im not sure about this thing with wood, id rather have a large wood one but is there any truth that it could pose a health problem? its not like id just leave it there with meat juices on it, i keep my kitchen rather clean.

what should i get? what do you have and like/dislike?

Get either kind and replace it yearly.

 

[OulOat]

I use wood. Never used bleach on it, and don't always clean it that well. But never gotten sick due poisoning either. Guess it's because I grew up in an Asian home; don't eat any raw foods.

 

[erikiksaz]

There's a thread on this somewhere in OT, but i can't find it. Either way, the reports said that wood DOES soak up bacteria, but it's not likely to release them. Plastic, on the other hand, won't keep such a tight lock on such bacteria.

But as for the source of all this, i can't remember the name of the thread

 

[Rainsford]

I use wood because I got one as a gift, it's easy on my knives, and I have never got sick even though I simply wash it off with soap and water after each use. Not too hard if you ask me.

 

[aircooled]

I repeat. Plastic is a porous material. It needs cleaned as well as any wood cutting board.

 

[TGregg]

My dad was a meat-cutter, and one day they took out all the wood top workbenches and replaced them with plastic. As it happens, I have one of those wood benches in my garage, very nice work bench. Anyway, they then discovered that it was harder to clean the plastic, even when taking the pores into account. Turns out that wood has some sort of natural chemical that helps to kill bacteria. Not sure if it's all wood, or just the maple blocks they used to have.

And yeah, I've got the thickest butcher block maple workbench y'all have probably ever seen. Doubt you can even buy this sort of thing now-a-days. It's about 5 inches thick, 5 feet wide and 2.5 feet across.

 

[AmericasTeam]

Good solution : Use your wood for vegetables and such and Saran? Disposable Cutting Sheets for meats.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: Kenazo
plastic is more sanitary. just toss it in the dishwasher and it's good as new, though cut up

Definitely. We have a small plastic type one that we use a lot and we just put it in the dishwasher and it comes out nice and sanitized. We do sometimes use the wood ones but they too will get nasty over time and have to be replaced. Also for actual wood butcher blocks you need to oil them and scrape them every so often and such to insure nothing gets contaminated.

 

[MaxFusion16]

Originally posted by: TGregg
My dad was a meat-cutter, and one day they took out all the wood top workbenches and replaced them with plastic. As it happens, I have one of those wood benches in my garage, very nice work bench. Anyway, they then discovered that it was harder to clean the plastic, even when taking the pores into account. Turns out that wood has some sort of natural chemical that helps to kill bacteria. Not sure if it's all wood, or just the maple blocks they used to have.

And yeah, I've got the thickest butcher block maple workbench y'all have probably ever seen. Doubt you can even buy this sort of thing now-a-days. It's about 5 inches thick, 5 feet wide and 2.5 feet across.

are you sure that's not an autopsy table?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Silicone, really deals with the storage problem.

I've been thinking about getting some.

 

[Thegonagle]

Buy 'em both. Get your nice wooden one and enjoy it, but use the dishwasher-safe plastic one to prepare meat on.

 

[Bleep]

I like to use those throw away plastic cutting surfaces I think their are about 20 in a pack for three or four bucks.
no mess no fuss and no cleaning up, easy on the knife blades also.
Bleep

 

[TGregg]

Originally posted by: MaxFusion16

Originally posted by: TGregg
My dad was a meat-cutter, and one day they took out all the wood top workbenches and replaced them with plastic. As it happens, I have one of those wood benches in my garage, very nice work bench. Anyway, they then discovered that it was harder to clean the plastic, even when taking the pores into account. Turns out that wood has some sort of natural chemical that helps to kill bacteria. Not sure if it's all wood, or just the maple blocks they used to have.

And yeah, I've got the thickest butcher block maple workbench y'all have probably ever seen. Doubt you can even buy this sort of thing now-a-days. It's about 5 inches thick, 5 feet wide and 2.5 feet across.

are you sure that's not an autopsy table?

Naw, the table where I cut bodies up is stainless - I just hose it down afterwards.

 

[CubanlB]

I just love the way my nice big wood block looks in my kitchen!

Just wash it in an appropriate manner and you'll be fine.

 

[xSauronx]

after remembering i know a caterer who i should have asked all these questions to .... im going with plastic. linkage in this thread that i followed, got some of the silicone ones from amazon for various stuff, and a thicker plastic one from the cuttingboard company thats a bit larger as i like a larger board; id like a wood one but dont havce the money for a rather large, thick wood board

thanks everyone

 

[Jzero]

I'm sticking to nice nonporous glass. Like I'm all THAT worried about the Ginsu knives that I can buy for $10/set at Odd Job.

But my opinion is that a well cleaned and "seasoned" wood board is more sanitary than plastic.

 

[TGregg]

One thing to think about is that you'll get very tiny particles of your cutting surface in your food. Would you rather have "paper" (wood) or plastic?

 

[Shockwave]

Wood, its more sanitary. Scientific testing has proven this, and has also proven most dishwashers arent adequate at killing all the bacteria found on a cutting board.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I like wood, but have a poly board because it is easier to store.

Really though, who do you know who has contracted something from a cutting board? If people are reasonably prudent about cleaning them, there is little to worry about

 

[Joemonkey]

my cutting board is marble... and i don't worry about my knives, if they ever dull i can send them back for a free replacement!