Which Cutting Boards Do You Prefer?

[Worker Bee]

Are you a glass, plastic or wood cutting board person?

I can't stand the sound my chopping makes on glass cutting boards, the plastic ones are said to hold bacteria moreso than the wood. So, it's wood for me. They just require a little extra care...

Care Of Cutting Board:

After each use, scrub the board with detergent and water. DRY IMMEDIATELY! Rub a little oil such as mineral oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil on all surfaces and put away. Mineral oil works best as it has a long lasting effect which keeps boards from drying out. Never soak your board or put it in a dishwasher. **DO NOT USE** furniture oils, lemon oils, tung oil, Danish oil or Murphy's Oil soap as they may become rancid or tacky. To freshen a board, rub a citrus wedge over the surface from time to time.

Storing:

Store the board on edges or ends or if stored flat, turn several times a week. This lets board breath evenly on all sides. Never store your board adjacent to a heat source.

New Boards:

There are two enemies of wood, water (soaking) and drying out. If you want your boards to last years the secret is in the sealing of the end grain on the ends of the board and the end grain of juice groves.

Use a small bottle of mineral oil (16 oz.) and a 2" x 2" square of paraffin canning wax) or beeswax, shave it into the mineral oil. Heat the oil and wax in a microwave for 6-8 minutes until the wax dissolves into the oil. If you do not have a microwave use a double boiler. Never met paraffin over a burner as **PARAFFIN IS FLAMMABLE**. When in solution, apply to all board surfaces with hand or rag while warm. Take the block of paraffin or beeswax and rub it into the ends and groves of your board. Repeat every six months or so. If you neglect your board and you notice a small crack starting on the end, fill crack with wax.

Restoring a board:

An old board can be brought back to life. Wash the surface and let the water remain on the surface for 15 minutes to raise the grain. Take a single edge razor blade and pass over board surface perpendicular to the board surface, scraping with the grain to remove raised grain. This is faster than sanding and will leave the board very smooth, if it is a maple board. Seal board as above.

REMEMBER: A little soap and water to clean, wipe dry, oil frequently.

[TexasRose]

I prefer plastic because it can go in the dishwasher.

I've never actually seen a glass cutting board; I can't imagine that would be pleasant to use.

[spiceplace]

I have this wooden board that is this huge piece of a rock solid piece of some tropical wood that my father picked up at mill shop in the scrap bin. It's a solid slab of wood and has part of the outer part of the tree so one end of the short side slants for the last 3 inches to about 1" thick, so it gives a nice natural handle. It measures about 8" x 14" x 2 1/2", and after 40 years of use, looks none the worse for wear. If I knew what it was, I might get them made and sell them

[PoorGirl]

I have had a wooden cutting board for about 7 years. I have not oiled it and I leave it flat after drying. It seems to be fine. I like it.

[Raquelita]

If I had a choice I would use glass - that seems the most sanitary to me.

I currently use plastic and am pretty happy with it. I like being able to put it in the dishwasher to sanitize it.

I also have a couple of the 'flexible' cutting boards that you can bend and roll to dump ingredients into a bowl or pot - those are very handy and so thin and easy to store too!

[shannone]

I have a glass cutting board for meat only. I use my wooden one for everything else. It is not good to use a wooden cutting board for meat, unless you only use that board for cutting meat. It can cause contamination and bacteria.

[Kay1018]

Glass is best, wooden ones get old as do plastic, glass is sanitary and easy to clean

[BensMom]

We use plastic and like that best. Like someone else said they can go right in the dishwasher. We've never tried glass though.

[mtmomj]

We have both a wooden and a plastic one and I'd say that they both get equal use. The wooden one came with a knife set that we bought. I do like being able to just throw the plastic one in the diswasher.

[Twinmama]

I have multiple plastic ones and a wooden one. The plastic ones always go straight in the dishwasher after use, so I am not worried about letting them get all bacteria-laden. The wooden one I use only for slicing bread.