Chopping boards: wood, bamboo or plastic?
The board you cut on does more damage to your knives than anything else in the kitchen. It is worth five minutes of thought.
How each material treats your knife
- End-grain wood — the gentlest. You are cutting into the ends of the fibres, which part and close again. Best for edges, best looking, most expensive, heaviest.
- Edge-grain wood — the common flat-glued board. Still kind to knives, much cheaper, shows cut marks sooner.
- Bamboo — technically a grass, and harder than most hardwoods. Light, cheap and sustainable, but noticeably harder on an edge than maple or beech. Fine as a second board.
- Plastic (HDPE) — softer than bamboo, so reasonable for edges, and it goes in the dishwasher. Scores badly over time and those grooves hold bacteria.
- Glass, marble, ceramic — do not. They will blunt a knife in a single meal.
The hygiene question, settled
Wood is not the hygiene risk it was once assumed to be — the fibres draw bacteria below the surface where they do not survive well. Plastic is easier to sanitise because it goes through a hot dishwasher cycle. In practice:
- Raw meat, fish and poultry: plastic, dishwasher hot after every use. Replace it once the grooves are deep enough to catch a fingernail.
- Everything else: wood, washed by hand and dried standing on edge.
Two boards minimum. Colour-coded plastic sets are worth it if more than one person cooks.
Looking after a wooden board
UK central heating is what kills wooden boards — the wood dries, shrinks unevenly and splits along a glue line.
- Never soak it and never put it in the dishwasher. Wash quickly, rinse, dry upright.
- Oil it. Food-safe mineral oil (not olive or vegetable oil, which go rancid). Flood the surface, leave it an hour, wipe off the excess. Monthly for the first six months, then every couple of months.
- Oil both sides every time, even if you only use one. Oiling one face makes a board cup.
- Stains and smells: coarse salt and half a lemon, scrubbed and rinsed.
Size and feet
Most home boards are too small. Aim for at least 40 × 30 cm for a main board — you need somewhere to put what you have already chopped. Check it fits your sink before you buy.
A board that slides is a board that cuts you. Either buy one with rubber feet or put a damp cloth underneath. Also check for a juice groove if you carve — and note that a groove makes the board harder to use as a serving platter.
See chopping boards, knives and serveware.
