Durable Cutting Board

[Splash]

Team,

What do u guys rec for a durable cutting board?

I have been using the kitchen's plastic cutting board but looks all cut up now with hundreds of cutting grooves - with everlasting dirt/blood stains.:'(

ATM I have a steel tray that I fit the board into.

Should I use this steel tray as is?

Ideally I want something that does not mark when I cut but soft enough to prevent knife going blunt.

Can you help?


Splash

[groverwa]

Splash

Get yourself a piece of hardwood the same size as the plastic one but thicker

At home I use a flat piece of sheaok - allocasuarina fraseriana - and have done so for about 6 years and it will out see me I reckon

The plastic ones do blunt knives and also do become a health hazard because of the possible build up of bacteria where as the tanin in wood seems to kill bacteria. About every couple of months or so I give it a bit of a wash with diluted bleach. The other cutting board I have but seldom use is a plastic one that I do not trust and give it a bleach bath when it becomes discoloured.

The wood does get cuts in it but you will not notice it

Do not use wood that is scented or possibly dangerous

Mike

[Splash]

Thank smate.

Any links for this wood (sheaok)?

I have limited resource up her ein GOVE and rely heavily on online shopping..

Splash

[sleepygreg]

Give Britton Timbers a call, the boys there may be able to put you onto a supplier of She Oak, its not a comon commercially available species.

Greg

[luckyone]

just clean your board with strait domestos and dont worry about the scratches asthats wat stops the knife going blunt the soft board

[cormorant]

Buy commercial kitchen polly ones. Some are made UV stable if on the boat. Others are antibacterial- never bothered me before and the better ones can go through the dishwasher with out degrading.


With the cheaper ones that cut up and leave little plastic bits you can run a flame ( little bunsun that you use to do your creme caramels) over them after they are clean and all the finest ones with dissappear. I know you at least have fire up there - don't you!!!

Plenty of online commercial kitchen , catering or wharehouse suppliers.


Even butchers have been stopped using wood in most places due to the chance of bacterial infection. Jeeze in our old meat house the wood block was just sun sterilised for years and given a quick wash down with bleach when slaughtering a beast- bloody portable butcher bloke comes now and is all stainless and plastic with a vacume packer and a genny chiller. Our farm wasn't exactly haute cuisine either though. Many stories abound about bacteria that survives in wood actuallt tenerised meat - more likely the extra couple of days in the shop window!!!

[FNQCairns]

Yeah the domestic plastic board would be the low density type, there is also high density trade and industrial ones available -expensive and heavy but worth it, some call it teflon although I think it is just HDPE?

cheers fnq

[Splash]

Thansk boys -

Does Sheaok wood generate bacteria?

Splash

[Kleyny]

what about toughend glass?

neil

[Swamp]

Hi

I have read of a number of studies where it has been proven that wooden boards naturally inhibit bacteria. Bacteria that love to thrive on plastic boards.

Thanks
Bill

[Vindicator]

I have a lump of granite as the top on my filleting table. At first I thought it would blunten the knife but after using it I reckon its better than anything else.

When I fillet, the knife doesn't actually cut onto the table. The only time you cut down to the table is when you're deboneing and also if your cutting steaks. It washes clena and there is no risk of any bacteria growing. Its worth a try.

Cheers
Kezza

[Splash]

Thanks boys.

Vindicator - How thick is the granite - where you get it from?

SPlash

[revs57]

G'day Splash,

I saw a myth buster program a while ago that compared granite, poly and wood cutting boards for residual bacteria.

the worst was granite, closely followed by poly, wood was the only material to inhibit the growth of bacteria. The theory is that wood is a "liviing" material. Bacteria gets trapped in the molecules of the timber and is unable to spread because it has nothing to grow on, so it dies.

Makes sence to me.

I've been using 12mm ply board on my bait board for about 7 years now - 4yrs on my previous boat and nearly 3 yrs on Flamin Riptide, as you can imagine, it gets pretty cruddy but always comes back as fresh as a daisy and is cheap to boot if i ever need ot replace it. I am amazed at how long lasting it is.

Cheers

rhys