Things to Consider About Cutting Boards
When it comes to cutting board materials, plastic ones are a workhorse for chopping and slicing produce, mincing garlic and herbs and cutting meat, plus they have the added benefit of being dishwasher-safe. On the downside, they tend to be harder on your knives (the grooves they create can harbor bacteria), and they aren’t known for being particularly beautiful.
Wooden boards are typically more aesthetically impressive, extra durable and less hard on your knives over time, though they do require a little extra TLC by way of a mineral oil rub. Wooden boards often double as serving boards too, going from kitchen counter to dining room table to serve everything from crudité and charcuterie to roasts and party platters.
Other cutting board features to consider include a groove around the board for catching juices, tapered sides or handles for ease of carrying and weight and size for both ease of manipulation and storage.
There are also important factors including stability and stain and odor resistance.
From $14.99 AMAZON Made from paper composite, this board is technically neither plastic nor wood. The manufacturer describes the material as a preferred cutting surface in commercial kitchens and is the same material used on skateboard ramps, watercraft components and home siding. We found the material to be as durable as advertised, which helped earn this board top marks across all categories, especially surface, stain-resistance and smell-resistance. The smooth surface made it easy to chop parsley, there were no beet stains and there was only a faint smell of garlic after handwashing, which disappeared after a run through the dishwasher. We noticed that the board slid around a little bit while dicing but was fully stabilized with a wet paper towel underneath.
$23.05 AMAZON This board won out overall among the plastic boards we tested by scoring high marks for size, stability and stain removal. . Compared to the other plastic boards we tested, this one slid around minimally while dicing a potato and it was completely stabilized with a wet paper towel underneath. The sleek surface made chopping parsley a cinch and made washing it by hand easy. And the board’s non-porous surface means we didn’t see any staining after chopping beets. We did notice a moderate smell of parsley and garlic after hand-washing the board, but the odors were completely gone after the board took a spin through the dishwasher. And while plastic boards aren’t typically renowned for their aesthetic — it’s a piece of plastic after all — we found this one to have a simple, clean design. Its slim profile also makes it easy to find storage.
$9.99 AMAZON These plastic cutting mats are made from food-grade plastic and come in a set of four, color coded for various uses: vegetables, poultry, fish and beef. Although the manufacturer claims that the waffle edge makes it secure, we found we needed to stabilize the mats with damp paper towel to prevent them from slipping around while cutting. It made clean cuts without making grooves in the material and proved to be stain-resistant during the beet test. We also like that the mats’ flexibility makes them easy to fold for transferring chopped ingredients to bowls or stovetop. The mats wash up easily but are dishwasher safe too, which is helpful for eliminating residual odors from ingredients such as garlic. The mats stack easily in a kitchen drawer or in a cupboard. Overall, the modest price tag makes these boards a great value for money.
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