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cutting boards

post #1 of 14
2/1/00 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
I really need a new cutting board.I used wood for years but with all the bad press about it I went to plastic.Now opinions seem to be shifting again. Help!

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Rita


I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.
Madam Benoit
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post #2 of 14
2/1/00 at 9:44pm
rita,
go with a nice thick wood board. clean it with bleach when needed and sand it down when it gets too marked up.
the plastic ones are okay to use in conjunction with your big wood boards for cutting small items.
bake first, ask questions later.
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post #3 of 14
2/15/00 at 9:21pm
I have plastic and wood and cannot say I am in love with either. Now my life has changed. I bought a tuff (rubber) board a couple of months ago. It washes easily; does not stain and does not retain odors (even fish). I rub it with a soapy Dobie pad, rinse off and wipe. I don't even have to take it off the counter. It is very comfortable to use and apparently is not hard on your knives like the plastic boards. I have not yet had the courage to hack it with my cleaver. Does anyone else know if tuff can survive a cleaver attack?
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post #4 of 14
6/6/00 at 11:32am
Welcome to the forums Rita, your question is a great one. As for myself I prefer the wood ones, but I always have a few plastic ones around. I have never heard of the rubber ones that Ruthy is talking about, they sound very intersting. Is there a particular brand that you would recommend Ruthy?

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Nicko
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Nicko 
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post #5 of 14
6/8/00 at 9:16pm
They call them rubber in the kitchen supply stores but I honestly think they are a fairly new type of plastic and, as far as I know, only one brand, known as Tuff.They are widely available on the Bowery and in all the Chinese supply stores in New York. You must have similar suppliers in Chicago. I am not concerned about health problems with any of the materials as long as they are kept clean but I love the fact that Tuff, being non porous, does not retain odors and can be just washed and used interchangeably for fish, meat,etc.
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post #6 of 14
6/10/00 at 10:24pm
At the restaurant I use plastic boards. They are more durable and easier to clean. They are also dishwasher safe. But at home I only use wooden boards. I like the feel and look of them mush more. Just don't put them in the dishmachine. The other plus of wooden boards that no one has mentioned so far is the fact that they can double as a serving tray, cheese board, etc. Would never do that with a plastic board.
From Man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the World-Saint Arnoldus
http://www.onceachef.com/
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post #7 of 14
7/13/00 at 11:59am
I use both. If I know that I'm going to be doing a lot of chopping and cutting then I take out my large heavy(5 lbs) wooden board. If I just want to slice a tomato to put into my sandwich, then I grab my plastic board.
By the way, I never bleach my wooden board. I'm never sure that I succeed in getting all the bleach out of the fine cracks, or that the wood soaks up the smell. I sand the board down every now and again and then rub olive oil over it to tone the wood and stop smells from seeping in.
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post #8 of 14
7/23/00 at 1:49am
one way of cleaning wooden chopping boards, is to cover it liberally in salt and leave it for 10 minutes and then brush it down with a wire brush.

The butchers use this method to clean their boards and apparently, it draws all the liquids (especially blood) on a chopping board out and dries it up.
"Nothing quite like the feeling of something newl"
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post #9 of 14
7/24/00 at 5:45am
That is really interesting Nick. When I was in Greece the butchers used thick tree stumps as their chopping blocks. I believe that they used the same method of salting the wood down. By law they were required to plane down the block every 15 days.

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Nicko
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Thanks,

Nicko 
ChefTalk.com Founder
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
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post #10 of 14
8/2/00 at 4:42am
also, on that subject, even though PE chopping boards can go through the dish washer et al, wooden chopping boards "apparently" have a natural antibacterial action that doesnt need bleaching, but at this stage, but i havent at this stage seen any scientific proof.

P.S. i have also heard a rumour that aluminium cusaes cancer, if so, we really should use wooden spoons more, yeah?
"Nothing quite like the feeling of something newl"
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post #11 of 14
8/25/00 at 8:30pm
P.S. i have also heard a rumour that aluminium cusaes cancer, if so, we really should use wooden spoons more, yeah? [/B][/QUOTE]

Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. (Frequent misspelling is an early warning sign!) Early studies in the 1960s showed that aluminum created changes in animals’ brains that, on first glance, were similar to those in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease. However, closer analysis showed that the changes in the animals’ brain were very different from the structural changes in the brains of people with the disease.

Despite this difference, research into a possible connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease continues. However, to date, there is no proof that aluminum causes
Alzheimer’s disease.
Michael
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post #12 of 14
9/18/00 at 2:32pm
I prefer wood because I like the feel of it. Also, isn't it easier on your knives in the long run?

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post #13 of 14
9/20/00 at 2:21am
true unichef, but after a lifetime of forming knowledge and memories, it probably would be a grave risk to gamble all of that in the hope that it wouldnt happen. Plus it also a horrendous thing to subject your closest to if it does occur.

The best thing to do is to avoid exposure to it (as best as you could) until proven otherwise, methinks.
"Nothing quite like the feeling of something newl"
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post #14 of 14
9/20/00 at 2:35am
Thread Starter 
Thank you for all you responses about my cutting board.Now I have my wood board that I just love as well as a couple of plastic.I still refuse to cut meat on the wood board.
Merci.

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Rita


I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.
Madam Benoit
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