Picket reducing boards are ubiquitous in lots of kitchens: they’re the workhorse of meal prep, the Ginger Rogers to your knife’s Fred Astaire. However do you really want an expensive one? After we tested wooden cutting boards, our high three picks all got here from smaller producers who make their reducing boards from high-end woods, and most of them have been at the very least $120.
With so many sorts and supplies on the market, we took a while to interrupt down simply why our high reducing board picks are usually costlier—and why they’re value it.
They’re Made From Higher Supplies
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Board Smith
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Brooklyn Butcher Block
Our high three picks come from The Boardsmith and Brooklyn Butcher Blocks, who completely work with maple, walnut, and cherry wooden. All three of those woods are well-regarded for his or her sturdiness whereas nonetheless having sufficient give to be light in your knives (although some individuals suppose cherry is slightly too tender). These aren’t the most costly woods on the market, however the boards should be straight and with out blemishes with the intention to mix them right into a high-end reducing board, making the uncooked supplies for well-made boards costlier than their bulk lumber counterparts.
Cheaper reducing boards are often created from bamboo, acacia, teak, and even compressed paper. All of those supplies are hailed for his or her pure water resistance, however each bamboo and teak have excessive silica content material which may be actually powerful on knives, whereas compressed paper boards are the toughest materials of all of them. Acacia’s hardness can differ relying on the place it was grown, and whereas we choose maple, our budget pick is created from acacia.
They’re Usually Made Finish-Grain Fashion, Which Is Simpler on Knives
Most cheap reducing boards are created from edge-grain wooden, that means the boards are aligned lengthwise earlier than assembling. It’s a less expensive development technique as a result of there are fewer items to assemble.
Finish-grain boards, which make up three of our 4 high picks, expose the ends of the boards on the reducing floor in a brick-like sample. As a result of there are such a lot of extra wooden items concerned within the development course of, it takes much more time and precision to assemble. This type of board can be gentler in your knives as a result of the wooden fibers are oriented vertically, permitting the knife’s edge to cross between them. You’ll be able to learn extra concerning the two varieties of board development in our review.
Excessive-Finish Reducing Boards Final Longer
Critical Eats / Vicky Wasik
Effectively-made reducing boards last more than cheaper ones, and our senior culinary editor Daniel Gritzer has been utilizing his Maple End Grain Boardsmith board for greater than six years. As a result of end-grain boards have a pure self-healing high quality, he stories that there isn’t a seen deterioration within the floor high quality, despite the fact that the board has gone by way of some durations of neglect.
So whereas our favourite reducing boards may be expensive, they’re much less prone to break up, in contrast to the cheaper ones Daniel ordered for the Critical Eats kitchen that failed solely after a couple of months.
Thicker Boards Keep True
The thicker the reducing board, the more true it’ll keep—thinner reducing boards are at a better threat of warping as a result of there’s simply much less materials to carry them straight. And the extra materials you employ—you guessed it—the costlier the reducing board turns into. Our picks from The Boardsmith and Brooklyn Butcher Blocks are each two inches thick, whereas our Ironwood Gorumet funds decide is simply one-and-a-quarter inches thick. It could be lower than half the associated fee, but it surely’s nearly half as thick and might be extra prone to warp if it absorbs an excessive amount of water.
Customization
Critical Eats / Vicky Wasik
Each The Boardsmith and Brooklyn Butcher Blocks provide numerous ranges of customization, like including a juice groove, ft, or handles. It’s an effective way so as to add a private contact to an even bigger funding: in the event you’re going to have one in all these reducing boards for a very long time, you may as nicely make it your personal. Our updates editor Jacob Dean personalized his end-grain board to be at the very least two inches thick and custom-sized to his countertop, with beveled edges that make it simpler to select up.
Since cheaper boards are made in bulk, a lot of these customizations aren’t potential. Our budget pick comes with ft connected, which we’re torn on: whereas rubber ft can forestall skidding, in addition they render one aspect of the board unusable as a reducing floor. With a {custom} order, you may make the selection on whether or not you need ft or not, which may double the workspace your reducing board presents.
So, Are Costly Wooden Reducing Boards Value It?
We predict so! Our high picks from The Boardsmith and Brooklyn Butcher Blocks are created from high-end wooden, they usually’re gentler in your knives and last more than many lower-cost choices. In case you do have a tough time with their worth level, nonetheless, we additionally suggest this acacia choice from Ironwood Gourmet. It received’t be as much as the standard of our high picks, but it surely’ll nonetheless carry out fairly nicely.
FAQs
What’s the greatest hardwood for a reducing board?
The very best hardwoods for reducing boards are maple, walnut, and cherry. All three have barely totally different properties, however they’re all sturdy sufficient to stop kitchen knives from making deep cuts whereas nonetheless being tender sufficient to be light on a knife’s edge.
Can I minimize uncooked meat on a wood reducing board?
Whilst you can minimize uncooked meat on a wood reducing board, it’s tougher to sanitize and clear than a plastic reducing board. On the identical time, older plastic reducing boards can have deep grooves that gather micro organism and are tougher to wash, so make sure to throw out any reducing board when you begin to see deeper knife marks displaying up on its floor.
Must you seal a hardwood reducing board?
Sure—hardwood remains to be porous, and an unseasoned reducing board dangers swelling, cracking, and warping if it isn’t correctly sealed with mineral oil. We’ve a information to indicate you the right way to carry out regular seasoning, and we suggest reasoning your reducing board everytime you discover drops of water are now not beading on the floor.
Why do individuals choose wood reducing boards?
{Most professional} kitchens use an array of plastic reducing boards as a result of they’re simpler to wash (they usually’re cheaper, which issues once you want one board for every prep station), however at house, many cooks {and professional} cooks choose wooden. Picket reducing boards are versatile they usually’re simpler on knives. If somebody has a set of high-end knives that they’d like to guard, a wood reducing board is your best option. Additionally they are available in quite a lot of configurations and dimensions, and high-end wood reducing boards may be personalized to the person’s liking.