Chopping boards - wooden or plastic?

[maomao]

Well, people have been talking about cleaning them with salt, but yes scrubbing them with hot soapy water sounds good, although I am still very happy I can put my plastic ones in my dishwasher for 2.5 hours on a 70C cycle.

I may change my mind if we ever get a bloody dishwasher

 

[platinumsage]

To me the main advantage is still aesthetic. If I'm going to spend up to an hour at the chopping board for a big meal I need to hear a proper thunk thunk thunk of metal against wood. It is possibly also the case that Asian/Chinese chopping techniques are less suitable for plastic. I don't think a plastic board would put up with too many of this kind of beating (I'm more likely to be mincing cabbage than meat but the technique is the same):

Here's my 11-year old Ikea chopping board made of linear low-density polyethylene. I doubt there is more than 1 gram of plastic missing:



I've probably ingested far more plastic via the fish I've eaten during that period.

 

[maomao]

Here's my 11-year old Ikea chopping board made of linear low-density polyethylene. I doubt there is more than 1 gram of plastic missing:

Well, I'd show you the two that I absolutely ruined but they've long since been thrown away.

 

[platinumsage]

Well, I'd show you the two that I absolutely ruined but they've long since been thrown away.

Obviously not for you then.

The main consideration should always be hygiene, followed by aesthetics and practicality. Wooden boards washed properly should tick all three boxes for you.

Polyethylene is not dangerous, it's literally used in surgical implants and it doesn't cause cancer. People shouldn't worry about the safety of plastic chopping boards.

 

[Cid]

Wait.... wut?

Oil generally not very good at holding up to surfactants. So you’re just scrubbing the finish off. It also removes the natural oils from the timber itself, which will make it wear much faster. And then you’re essentially just pissing about with moisture content in the surface layers of the wood, which again, not great. Hot-cold cycles also cause movement. Wood is complex stuff.

 

[maomao]

Oil generally not very good at holding up to surfactants. So you’re just scrubbing the finish off. It also removes the natural oils from the timber itself, which will make it wear much faster. And then you’re essentially just pissing about with moisture content in the surface layers of the wood, which again, not great. Hot-cold cycles also cause movement. Wood is complex stuff.

Strand woven bamboo is very water resistant. Makes great floors too.

 

[wayward bob]

hewjpic soz! of the current love of my kitchen life. the top overhangs so it's a doddle to transfer stuff to plates/pans and doubles my space for mise en place tried one with colour-coded mats for a while when kid2 went veggie but we all hated it. previous solid board lasted since i first left home, so am counting on never needing another

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81GhWvsR%2B0L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

 

[Saunders]

I have a couple of boards that I’d like to beeswax and would really appreciate advice on how to do this. Tagging a few posters off this thread who obvs know more than me Cid Saul Goodman campanula StoneRoad but grateful for any suggestions.
One I carefully oiled after it was sanded, with cheap refined coconut oil last year and has been fine but could do with re sealing. The other I fucked up with smelly coconut oil clumsily applied earlier this year during lockdown frenzy, which I haven’t used much and has started to smell and bloom.
I want to strip the smelly oil out of the newer one and then seal them both, ideally using just beeswax. Although my research online recommends a beeswax/ mineral oil blend.
I’d really appreciate any advice on how to do this and whether/ why a blend would be better as I have no experience of treating wood for food use. Thanking you kindly.

 

[Saul Goodman]

You can blend beeswax and mineral oil, and it's probably the best job for a chopping board.
Heat the oil and dissolve some beeswax in it. 10 - 15% wax would be plenty.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Have a birthday coming up, and despite what I said upthread I'm tempted to ask for one of these.

Far more than I'd ever spend on a board myself, but that's what birthdays are for, right?

 

[campanula]

I use what is to hand as long as it is not whiffy and dries (so it can be buffed to a sheen)...so not linseed or olive. I have used grapeseed oil, almond oil but my favourite is Tung oil. Really should be oiled more often than I get round to it - every few weeks. Can't say as I bother with waxing a chopping board (or kitchen worktop), because I am a bit lazy. I do bodge a bit (and have been known to cut corners) so I wouldn't necessarily follow my advice. I do find Tung oil is absolutely the best for green wood spoons though. Dries to a waterpoof finish. I use it on my red cedar horsebox too.

 

[campanula]

I use what is to hand as long as it is not whiffy and dries (so it can be buffed to a sheen)...so not linseed or olive. I have used grapeseed oil, almond oil but my favourite is Tung oil. Really should be oiled more often than I get round to it - every few weeks. Can't say as I bother with waxing a chopping board (or kitchen worktop), because I am a bit lazy. I do bodge a bit (and have been known to cut corners) so I wouldn't necessarily follow my advice. I do find Tung oil is absolutely the best for green wood spoons though. Dries to a waterpoof finish. I use it on my red cedar horsebox too.

 

[Bwark]

You can blend beeswax and mineral oil, and it's probably the best job for a chopping board.
Heat the oil and dissolve some beeswax in it. 10 - 15% wax would be plenty.

That sounds like more than an assache that people might want to do, so you have any easier tips?

 

[existentialist]

That sounds like more than an assache that people might want to do, so you have any easier tips?

I expect someone will sell you some already-made-up stuff, for 5x the price, marketed as Artisan Breadboard Improver, or something.

 

[xenon]

Wooden. A wide one. I've been using the same one for about 20 years. It's big enough to sweep different items into their own space with a knife. I rince it off then, pour boiling water over it after cooking meat, then wash it with the washing up.

 

[xenon]

I've never oiled a chopping board.

I mean I've had that one ^ for 20 years but I don't use it every day.

 

[Bwark]

I expect someone will sell you some already-made-up stuff, for 5x the price, marketed as Artisan Breadboard Improver, or something.

Agreed, but it still sound like an assache . Think I'll stick with salt

 

[Cid]

That sounds like more than an assache that people might want to do, so you have any easier tips?

Use the mineral oil without the wax. Not that saul’s solution sounds remotely difficult.

 

[Cid]

Mineral oil is good incidentally due to being flavour neutral and relatively inert. I.e fungus, bacteria etc won’t breed on it.

 

[Espresso]

Because of this thread I have oiled my wooden chopping board.

 

[Lord Camomile]

I've spilt oil on my chopping board. Does that count?

 

[existentialist]

Agreed, but it still sound like an assache . Think I'll stick with salt

Maybe this will make your ass ache less (click image for an eBay link):

 

[Cid]

I've spilt oil on my chopping board. Does that count?

I suppose for me when I deal with chopping boards I’m selling them, so I want something that isn’t going to bloom, isn’t going to have an odd smell or taste, is hypoallergenic and is going to keep it in a good condition long enough that the customer isn’t bringing it back. And is easy/cheap for them to redo.

 

[Saul Goodman]

That sounds like more than an assache that people might want to do, so you have any easier tips?

Yeah, don't oil it. It's much easier.