The importance of choosing the right cutting board
The cutting board is one of the professional kitchen utensils used daily. This is an essential accessory for cutting vegetables, fruit, meat or fish.
Today, they have been able to adapt and renew themselves. However, we need to pay more attention to the choice of this accessory, which is often in contact with food. Indeed, the material’s nature is essential in purchasing a cutting board.
If you want to choose a cutting board that suits you, we invite you to discover the essential points for choosing your cutting board.
How to choose your cutting board?
Plastic boards replaced wooden ones a few years ago. (the wood then being considered unclean). Then, the plastic was accused of the same defects, so we opted for glass boards with much more hygienic virtues. However, Glass is unsuitable for using a good kitchen knife.
Is the wooden board: hygienic or not?
Wood is by nature porous, so bacteria can penetrate the material and then stagnate and leading to the appearance of mould. We even often hear that its use is prohibited in professional kitchens. This is false. The regulations concerning materials in contact with foodstuffs are much more complicated. The use of wood is authorized within a specific framework.
In summary, hardwoods are hygienic enough to be used in professional cooking.
There are also several serious studies carried out in the UK which have shown that wood has natural antibacterial properties. Thanks to its porosity, the wood absorbs the bacteria in a few hours, which gradually disappears or dies.
Beech, olive or bamboo board: what are the differences?
Beech cutting board
It is the most widespread board thanks to its good compromise between hardness and comfort. It is sufficiently challenging, robust, and flexible so that your knives do not catch on the board and their edges are preserved.
The olive cutting board
The olive board is more complex than the beech one and more humidity-resistant. On the other hand, during use, your knives will snag more, and their blades will dull more quickly.
Bamboo cutting board
Recently, we have noticed a real enthusiasm for this type of board. It has many advantages: its wood is very hard and resists humidity well. What also makes it successful is its ecological aspect. However, beware of poor-quality boards that may contain industrial glues that are dangerous to human health.
Is the plastic cutting board suitable for professional use?
The plastic board is widely used in professional kitchens, especially collective kitchens. Still, they are regularly the subject of controversy, among other things, about their composition or the possible ingestion of plastic particles. These bamboo cutting boards are generally made of high-density polyethene, which has the advantage of being chemically inert and, therefore, rot-proof. They are also endowed with good robustness to cleaning and disinfection products.
However, it is necessary to be attentive to the nature of plastic. Some may contain Bisphenol A or Phthalates.
The glass cutting board: the most hygienic, but watch out for the blades of your knives!
Glass boards are undoubtedly the most hygienic and the easiest to wash. Glass is a non-porous and neutral material in contact with food. But they are not suitable for cutting or slicing. Their hardness will quickly and relentlessly wear down the edge of your knives.
Here are a few tips for the use
Generally, the good reflex is to clean your chopping board immediately after each use with boiling water, detergent, a brush or an abrasive pad, rinse well and let dry in the open air or well. Dry it with a clean towel.
ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) recommends different cutting boards depending on the food: one board for raw meat, poultry and fish, and another for cooked products and clean vegetables to avoid cross-contamination between each food.
The cutting board is scratched with each use, more or less in depth. In these scratches, micro-fragments of food and bacteria accumulate. Therefore, the best solution is to plane the cutting board regularly, but if it is too scratched or worn, it must be replaced, especially if it is plastic.
