Have you ever been through that frustration where you just couldn’t find the best wooden cutting boards no matter how many times you tried different brands?
You go from Brand A to Brand B to Brand C, but you just can’t find the right one for your needs?
I’ve been through this frustration, too, so in this article I’m showing you how I chose the best wooden cutting boards and what parameters I built up on finding the best ones.
First, let’s go through some types of cutting boards available on the market.
5 Recommended Brands for Wooden Cutting Boards
| PRODUCT NAME | Price range | |
|---|---|---|
| Teak Cutting Board by Teakhaus (Editor’s Choice) | high | Check Price |
| Chop-N-Slice 20-by-15-Inch Maple Cutting Board | low | Check Price |
| Congo Parquet Cutting Board | highest | Check Price |
| Super Slab with Finger Grooves | average | Check Price |
| Heavy Duty Cutting Board TB006 | lowest | Check Price |
The best cutting boards you can buy:
Teak Cutting Board by Teakhaus — Best for overall cooking preparation jobs
- Strength of base grip: this product is surprisingly very stable for all food stuffs I’ve tried it with: raw meat, cooked meat, fruits, vegetables, and bread. It must be with the way it’s built for heavy cooking. I tried chopping, slicing, and cutting on all sides, and this board just won’t budge.
- Surface stability: I used standard knives and cleavers on this product, and there were no cuts and bruises that I found on the surface. I tried again and again to chop, slice, and cut, but the board was able to maintain its surface structure.
- Type of wood used: this uses 100% teak wood. As mentioned earlier, teak is the best choice for wooden cutting boards, and there’s a good reason why. Look at the cutting board’s photo and you will know. Teak makes it naturally seamless, smooth, and flawless. This material also makes the board so easy to clean
- Ease of use: this product comes in different sizes and what I used for this review is the 24 x 18 x 1.5 inch one. It’s roomy enough for me to handle different types of food ingredients. It might be a challenge for bigger-sized people. Also, I love the handles! They fit perfectly in my hands.
- Cutting board structure: although this has very strong base grips and surface stability, it’s fitted together with detached wooden pieces. Because of this, liquids can come in the board, and there’s a possibility that it might fall apart.
Price range: high
Chop-N-Slice 20-by-15-Inch Maple Cutting Board by John Boos—Best for no-meat fans
- Strength of base grip: it’s very stable no matter how many I chop, slice or cut; and how thick and big my food stuffs are.
- Surface stability: while I found it’s great for standard-sized knives in that the board does not easily get marks from this kind of knives, bigger knives such as cleavers leave out marks and troughs that greatly decrease the surface stability of the board
- Ease of use: this product comes in 5 sizes (sold separately): 10 x 5 inches, 10 x 10 inches, 16 x 10 inches, 18 x 12 inches, and 20 x 15 inches. I did this test using the 20 x 15 inch-board, so it definitely is roomy for me. It’s easy to navigate around the board and with preparing the ingredients when there’s a lot of space for you.
- Cutting board structure: it’s made of one piece of wood, a really good sign knowing the possibilities of some parts falling off in time are eliminated.
- Type of wood used: it’s built with 100% maple wood. Although maple is less of a better choice for wood than bamboo and teak, what’s great is it’s made into one piece, increasing the entire cutting board’s stability and strength. It’s made of pure maple wood, which means the natural disinfectant feature of wood is in this product also.
- Ease of use: while it comes in different sizes, this product does not come with handles so it’s really difficult to grab it off and transport it.
Price range: low
Congo Parquet Cutting Board by Totally Bamboo — Best for eco-conscious users
- Strength of base grip: among the three cutting boards discussed, this product has the most stable base grip. It does not even seem to move an inch no matter how much or how thick the food ingredients that I chop, slice and cut on this board’s surface.
- Surface stability: it’s awesome to think a material so light weight can have a really stable surface. Much like teak, this board can handle chops, slices and cuts from different food ingredients; and still look like new. It’s also really easy to set up your ingredients as this board can sort of have a grip on them, making it easy for you to do your cooking preparations.
- Type of wood used: this product is made of bamboo, the best material for wooden cutting board other than teak. It looks really dainty having bamboo as its main material. It’s also so easy to clean, so light weight yet packs a lot of power.
- Cutting board structure: while it has the best base grip among the three, its cutting board structure is quite weak. Maybe because of its design where it is quite forced to resemble a woven bamboo. It is also made of separate bamboo pieces instead of one or two closely interlinked ones. While this set-up looks strong, the looks do not really contribute to this board’s overall strength.
- Ease of use: it can be difficult to navigate through this board not really because of its size, but because of its shape. It’s shaped like an elongated doughnut which can be difficult when managing large and many pieces of food ingredients. The chopped ingredients just keep on falling off the grid. Also, no handles on the product. But this is totally understandable because bamboo is already really light in itself.
Price range: highest
Super Slab with Finger Grooves by Catskill Craftsmen—Best for preparing dry foods
- Surface stability: this product is just so thick that any type of knife can work with it without problems. I tried chopping, slicing and cutting using bread and fruit knives, standard knives, and cleavers, and the surface still gets to maintain its smooth finish. It’s also reversible which is a plus for when you need to use one side for vegetables, and the other for breads.
- Ease of use: it’s made of one standard size, which is at 20 x 20 x 3 inches (width-depth-thickness), and this provides more than enough space to maneuver around the board. There are also finger slots that serve as handles, perfect for when I need to move around the board.
- Strength of base grip: because of its thickness, the whole structure of the cutting board is not balanced. This is kind of annoying because it moves a lot so it can be difficult to chop at times.
- Cutting board structure: this product is not made of one slab of wood; that’s why, the food ingredients’ juices can get in some parts of the conjoined wooden parts. Although it has a good base grip, I will not be surprised if the cutting board falls apart in time.
- Type of wood used: while this product is made of hardwood, it is not made of 100% hardwood (as being so will make it ridiculously expensive). There’s a mix of natural and synthetic hardwood in the product, so wood’s antiseptic properties are not maxed out anymore for this one.
Price range: average
Heavy Duty Cutting Board TB006 Carbonized by Think Bamboo—Best for preparing snacks
- Strength of base grip: for a cutting board so light, it can be surprising that this product can deliver a solid base grip. I tried chopping, cutting and slicing fruits, vegetables, breads, and meats, and this board was able to maintain its balance.
- Ease of use: there’s a lot of room in the board. Built with the size of 18 x 12 x 1.5 inches, it’s a good size enough for when you want to work on small-to-medium pieces of food ingredients.
- Type of wood used: this product is made of bamboo, and as advertised by the manufacturer, only with bamboo varieties that aren’t food sources for pandas. It’s made of pure bamboo which adds up to the overall strength of the product. it’s also really easy to clean, owing to the bamboo material used.
- Surface stability: while it has a stable base, the surface is really thin and light; that’s why, only fruits, vegetables and breads are recommended for this. It’s also not good for full-blown cooking preparations, and can only be used for snack preparations if you want to keep it for a longer period of time.
- Cutting board structure: also even though it’s made of bamboo, it’s not made with 1-2 slabs of bamboo slapped together. Because of practical and economic reasons (and the low price you have to pay for this bamboo cutting board), several pieces of bamboowere placed together to put up one whole board. This further decreases the overall strength of the board, and also does not carry heavy cooking preparations very well.
Price range: lowest
Best Wooden Cutting Boards Buyer’s Guide
Types of Cutting Boards
Food varieties come in different sizes and shapes, so it can be difficult to stabilize ingredients as you prepare them. Your potatoes may come rolling, carrots may just split unknowingly, and thick meat may keep on jiggling, and you’re left with your own body to defend yourself when these things arise. With a cutting board, you gain the confidence knowing you can secure your food no matter what type, size, or shape you have to prepare.
Professional kitchen standards use the following color-coding cooking board system. This standard system goes to show to the importance of using different cutting boards for different food ingredients:
- Blue cutting board is for raw seafood in professional use
- Red cutting board is for raw red meat in professional use
- Green cutting board is for vegetables and fruits in professional use
- Yellow cutting board is for poultry in professional use
- Brown cutting board is for cooked meat in professional use
- White cutting board is for dairy, and for all other ingredients not listed above in professional use
While it is not expected at all to use these different color codes for the home, it will be better if you have different cutting boards for different foodstuff. For example, it is important to use separate cutting boards for raw meat, cooked meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Why Use Wooden Cutting Boards?
A wooden cutting board predates all the other boards listed here. There is a reason why wood was used by the older generation for their cooking boards:
There are so many advantages to using a cutting board for food preparation. And while some find it impractical and inconvenient to use, it’s a very important part of the food preparation process.
First, wood has natural anti-bacterial properties that help out in maintaining the cleanliness and freshness of the food being prepared.
Second, hardwood material has a long shelf life, and is free from termite and pest invasions. Back then people only used tried-and-tested wood varieties, that include bamboo and teak among others.
Wooden Cutting Board Materials
When you say “types of wooden cutting boards,” you distinguish each by material or for intended use. Let’s do the qualification for material since this is the consumer-centric standard, which is the same across all boards.
Since wood is the most recommended material as a chopping board, I will focus on this later on and will give my review on why I chose five (5) wooden chopping boards as my recommended brands.
Bamboo: one of the best materials for wooden cutting boards. It’s durable, light and easy to maintain.
Teak: another best material for wooden cutting boards. While heavy, it’s very durable and can withstand intense differences in temperature and pressures.
Maple: another good material for wooden cutting boards. It’s the most popular because of its value for money and durability.
Acacia: a very sturdy material for wooden cutting boards. While this is one of the best materials, it is rarely used because it’s ridiculously expensive.
Red oak: one of the worst materials to use for wooden cutting boards. It is generally soft so it cannot withstand liquids, and extensive cuts, chops and slices.
Pine wood: also another bad choice for a wooden cutting board material. It is very light and soft, so it does not have enough stability and strength to provide support for cooking preparations.
What Are the Best Wooden Cutting Boards?
Wood still is the overall top choice of chefs and homemakers as a cutting board material. So in this section, I will discuss on the top five (5) wooden cutting boards available in the market: what I like and dislike about them, and a round-up on which is the best for me.
I frame my discussion by checking on these following features of each cutting board:
- Strength of base grip: No one wants a cutting board moving back and forth, left and right. What’s the point of getting a cutting board when it works like this? I tried chopping, cutting, and slicing fruits, vegetables, cooked meats, and raw meats to check on each cutting board’s anchor.
- Surface stability: I also checked on how my knife gets to glide on the cutting board’s surface. A good guide would be having a flawless up and down movement for the knife, without having to struggle because the cutting board is not smooth enough. But it shouldn’t be too slippery either, for this is a sign that the cutting board is limited and you cannot do much with it.
- Cutting board structure: It’s also important to check on how the cutting board is built. Is it built as one solid block of wood, or fitted together to compose one piece of board? A solid block is always more expensive than a fitted one; but this always depends on the type of wood used.
- Type of wood used: bamboo and teak are the top choices for wooden cutting boards. Red oak is the worst choice because it absorbs liquids so the idea of having a cutting board is lost. There are also in-betweens like pine wood and maple wood, which can work depending on how the cutting board is set-up and manufactured.
- Ease of use: some boards are just too thick it can be difficult for you to transport them. Some boards are also so narrow you don’t get to have the liberty to do what you have to do when using them. For this criteria, I chose boards that are roomy where I feel free chopping, slicing and cutting; and those that are easy to transport. Having handles makes a big difference on this criterion.
How do you clean a wood cutting board?
Baking soda will deep clean. Keep your wooden cutting board cleaner by occasionally scrubbing it with a paste made from 1 tablespoon each baking soda, salt, and water. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. See more uses for baking soda.
I learned to do this years ago when I worked in a community kitchen that had a huge butcher block-topped prep table. The table was wiped down several times a day and always looked clean. But once a week we would do a special cleaning with salt and lemons and I was always impressed by how much cleaner it got the surface.
Rather than going for the normal wood board, you can be benefited – if you use WPC board. These Wood-plastic composites are composition materials that are made using wood flour/wood fiber and thermoplastics such as PVC, PP, PE, etc. The chemical additives are nearly “invisible” (apart from the pigments and mineral fillers, if added) into the composite structure. The additives provide for the amalgamation of wood flour and polymer while helping the optimal processing conditions.
The Best Wooden Cutting Board?
All five above-mentioned wooden cutting boards, Teak Cutting Board by Teakhaus, Chop-N-Slice 20-by-15-Inch Maple Cutting Board by John Boos, Congo Parquet Cutting Board by Totally Bamboo, Super Slab with Finger Grooves by Catskill Craftsmen, and Heavy Duty Cutting Board TB005 Carbonized by Think Bamboo, are all recommended boards in their own way depending on your needs and budgets.
But as for me, I am willing to pay a little extra for a cutting board that lasts, so I pick Teak Cutting Board by Teakhaus. Made of teak, can handle different types of food ingredients without losing its base and surface stability, and comes in different sizes, the Teak Cutting Board is perfect for me as a mother of two who loves to cook meat-and-vegetable-dense dishes for my family.
For the adventurous and creative ones, before we end, here is a video on how to make your own wooden cutting board:
Wooden Cutting Boards FAQ
Conclusion
Do you prefer wood over other materials for cutting boards? Why?
Do you have experiences with wooden cutting boards or with different materials that you would want to share with us? I’d be more than happy to get you on board, and also I’d love to learn from you, too.
So if you can, please put in your thoughts below. Also if you’ve enjoyed the article, feel free to share it with your family and friends, or on your blog if you have one!
Contents
- 1 5 Recommended Brands for Wooden Cutting Boards
- 2 Teak Cutting Board by Teakhaus — Best for overall cooking preparation jobs
- 3 Chop-N-Slice 20-by-15-Inch Maple Cutting Board by John Boos—Best for no-meat fans
- 4 Congo Parquet Cutting Board by Totally Bamboo — Best for eco-conscious users
- 5 Super Slab with Finger Grooves by Catskill Craftsmen—Best for preparing dry foods
- 6 Heavy Duty Cutting Board TB006 Carbonized by Think Bamboo—Best for preparing snacks
- 7 Best Wooden Cutting Boards Buyer’s Guide
- 8 Why Use Wooden Cutting Boards?
- 9 Wooden Cutting Board Materials
- 10 What Are the Best Wooden Cutting Boards?
- 11 How do you clean a wood cutting board?
- 12 The Best Wooden Cutting Board?
- 13 Wooden Cutting Boards FAQ
- 14 Conclusion
I’m kind of cheap about kitchen products so wood cutting board was a huge investment for me personally. I watched video reviews and read user’s reviews – so many blended comments – therefore i put this on my wishlist and spoken to myself about any of it for a couple weeks. I hate to come back things. I favor never to order something I would have to come back, but also knowing Amazon’s come back coverage, I finally purchased wood board with the theory I’d make myself come back it if it wasn’t perfect.
Is there any advantage of a wooden cutting board over a plastic cutting board?
Absolutely, yes!
Wood possesses anti-bacterial properties. In addition, plastic cutting boards are susceptible to taking lacerations which invite food residues to be buried within the cut. Plastic’s flexibility allows for the “wound” to close back up, thereby, permitting any food matter to decompose out of reach from casual scrubbing.
Wood has natural compounds that fight bacteria and resist formation of microbial colonies. It also does the least damage to your blades.
What kind of care/maintenance should you do for a new wooden cutting board?
I use a homemade blend of 90% food grade mineral oil and 10% beeswax for maintenance. Initially, use 100% food grade mineral oil. You can use any food grade oil but I’d recommend staying away from most vegetable oils as they can oxidize over time and go rancid. If you don’t like the idea of mineral oil for some reason (it’s perfectly safe) You can use coconut oil.
Soak your new board with oil overnight. Be sure to do this at room temp. Apply it generously until it wont take more. Let the wood drink it up. Wipe off any excess the next day and apply your final coat of oil/beeswax. After each use, wash your board gently with mild soap and water. Dry thoroughly and finish with a few drops of your oil mixture each time. Never soak your board in water. If you want to give it a good clean you can use lemon juice and a little Kosher salt. Finish by applying a thin coat of oil every time. If you didn’t know this, raw poultry should always have a separate plastic board to avoid cross contamination.