Question
Jessie Lease
Can you discuss the best & easiest way to maintain/clean/sterilize a wooden cutting board? ... Do "real chefs" use wood cutting boards or plastic? I heard glass cutting boards can dull a knife, is that true?
Answer
Ways to maintain clean and sterilize a wood cutting board. Uh, so first on a, on a daily basis, um, you know, if you're, if you're use, if you're, uh, uh, processing something that's dry and pretty benign, like a, a baguette, which is basically flour and water, uh, you can typically just, uh, you know, brush that off with your hand or even with a towel and, uh, store your cutting board. Um, if you have things that, uh, impart some oil, uh, or maybe, um, they're, they're moist, and therefore, uh, aromas and, and other parts of that food get a little more embedded into the grain of the cutting board, you know, then, uh, some cleaning under warm water, uh, is in order. And again, this is part of the daily maintenance, right? So ideally, pretty quickly, right after you use the cutting board, we would do this, uh, before these foods have a chance to, to dry up, uh, on the surface of the board. And, uh, uh, some, some light dish soap, uh, is quite acceptable, okay? Uh, you know, you, you, you pick, uh, what your preference is. You know, for example, I prefer, uh, soaps that have no added aromas and no colors. Um, these things tend to, uh, hang on to, uh, uh, cookware and service wear. Uh, and, and I like to avoid that. But again, that, that is gonna be up to you and your preference, okay? Um, and then let the wooden boards sit out to air dry. Now, if you, if you need to, to remove, or you feel you wanna, you wanna remove some excess water by wiping it with a towel, that's quite fine. Uh, but otherwise, let it sit out and air dry, and that's gonna be, uh, the, the best method, okay? To handle that. Uh, one thing that we try to avoid is the placement of cutting boards, uh, in the dishwasher, and through a washing cycle, uh, the dishwashing detergents and the high temperature in that setting. Um, it tends to, uh, shorten the, the life of a cutting board or, or certainly the, the surface of the cutting board, you know, as, as we see it and as we use it, right? The, um, detergent, detergents used in the dishwashers are, are fairly harsh and will pull out oils from the cutting board, uh, from a deeper level. And, uh, so we don't recommend that. And, uh, no need to, um, run it through at such a high temperature. Um, uh, that's certainly my, in my experience, and others share that sentiment as well. Okay? Uh, if you are using, if you're cutting, uh, you know, raw animal proteins and, um, uh, you know, really the procedure is gonna be very much the same. Uh, give it a quick clean afterwards with some, uh, warm or, or even hot water and some soap, uh, give it a, a little scrub as needed, uh, to remove fat, uh, and then allow it to thoroughly dry okay, in the air that's gonna be best. Um, and I think as with, with all things, you know, if it has some, uh, direct sunlight, um, you know, that can be a good thing too. Okay? As, as far as the, the conclusion of this cleaning process goes. Um, let's see. So, yeah, that, uh, that hits the basics here. Now, in terms of, um, longer term, uh, is concerned and maintenance here, uh, when it comes to wooden cutting boards, uh, the, the recommendation is to, uh, oil them from time to time. And, uh, you know, some folks will recommend, uh, once a month, uh, that cutting boards be oiled with a food grade, mineral oil, and, uh, you know, allow that to, to, to soak in and to, uh, to dry for some period of time, uh, which to me is at least overnight. But, uh, you take a look at it and, and, uh, you know, start to gauge, uh, with your own experience, um, you know, how long that might be, okay? But start with a, and, you know, let's say 24 hours or so to let that oil penetrate and, um, and do its work. Okay? Um, let's see, as we move on here, do real chefs. So we're talking about, um, chefs, uh, those that are professionals in the industry. Uh, do, uh, do chefs use wood cutting boards or plastic? Uh, in my experience, and, um, you know, what I've otherwise seen in professional kitchens, folks are using some sort of a synthetic board these days. Um, just off hand, I, um, I can't even remember, uh, a kitchen that uses wooden cutting boards. Um, but, but I'm sure they're out there. You know, it's, it's just a matter of, uh, uh, perhaps higher maintenance, uh, in those settings where the cutting board is gonna get a much more of a workout, uh, than it would at home, typically. Okay? So plastic or some sort of synthetic board. There are many types of synthetic boards, um, on the market. Um, and, uh, so they're, they're made from different types of, of materials. Okay. And then, uh, lastly regarding glass cutting boards. Um, so generally speaking, when you are choosing a cutting surface for your knife, um, you don't want it to be really hard because it will dull the cutting edge faster, uh, than it needs to. Okay? And so, I, you know, I see cutting boards made of glass, um, and from time to time I see stainless steel cutting boards, and it, uh, it sends a shiver up my, my spine. Um, uh, I don't use them because I believe that, uh, they, they shorten the, uh, the, the life, the, of my cutting edge on the, on the, on the knife. So, um, I would steer you towards something softer, um, you know, whether it's a, um, a synthetic board or a natural fiber.
