WOODEN CUTTING BOARD: WHICH WOOD TO CHOOSE?
The wooden cutting board , a kitchen utensil , an everyday kitchen accessory , a simple and commonly used object for recipes and for which several factors come into play when purchasing. To help you in your purchase of cutting board here is a non-exhaustive overview of the different types of wood and their properties: the absolute reference in the matter is the beech cutting board which will be particularly solid and robust and will protect the edge of your knives. An olive cutting board focuses a lot on the aesthetic side with singular and unique shapes and an intoxicating smell. An acacia cutting board will stand out for its robustness and durability thanks to its foolproof impermeability. A bamboo wooden board can prove to be a very good sustainable, ecological and environmental choice. It is in fact not essential to replant the bamboo for it to grow back.
THE DIFFERENT SHAPES OF CUTTING BOARDS
In this matter, you need to know certain rules and particularities. Thus, a thin wooden board is mainly used for finishing cuts such as chopping aromatic herbs , slicing onions , cutting lemon slices , or slicing ham... When it comes to harder foods, the choice should be made for a thicker rectangular cutting board . For cutting juicy foods, it is essential to have a cutting board with a groove that will ensure impeccable collection of the juice. This will allow you to collect this juice and possibly incorporate it into your recipe without dirtying the work surface. You can also use the wooden board as a presentation board or as an aperitif board . In this case, choose a board with a handle for easy serving. Finally, for the size, generally speaking, the larger it is, the more comfortable it is to use. However, be careful to adapt it to the capacity of the kitchen storage and the size of the work surface, particularly for cleaning the sink .
IS THE WOODEN BOARD HYGIENIC?
Contrary to popular belief, a wooden cutting board is no less hygienic than a plastic cutting board . So, in order to put an end to this bad reputation linking wooden boards to hygiene problems, an American microbiologist named Dean Cliver conducted a study on the subject: After deliberately contaminating a wooden cutting board and a plastic cutting board with bacteria, he washed and dried them. After some time, samples taken from the two cutting boards revealed two interesting things: the wooden cutting board still contains bacteria, but wood has the property of getting rid of bacteria, which eventually die and therefore disappear. On the other hand, on the plastic board, bacteria are more numerous and tend to reproduce. Finally, in terms of hygiene, we should always follow a golden rule: never place cooked food ready to be eaten on an uncleaned board on which raw food has passed.
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