The Best Cutting Boards for Chopping, Slicing and Dicing
You can't use those fancy kitchen knives without an equally excellent cutting board.
Food52
Any cook will know the value of owning a good cutting board. It's not like you're going to cut directly on your kitchen counter, right? (Please let your answer be "Right.") A good cutting board will keep your knives sharp, keep messes from ending up on your counter and keep still because you don't want, or need, to cut off any fingertips. Cutting boards come in a bunch of shapes and sizes, and that's before you start to get into cutting board materials. We tested a bunch of cutting boards to find the best one for every kind of cook, and we break down what it takes to be the best of the best.
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Best Wooden Cutting BoardJohn Boos Block Chop-N-Slice Maple Wood Edge Grain Reversible Cutting Board Read More
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What to Look For in a Cutting Board
Materials
A cutting board can come in one of many materials. Whether it's wood or plastic, a cutting board's construction can dictate what it does best. Here's a breakdown of the most common cutting board materials.
Wood: Wood is an excellent material for a cutting board, providing both heft (to prevent slippage) and knife protection (it won't damage the sharp edge of your blade). However, they may be hard to store if they're on the large side, they're expensive and they require extra care.
Plastic: The typical home cook will love plastic cutting board's ability to be washed in a dishwasher. They're also dirt cheap and lightweight. However, they dull blades faster than other materials, and they don't last very long, so they'll have to be replaced more often.
Rubber: Professional chefs praise rubber cutting boards for good reason. They're heavy and good on knives, and all of the abuse it takes — those gashes and cuts — can be sanded down to be good as new. The only downside, if there is one, is that they can't be cleaned in the dishwasher.
Bamboo: Bamboo, like wood, has a natural beauty to it, though requires just a little less care than wood. The material is naturally anti-microbial, though that doesn't mean you should forego cleaning it. On the other hand, bamboo cutting boards are harder than wood, and can therefore be rough on your knife's cutting edge.
Size
Which sized cutting board you buy will obviously depend on how much counter space you have and how much storage space you have. It's also important to choose a size depending on how big your knife is because you wouldn't want to chop food using a big chef's knife when you're using a tiny cutting board. A standard cutting board size will be about 12-by-18 inches, where bigger ones can go up to 24-by-36 inches. Smaller cutting boards can be excellent for the occasion when you just need to prep some garlic or slice some small produce.
