# Stop cooking with plastic cookware, time to switch to wood! Have you made the leap?



## ChefMariaSantiago

I went shopping today in Canada's capital and stopped by a store called The Zone. While I was there I looked at various wooden kitchenware tools and made the decision switch out all my plastic cookware for wooden cookware. I found that all the plastic junk I bought over the years had started to deteriorate and taint the food I was cooking with little bits of plastic. 

My first big purchase was a nice big wooden cutting board from a company called Core. The board is made of sustainable bamboo and is extremely study. I prefer buying bamboo over other hardwood any day because of deforestation. 

I also bought some Caron & Doucet products to help maintain the wood. These products are also 100% natural unlike the petroleum found in mineral oil.







It was well worth the investment. The board is nice and heavy and makes my chopping so much better. In addition, the cutting board oil and wax smell awesome!

Have you made the decision yet to steer away from plastic in the kitchen?


----------



## Kayelle

Hi Maria and welcome! 

We've had many many discussions about cutting boards here, but I too prefer bamboo for it's long lasting durability and beauty. Mine sits to the right of my sink at all times and even years later, it still looks great. Some say the product is too hard on knives, but I'd rather sharpen my knives more often than have an ugly board on my counter. I see you also have my very favorite style of knife.


----------



## ChefMariaSantiago

Hehehe, I love that knife... unfortunately the knife set I have is so cheap and crappy. I wish I could afford one of those japanese knife sets that sell for 1,000$+ I love sharp knives... sounds kinda weird...


----------



## jennyema

Nope.  You can't beat plastic for ease of maintenance plus they go in the dishwasher.

I've had a couple of my plastic ones for 30 years and they show no signs of wear beyond cut marks.

I have 2 wooden spoons and that's probably the only wood I'll ever use in my kitchen.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I like to use a large wooden board when I'm kneading bread dough.

For daily chopping the workhorse of my kitchen is a 6"x10" plastic bar board.  I can chop on it and then lift it to the pan.  When I'm finished it goes into the sink for a quick wash and if necessary a short soak in a little bleach water.






6" x 10" x 3/8" Poly White Cutting Board


----------



## Steve Kroll

jennyema said:


> Nope.  You can't beat plastic for ease of maintenance plus they go in the dishwasher.
> 
> I've had a couple of my plastic ones for 30 years and they show no signs of wear beyond cut marks.
> 
> I have 2 wooden spoons and that's probably the only wood I'll ever use in my kitchen.



I agree completely. Like you say,  I also like the fact I can run them through the sterilization cycle im the dishwasher.


----------



## Addie

I hate plastic in my kitchen. It seems to me that they always have that greasy feel to them. Even if you wash them in the hottest water with a good dish washing detergent. If I have to make a choice, then I go with glass containers for leftovers. Instead of a large plastic pitcher, I have a lovely glass one with an ice cube catcher on the spout. I have a wooden board that I use all the time. I also have a smaller round one that was given to me as a gift. It hangs in my kitchen. 

I am a yard sale fanatic. Anytime I see a 40's glass container for storage, I grab it. When my daughter sends me a meal from a holiday feast, she always sends it in a plastic container. She knows how I feel about plastic, so she sends the food in a throwaway. And that is exactly what I do. I change the container immediately, and toss hers away. I don't even bother to wash it. 

I have a utensil jar next to my stove that is jammed with wooden spoons and rubber spatulas. One of the reason I like Oxo products is because their handles are made from rubber. No plastic there.


----------



## ChefMariaSantiago

Exactly! I hate the greasy feeling of plastic. If you need a lighter chopping block, just buy a small wooden one from the dollar store, but its always nice to have a big heavy one.


----------



## Andy M.

I use only plastic cutting boards.  I've never had them feel greasy after cleaning.  That's more of a problem with storage containers.  Maybe we should consider wooden storage containers.

My cutting boards go into the DW and come out clean and sanitized.  They don't warp, separate, or need oiling. Not to mention they cost a fraction of the price of wood boards.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

jennyema said:


> Nope.  You can't beat plastic for ease of maintenance plus they go in the dishwasher.
> 
> I've had a couple of my plastic ones for 30 years and they show no signs of wear beyond cut marks.
> 
> I have 2 wooden spoons and that's probably the only wood I'll ever use in my kitchen.


I have an old plastic spoon I love! It was Himself's when he was in college before we were even dating. We celebrated our 40th anniversary last year, so that spoon has to be around 45 years. It's only sign of aging is a bit of a slant to the edge where the spoon rubs against a pot or pan. Same spot as where my Mom's old wooden spoons are worn down, and hers have to be at least 65 years old. Maybe older, if they were HER Mom's 

I love the convenience of tossing my plastic utensils in the dishwasher, but I love the memories using my Mom's spoons gives me.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> I use only plastic cutting boards.  I've never had them feel greasy after cleaning.  That's more of a problem with storage containers.  Maybe we should consider wooden storage containers.
> 
> My cutting boards go into the DW and come out clean and sanitized.  They don't warp, separate, or need oiling. Not to mention they cost a fraction of the price of wood boards.



Same here, I like that they come out sanitized, and after a trip through the dishwasher there is definitely no greasy feel to them.  My plastic storage containers don't stay greasy either.  My plastic cutting boards are going on 15 years old and holding up like a champ.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cheryl J

Plastic here too, the same ones as Aunt Bea posted in her pic.  I love the look of wooden or bamboo, but for me plastic are much easier and more practical.  I have 3 and depending on what they are used for I just scrub with a soapie scrubbie or put them in the dishwasher for sanitizing.  When they're not in use they live behind the crockery jar that holds cooking utensils.


----------



## Dawgluver

*Stop cooking with plastic cookware, time to switch to wood! Have you made the...*

I have a 20 year old plastic overlay "cutting board" that I can roll up, pick up, and transport stuff into a pan on the stove.  It also cleans up nicely in the dishwasher, as do my plastic containers.  None ever feel greasy.

We got a nice little Boos wooden cutting board as a gift, I mainly use it to cool my canned goods


----------



## Addie

I would love to be able to run my cooking and eating items through a dishwasher. But this building was the second one to be converted to elderly housing. The powers that be felt that we needed a garbage disposal more than a dishwasher. The next building they converted has a garbage disposal, self cleaning ovens and a dishwasher. Unfortunately the found that the people in that building forget to take out the pans they store in the oven before they turn on the self cleaning. There will be no self cleaning oven in the next building. The dishwashers have created their own problems. The tenants load it in a fashion that blocks the water jets. Thus a flooding problem. There will be no new dishwashers in the next elderly housing. It has cost more in repairs and maintenance than the original cost of the item to be repaired. One by one they are removing the dishwasher and the self cleaning stoves. Every times an apartment becomes empty, these items are removed and the space where the dishwasher was becomes a cabinet.


----------



## jennyema

Andy M. said:


> I use only plastic cutting boards.  I've never had them feel greasy after cleaning.  That's more of a problem with storage containers.  Maybe we should consider wooden storage containers.
> 
> My cutting boards go into the DW and come out clean and sanitized.  They don't warp, separate, or need oiling. Not to mention they cost a fraction of the price of wood boards.



My plastic cutting boards never feel greasy either.

For me there's no question that plastic is better than wood.


----------



## Andy M.

jennyema said:


> My plastic cutting boards never feel greasy either.
> 
> For me there's no question that plastic is better than wood.




I do use mostly wood utensils for cooking.  I have several wood/bamboo spoons and spatulas I like to use.  I like that the wood utensils are rigid.  They're cheap and replaceable and also go in the DW.


----------



## jennyema

Andy M. said:


> I do use mostly wood utensils for cooking. I have several wood/bamboo spoons and spatulas I like to use. I like that the wood utensils are rigid. They're cheap and replaceable and also go in the DW.


 
My utensil of choice is a Le Creuset "spoonula," which they stupidly discontinued making.

They have wooden handles.  I put them in the DW but now that they don't make them anymore I have been pulling the head off (its designed for this)  and dishwashing that and hand washing the handle.


----------



## Andy M.

jennyema said:


> My utensil of choice is a Le Creuset "spoonula," which they stupidly discontinued making.
> 
> They have wooden handles.  I put them in the DW but now that they don't make them anymore I have been pulling the head off (its designed for this)  and dishwashing that and hand washing the handle.




I have several high heat spatulas (one solid piece of silicone) that I got at a kitchen store in an outlet mall. They are similar to this:


----------



## Steve Kroll

jennyema said:


> My utensil of choice is a Le Creuset "spoonula," which they stupidly discontinued making.


Amazon still sells them:
http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Silic...11606&sr=1-17&keywords=Silicone+Spoon+Spatula

I have a similar silicone utensil, but it's made by OXO. It has a plastic handle. I would like to get another one, but the problem is that I haven't been able to find it separately. It only seems to come as part of a set.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PP9ACY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## CWS4322

I have bamboo, wooden, professional kitchen 1/2" synthetic cutting boards, flexible plastic cutting mats. I have one set of cutting boards for meat (live on one side of the sink), and another set for veggies and fruit. I also have two sets of knives for the same purpose. I toss my wooden cutting boards in the dishwasher, they are thick enough they haven't warped, although I did have to reglue one of the smaller ones not long ago. I keep my cutting boards in metal "file divider" from Staples. I used to keep them on top of the microwave, but s/how they moved to the file divider. I use the same sort of thing to store my baking sheets/pizza pans and pot lids. And, when we replaced the counter top with the ash butcher block, I kept the sink cutout and use that over the sink to gain more counter space. That doesn't go in the dishwasher. I wash it with dish soap, rinse with diluted bleach, (which is how we do that in the commercial kitchen for the prep stations with wooden tops over the stainless). At home, I oil my wooden cutting boards periodically.


----------



## Roll_Bones

I have a hardwood cutting board i built myself.  I never cut on it directly.
I use a plastic cutting board on top of it.  Tp protect it from satins and to keep me from having to wash it.  Its quite heavy.
I also do not spend any money on special oils or wax to use on my cutting board.
I use mineral oil as needed.

BTW.  What in the world is the wax for?


----------



## Andy M.

Roll_Bones said:


> I have a hardwood cutting board i built myself.  I never cut on it directly...




Then what's the point of using it at all?  Couldn't you just put the plastic cutting board alone?


----------



## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> Then what's the point of using it at all?  Couldn't you just put the plastic cutting board alone?



It could be for the same reason as me. I like having a nice looking board out all the time as a work station for sandwich making etc. It protects the counter, and with a mat on top works as a dish drainer too.


----------



## Zhizara

I don't like the idea of using wooden utinsils.  Wood absorbs liquids. plastics don't.  It just bothers me that using wooden utinsils might just contaminate other foods.


----------



## CWS4322

I have some of all--silicone, wood, stainless, non-stick. Which one I use depends on the pan I am using. I don't know that there is a "better" one, rather, which is appropriate for the pan/pot/bowl.


----------



## taxlady

I have both wooden and plastic cutting boards. Because of the anti-microbial properties of wood, I always use them for cutting raw meat. I don't put them in the DW because they are not made from a single piece of wood, so I am afraid the pieces would come apart. I put wooden spoons in the DW. I like the convenience of putting the plastic cutting boards in the DW.

I have a LOT of wooden spoons and quite a few silicone spatulas. I bought all the silicone spatulas at Dollarama. Some of them are one piece, Betty Crocker brand. I have one bamboo spatula and it goes in the DW too.

Remember that bamboo is not wood. It's a grass. As far as I know, no one has tested bamboo to see if it gets rid of micro-organisms the way wood does.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> I have some of all--silicone, wood, stainless, non-stick. Which one I use depends on the pan I am using. I don't know that there is a "better" one, rather, which is appropriate for the pan/pot/bowl.


Exactly


----------



## bakechef

I like wooden spoons, I commit the sin of putting them in the dishwasher 

I use wood and silicone utensils to cook with.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I don't like the idea of using wooden utinsils.  Wood absorbs liquids. plastics don't.  It just bothers me that using wooden utinsils might just contaminate other foods.



Using wooden cooking utensils is no more of a contaminate than using a wooden chopping block.


----------



## Roll_Bones

Andy M. said:


> Then what's the point of using it at all?  Couldn't you just put the plastic cutting board alone?



Well for one, its to big to carry over to the sink. Its about 2" thick and its 16"x24". It consists of three different types of hardwood and is quite decorative.
I spent many hours on this thing and I'm taking care of it. 

The plastic cutting board goes on top to keep it clean and to keep cut marks off of it.  I guess i could use it for cutting, but I am trying to avoid that along with stains.
Its easy to just grab a small cutting board and wash it as needed.
It serves me more as a platform.


----------



## Andy M.

I wasn't suggesting you use the wood board.  You stated you never cut on it but put a plastic board on it to cut.  Why not just put the wood board someplace to show it off and leave it there.


----------



## ChefMariaSantiago

I don't know, there just seems to be something about wood that appeals to me. I like the big heavy feeling they have and it just seems more natural. Also the oil I bought for it smells amazing. Can't get that with plastic!


----------



## ChefMariaSantiago

What kind of oil do you use on your cutting boards to keep them from drying out?


----------



## Mad Cook

jennyema said:


> Nope. You can't beat plastic for ease of maintenance plus they go in the dishwasher.
> 
> I've had a couple of my plastic ones for 30 years and they show no signs of wear beyond cut marks.
> 
> I have 2 wooden spoons and that's probably the only wood I'll ever use in my kitchen.


There was research done some years ago which showed that plastic chopping boards are more likely to harbour bacteria than wooden ones especially if it is scored by knives. (IIRC it was something to do with naturally occurring  enzymes in the wood but don't quote me on that) Even going through the d/w bacteria can survive in the cuts made by knives whereas they don't survive in wood. It's no trouble to wash the wooden board down with hot soapy water after use and rinse and drain it. Cheap wooden boards don't much like this treatment but a good slab of hardwood, about an inch thick and cut on the grain will last you a lifetime - mine's nearly 40 years old and takes all you can throw at it and it doesn't absorb smells such as onion or garlic. I may bequeath it in my will to my god-daughter


----------



## Mad Cook

ChefMariaSantiago said:


> What kind of oil do you use on your cutting boards to keep them from drying out?


I have never oiled my wooden chopping board in over 40 years of using it every day and it's scrubbed in hot soapy water after every use. It's never cracked or split or dried out in all those years.

It was a birthday gift so I don't know exactly what it cost but I know it was expensive.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I wasn't suggesting you use the wood board.  You stated you never cut on it but put a plastic board on it to cut.  Why not just put the wood board someplace to show it off and leave it there.


That's exactly what I was wondering.


----------



## Mad Cook

Zhizara said:


> I don't like the idea of using wooden utinsils. Wood absorbs liquids. plastics don't. It just bothers me that using wooden utinsils might just contaminate other foods.


 In fact, research has shown that plastic is MORE bacteria friendly than wood and knives score the plastic which lets grot and bacteria get trapped in them and unlike cuts in wood, bacteria can thrive and multiply in the cuts in plastic. 

UC-Davis Food Safety Laboratory: Cutting Board Research
and 
http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/1107.html

Glass may be the best as far as cleaning is concerned but it will rapidly ruin your knives.


----------



## taxlady

^^ That's why I only use wood for cutting raw meat.


----------



## Andy M.

Mad Cook said:


> In fact, research has shown that plastic is MORE bacteria friendly than wood and knives score the plastic which lets grot and bacteria get trapped in them and unlike cuts in wood, bacteria can thrive and multiply in the cuts in plastic.
> 
> UC-Davis Food Safety Laboratory: Cutting Board Research
> and
> RELEASE: Study: Wood cutting boards, not plastic, are safer for food prep...



...from the UCDavis link:  *"*_*Mechanical cleaning with a dishwashing machine can be done successfully  with plastic surfaces (even if knife-scarred) and wooden boards  especially made for this."

*_Good enough for me.


----------



## jennyema

ChefMariaSantiago said:


> I don't know, there just seems to be something about wood that appeals to me. I like the big heavy feeling they have and it just seems more natural. Also the oil I bought for it smells amazing. Can't get that with plastic!



If my cutting board smelled from the oil I'd probably get sick..


----------



## jennyema

Mad Cook said:


> In fact, research has shown that plastic is MORE bacteria friendly than wood and knives score the plastic which lets grot and bacteria get trapped in them and unlike cuts in wood, bacteria can thrive and multiply in the cuts in plastic.
> 
> UC-Davis Food Safety Laboratory: Cutting Board Research
> and
> RELEASE: Study: Wood cutting boards, not plastic, are safer for food prep
> 
> Glass may be the best as far as cleaning is concerned but it will rapidly ruin your knives.




I spray mine with a beach solution before they go in the dishwasher. 

Plastic rules!


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> ...from the UCDavis link:  *"*_*Mechanical cleaning with a dishwashing machine can be done successfully  with plastic surfaces (even if knife-scarred) and wooden boards  especially made for this."
> 
> *_Good enough for me.



Good enough for me too.  My dishwasher is NSF certified and has a heated sanitize rinse, I'm confident that it gets my plastic cutting boards plenty clean.


----------



## Dawgluver

*Stop cooking with plastic cookware, time to switch to wood! Have you made the...*

Bleach spray and a dishwasher work for me on my plastic cutting sheet.


----------



## Vanitas

taxlady said:


> I bought all the silicone spatulas at Dollarama. Some of them are one piece, Betty Crocker brand.


I have those too! I stumbled across the Betty Crocker stuff by accident one day... and now own most of the gadgets from the set. I love Dollarama!



Mad Cook said:


> Glass may be the best as far as cleaning is concerned but it will rapidly ruin your knives.


It also feels weird to cut on, in my opinion. The knife touching the glass gives me that "nails on a chalkboard" feeling. That being said, I have a glass cutting board that I use solely for making dough. I find the dough doesn't stick to the glass as much as other surfaces. 



CWS4322 said:


> I have some of all--silicone, wood, stainless, non-stick. Which one I use depends on the pan I am using. I don't know that there is a "better" one, rather, which is appropriate for the pan/pot/bowl.


This sums it up perfectly!!!


----------



## jennyema

jennyema said:


> I spray mine with a beach solution before they go in the dishwasher.
> 
> Plastic rules!



My high temp dishwasher will kill all bacteria without bleach.  But I use a bleach solution all over my kitchen.

Plastic rules!


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> I have both wooden and plastic cutting boards. Because of the anti-microbial properties of wood, I always use them for cutting raw meat. I don't put them in the DW because they are not made from a single piece of wood, so I am afraid the pieces would come apart. I put wooden spoons in the DW. I like the convenience of putting the plastic cutting boards in the DW.
> 
> I have a LOT of wooden spoons and quite a few silicone spatulas. I bought all the silicone spatulas at Dollarama. Some of them are one piece, Betty Crocker brand. I have one bamboo spatula and it goes in the DW too.
> 
> Remember that bamboo is not wood. It's a grass. As far as I know, no one has tested bamboo to see if it gets rid of micro-organisms the way wood does.


 One of my friends "sterilises" her wooden chopping board in the microwave. She says her scientist son told her this was a Good 
idea but not to do it with her plastic board.  She does have a very big m/wave and a small-ish wooden board. I offer this as comment only as I have no idea if it works.


----------



## Andy M.

jennyema said:


> My high temp dishwasher will kill all bacteria without bleach.  But I use a bleach solution all over my kitchen.
> 
> Plastic rules!




+1.  

I keep a spray bottle with a bleach/water solution for sanitizing counters, sink, etc.


----------



## taxlady

Vanitas said:


> I have those too! I stumbled across the Betty Crocker stuff by accident one day... and now own most of the gadgets from the set. I love Dollarama!
> 
> ...


I bought some Betty Crocker non-stick baking sheets. I like to roast vegis in the oven, but I don't like wasting aluminium foil, so I thought these would be ideal. They work fine, but after only three uses they started to get stained. YMMV. I'm not generally a fan of non-stick.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> +1.
> 
> I keep a spray bottle with a bleach/water solution for sanitizing counters, sink, etc.


I have a bottle of Soft Scrub Gel with Bleach under the sink. I keep a dish scrubber with a detergent reservoir filled with the gel so I can scrub the surface of the plastic cutting board, then rinse and put into the dishwasher. Easy-peasy ~ works for me. I also use that scrubber to quick-clean the sink and rubber mats between major scrubbings with a better brush and more gel.


----------



## Kayelle

I think we should all be very glad that there's really no such thing as the cooking police telling us exactly what we must do.


----------



## Addie

Alas. Have anyone ever written an "Ode to the dishwasher"? 

I once told my daughter about my life long wish list. On it was and upstairs/downstairs maid. But first I wanted an upstairs and a downstairs. Then for downstairs I always wanted a dishwasher. So for my 50th birthday, all four kids and my sister all chipped in an got me a portable dishwasher. I had to wheel it over to the sink and hook it up. But I didn't care. I had me a dishwasher. It finally wore itself out. But I loved it for the ten or plus years I had it. It was a Sears Kenmore with a chopping block on top. But being on wheels it made it too high for me to use. So a pretty antique hand embroidered cloth was on top with my McCoy Wishing Well Cookie Jar sitting there in all its glory. I still have the cookie jar and antique cloth. And the memories of my fulfilled wish of a dish washer. The last time I checked, my cookie jar is a collectible worth $25. I paid the grand sum of $1.00 at a yard sale. For the antique hand embroidered cloth, I paid the $25.


----------



## bakechef

My mom had a Kenmore portable dishwasher for years, it also had the wood top.  I remember hooking it up to the sink and plugging it into the wall.  It also made a great movable island! 

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> My mom had a Kenmore portable dishwasher for years, it also had the wood top.  I remember hooking it up to the sink and plugging it into the wall.  It also made a great movable island!
> 
> Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



All through my married life, the only brand of appliances I would buy was Kenmore. They always stood up for reliability. Kenmore seemed to be the appliance of choice for New Englanders. All my friends had them and every time I had to go to Sears, the appliance section was always full of folks where the Kenmore ones were. At that time they were made by RCA Whirlpool.


----------



## CWS4322

bakechef said:


> My mom had a Kenmore portable dishwasher for years, it also had the wood top. I remember hooking it up to the sink and plugging it into the wall. It also made a great movable island!
> 
> Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


I couldn't fit a built-in dishwasher in my kitchen (it is the basement--looking for a new home). A friend and I both have portable dishwashers. We love that the dishwasher makes a moveable island in our small kitchens. When I use the dehydrator, it is parked on top of the dishwasher, ditto when I use the bread machine or my lefse griddle. During the draught (2012?), I would save the gray water and use it to water my flowers.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> All through my married life, the only brand of appliances I would buy was Kenmore. They always stood up for reliability. Kenmore seemed to be the appliance of choice for New Englanders. All my friends had them and every time I had to go to Sears, the appliance section was always full of folks where the Kenmore ones were. At that time they were made by RCA Whirlpool.



My current Kenmore dishwasher is a Whirlpool.  My mom's Maine kitchen was Kenmore, before that Gibson that was sold by the local furniture and appliance store until it wore out.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## bakechef

CWS4322 said:


> I couldn't fit a built-in dishwasher in my kitchen (it is the basement--looking for a new home). A friend and I both have portable dishwashers. We love that the dishwasher makes a moveable island in our small kitchens. When I use the dehydrator, it is parked on top of the dishwasher, ditto when I use the bread machine or my lefse griddle. During the draught (2012?), I would save the gray water and use it to water my flowers.



It was always a great place to put an appliance and keep the counters clear.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Bigjim68

Probably a small point, but a bamboo board is not a wooden board, bamboo is a grass, and a bamboo board is more plastic than bamboo. 

Neither bamboo nor plastic is easy on knives.  

I use wood exclusively.  Either ones I make myself, or cheap ones from Ikea.  My knives stay sharp for years.


----------



## taxlady

Bigjim68 said:


> Probably a small point, but a bamboo board is not a wooden board, bamboo is a grass, and a bamboo board is more plastic than bamboo.
> 
> Neither bamboo nor plastic is easy on knives.
> 
> I use wood exclusively.  Either ones I make myself, or cheap ones from Ikea.  My knives stay sharp for years.


And since bamboo isn't wood, it may not have the anti-microbial properties of wood.

I have one of those cheap, wood, Ikea cutting boards. I'm very happy with it. It's not very thick and, no, it doesn't stay put the way a heavy board does. However, a beech wood cutting board that measures ~1x27x45 cm  (~.5"x11"x18") for about $7 seems like a really good deal to me.


----------



## Bigjim68

taxlady said:


> And since bamboo isn't wood, it may not have the anti-microbial properties of wood.
> 
> I have one of those cheap, wood, Ikea cutting boards. I'm very happy with it. It's not very thick and, no, it doesn't stay put the way a heavy board does. However, a beech wood cutting board that measures ~1x27x45 cm (~.5"x11"x18") for about $7 seems like a really good deal to me.


 
The boards I buy are 18 x 20, cost around 10 bucks, and have a lip on one side that hangs over the front of the counter.

I think I read somewhere that a bamboo board is somewhere around 20% bamboo.  The rest is plastic.  Bamboo is terrible on edged tools.  Ask anyone who has tried to saw down a few stalks.  I would assume, although I don't know, that you are correct about the anti-microbial properties.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...I have one of those cheap, wood, Ikea cutting boards. I'm very happy with it. It's not very thick and, no, it doesn't stay put the way a heavy board does...


Put it on top of a silicone hot pad or two. I usually use plastic cutting boards; they will slide on my Formica. A number of Christmases ago, my SIL gave me a couple of the silicone potholders. They seem too stiff to me to use as potholders, but I find them very useful as hot pads or under the cutting boards to prevent slipping.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Put it on top of a silicone hot pad or two. I usually use plastic cutting boards; they will slide on my Formica. A number of Christmases ago, my SIL gave me a couple of the silicone potholders. They seem too stiff to me to use as potholders, but I find them very useful as hot pads or under the cutting boards to prevent slipping.


It really doesn't slide around much, not enough to worry about. It's just not as stable as a heavy board.

I know the trick with the damp rag. When I make vinaigrette, I put a dry rag under the bowl and that works well. Hadn't thought about using the silicone pot holder, but I only have one, so I think it would tilt the board. I do use it as an extra trivet/hot pad when I want to put a hot pot on a surface not designed to withstand heat.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> It really doesn't slide around much, not enough to worry about. It's just not as stable as a heavy board.
> 
> I know the trick with the damp rag. When I make vinaigrette, I put a dry rag under the bowl and that works well. Hadn't thought about using the silicone pot holder, but I only have one, so I think it would tilt the board. I do use it as an extra trivet/hot pad when I want to put a hot pot on a surface not designed to withstand heat.


Putting a damp tea towel under a cutting board will stabilize it. That's what we do in the commercial kitchen.


----------



## Addie

I hate dish drainers. Too confining. So I have a large heavy flour sack cloth on one side of my sink. I can place twice as many washed items there as in a drainer. When there are no clean dishes waiting to be put away, it make a great damp pad for the wooden cutting board to sit on. I have several of these cloths. I bought them for a craft project and had five left over after I completed the project. That was a couple of years ago. Time to reorder new ones. The present one have served me well. 

When damp, those cloths really hold the cutting board still. I have a package of the plastic ones. I really didn't have a good storage place for them. I rolled them up and then when I thought I would use one for cutting up meat, I couldn't get the curl out of it. One of these days, I will address the problem correctly. PITA to try and use it. 

I have a little scrub brush with a holder for the dish detergent. You press the button and a small amount quirts out. I use it to clean and scrub my board. My board fits right into the bottom of my sink.


----------



## Andy M.

I have pieces of that soft mesh shelf liner that I put under my cutting boards so the don't slide around.


----------



## CWS4322

That works, too, Andy. We have used brown paper towels as well.


----------



## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> I have pieces of that soft mesh shelf liner that I put under my cutting boards so the don't slide around.



That rubberized stuff works really great, and it's soap and water sturdy.


----------



## Andy M.

Kayelle said:


> That rubberized stuff works really great, and it's soap and water sturdy.




...and when they get dirty, they go into the washer with the dish towels and cloths for a wash with bleach.


----------



## CWS4322

Andy M. said:


> ...and when they get dirty, they go into the washer with the dish towels and cloths for a wash with bleach.


My dish cloths, sponges, and pan scrubbers go in the dishwasher (I don't run the dishwasher every day). At the end of the week, they go in the wash with bleach.


----------



## Carry

I totally agree with this concept, wood is far better than plastic. The same for some kitchen tools, I rarely use plastic serving spoons or spatula... I often use wooden ladles which enhance the taste of the meal when being cooked.


----------



## CharlieD

Wood is great, no doubt about, if you can afford the quality stuff, otherwise you are going to have pieces of wood in the food instead of pieces of plastic. And as far as cutting board, I would never have one made out of bamboo. Might as well have the glass one, just as bad for the kitchen knives.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## jennyema

Carry said:


> I often use wooden ladles which enhance the taste of the meal when being cooked.



How does using a wooden ladle enhance the taste of the food?  

What's the science behind it?


----------



## roadfix

I think it's like eating certain types of food using chopsticks.   They just taste better with chopsticks.....  
Like using a fork on something as simple as sticky steamed rice.....just not the same....


----------



## RPCookin

CharlieD said:


> Wood is great, no doubt about, if you can afford the quality stuff, otherwise you are going to have pieces of wood in the food instead of pieces of plastic. *And as far as cutting board, I would never have one made out of bamboo. Might as well have the glass one, just as bad for the kitchen knives.*
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



I'll beg to disagree with that last.  I've been using bamboo for more than a decade and my knives only need sharpening about once a year.  I hone them regularly, but they only see the sharpener when the hone doesn't do the job.  Then about 3 strokes on each side of my Chef's Choice puts them right for another 8-12 months.


----------



## Kayelle

RPCookin said:


> I'll beg to disagree with that last.  I've been using bamboo for more than a decade and my knives only need sharpening about once a year.  I hone them regularly, but they only see the sharpener when the hone doesn't do the job.  Then about 3 strokes on each side of my Chef's Choice puts them right for another 8-12 months.



+1 

I'd never go back to a wood cutting board, but that's just me. My beautiful bamboo board never gets put away and stays at the side of my sink all the time. It's a wonderful work station and my knives are just fine.


----------



## taxlady

It probably depends on the quality of the bamboo cutting board. I know that some of them use enough glue between the slats of bamboo, that the glue is what dulls knives.

Also, remember that bamboo isn't wood. It's a grass. We don't know if it has the same anti-microbial properties as wood.


----------



## jennyema

roadfix said:


> I think it's like eating certain types of food using chopsticks. They just taste better with chopsticks.....
> Like using a fork on something as simple as sticky steamed rice.....just not the same....


 
But at least you put the chopsticks in your mouth!


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> It probably depends on the quality of the bamboo cutting board. I know that some of them use enough glue between the slats of bamboo, that the glue is what dulls knives.
> 
> Also, remember that bamboo isn't wood. It's a grass. *We don't know if it has the same anti-microbial properties as wood.*



True that, but I always sanitize any food surface anyway no matter what it's made of.


----------



## Sir_Loin_of_Beef

I don't use plastic utensils. Plastic melts at fairly low temperatures. I use both nylon and bamboo utensils, and select the proper tool depending on the task at hand. Both are safe for non-stick cookware.


----------



## Addie

I have a collection of wooden spoons, rubber spatulas, and the standard metal ones. But I also have a plastic spatula that has followed me all over the country, even to Hawaii and back. It is more than 45 years old. It is made of very stiff plastic and I won it as the door prize at a Tupperware Party. It is worn down so thin that it is no longer usable. But after all these years I just hate to toss it. It no longer gets used, but still sits in my utensil jug next to the stove with all my spoons and other stuff. I love my wooden spoons and use them constantly.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I've never used plastic. I have this one, and knives like those in the pic. 

Stainless steel is easy to sterilize in the dishwasher and it looks good on the counter.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Exp...sr=8-1&keywords=stainless+steel+cutting+board


----------



## jennyema

Le Creuset's silicone spoonulas.  I have 6 of them and use them for everything.  I have one wooden spoon and most everything else is stainless


----------



## GotGarlic

Stainless steel has is the second worst cutting surface for damaging your knives, next to glass.


----------



## jennyema

GotGarlic said:


> Stainless steel has is the second worst cutting surface for damaging your knives, next to glass.


 
No I don't use a stainless cutting board, just wood and thick plastic.  Pretty much plastic.

I have a small bamboo board but its so pretty I only use it for a cheese platter.

Who in the world would even MAKE a stainless steel cutting board?


----------



## taxlady

jennyema said:


> No I don't use a stainless cutting board, just wood and thick plastic.  Pretty much plastic.
> 
> I have a small bamboo board but its so pretty I only use it for a cheese platter.
> 
> *Who in the world would even MAKE a stainless steel cutting board?*


The same people who make the glass ones?


----------



## Andy M.

jennyema said:


> No I don't use a stainless cutting board, just wood and thick plastic.  Pretty much plastic.
> 
> I have a small bamboo board but its so pretty I only use it for a cheese platter.
> 
> Who in the world would even MAKE a stainless steel cutting board?



I think GG was referencing the post before yours.  It linked to a SS cutting board.


----------



## GotGarlic

jennyema said:


> No I don't use a stainless cutting board, just wood and thick plastic.  Pretty much plastic.
> 
> I have a small bamboo board but its so pretty I only use it for a cheese platter.
> 
> Who in the world would even MAKE a stainless steel cutting board?



Andy's right - I was responding to the post before yours. I should have quoted it. 

I know you would never do that to your knives, jenny


----------



## jennyema

I didn't look at the link as I wasn't paying full attention ....

That's something I cant fathom using as a cutting board.  I can see it as a counter-saver if you have nice counters, used with a plastic or wood board on top.

That thing will destroy your knives ...


----------

