Cutting boards

The three most important tools in your kitchen are the knife, a cooking surface, and a cutting board. This last tool is often overlooked, leading to frustration or even apathy, which is worse. 

Plastic cutting boards are cheap and seemingly popular. They also remove leafy-greens.html noy pleasure in chopping and once they get gouged, which will happen faster than you think, there is no way to repair them. I also don't see how slashed up plastic would not lead to small bits of plastics ending up in our food and thus in our bodies. The plastic board would soon be replaced and so it's not really cheap at all. 

Glass and marble cutting boards are attractive and about as practical as a brick airplane. Use them for serving hors d'oeuvre and don't let your knife anywhere near them.

Wooden cutting boards are sometimes maligned for harboring bacteria. No other nation besides we here in the U. S. A. have such a fixation with bacteria. Raw chicken seems to be regarded as no less dangerous than a biological weapon, yet it's overlooked that disease outbreaks occur  frequently with leafy greens. From 2014 to 2018, 1500 Americans became ill from salads, and the actual number is likely higher. I've linked the cdc leafy green page below. 

I've used this board daily for at least 15 years. 

The truth is that there's nothing inherent to wood to make it necessarily harbor any more bacteria than plastic because different woods have different densities and porosities. If properly cared for, I would argue that wood is actually more sanitary than plastic for the same reason that it lasts longer : because a wood board can be sanded smooth, repairing it's surface of slashes, nooks, crannies and it's whole upper surface where the presumed bacteria would have colonized. It takes no skill at all and only a few minutes to sand your wooden board smooth. 

A wooden board is also heavier thus more stable and less likely to slide around, especially when you lay it on a flat rag. Get the biggest board your kitchen can accommodate. It will facilitate prep work as you can cut both large and small objects equally well on a large board. The wide area will also keep your countertop cleaner and the added weight gives stability. Thick, strong wood can withstand the blows of tenderizing hammers and cleavers as well as have more binding area between its slats. 

Not all woods are created equal. There are fancy looking butcher block style boards, usually made of maple. While they do look nice, I find that eventually the slats separate. The best cutting boards I have found are thick bamboo. Wood from bamboo has tight, tough, close grained fibers that resist slashes and, when properly oiled, resist moisture. I have had the same one for 15 years, and I only paid $20 for it at TJ Maxx. Wash it when needed by hand. Never put a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher. 

After hand washing, let it dry thoroughly, then apply a thin layer of oil. A good board will last decades. Wash only when needed. In between  light duty, a wipe with a damp cloth is sufficient. 

As wood boards are now deservedly coming into fashion, trends always draw predators. Food grade "Cutting Board Oils" are now sold everywhere. Nonsense! You already have food grade oil sitting in your pantry. 

Cdc on leafy greens:

 https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/leafy-greens.html