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A Guide to Cutting Boards

Some people prefer slicing food on cutting boards. Here is a guide to the many sizes, shapes and types of cutting boards available, and what's best to choose from.

What Size To Buy?

There is no perfect size. But if you consistently cook, a larger cutting board will give you enough room to cut all the vegetables, herbs and spices required for a dish in a single go. Also, cutting some vegetables like cabbages requires uncompromising space on the cutting board.

But if you cook sparingly or hardly have the habit of using cutting boards, then a small cutting board will suffice.

What shape to buy?

There are square, rectangular and circular cutting boards available to buy, each best suited for certain jobs. The rectangular one is the all rounder, the most versatile and the best suited for cutting food items. If you don't have any specific need, buy the rectangular one.

The square board takes away the horizontal space. Therefore, unless you have a super large square cutting board, it will be difficult to cut long food like cow peas, drumsticks and leafy vegetables.

The circular ones won't give you enough room to cut food items. They are best suited to roll chappatis or cut pizzas and round breads. A square cutting board can give you more real estate for pretty much the same spatial footprint of a circular board.

Wooden vs Rubber vs Plastic

Cutting boards are generally made from rubber, wood, bamboo or plastic. We judge these materials on the basis of safety and longevity.

When you slice food on a cutting board, you end up slicing the board too. Gradually, slice marks will appear on it and micro fibres of the material surf from the board. They will stick to food unseen to the naked eye and finally entering our digestive system. Treated rubber and plastics are toxic to consume; so is the case with treated wood as it contains additional chemicals. Therefore, untreated wood (including bamboo) is the best material to make cutting boards.

If properly taken care of, cutting boards made of all materials last. However, the rubber board has a tendency of warping slightly and the plastic board is just too dangerous considering the leach. For this reason too, untreated wooden boards must be preferred.

After every use, clean your wooden cutting board properly; especially after cutting meat on it. Tiny food particles can get squished between the gaps of slice marks on the board. This is an invitation for germs to thrive.

After every wash, make sure to dry the wooden board. Else, it will rot. After drying, store it in a dry place away from the sink or any water source.

Prevent Board From Sliding

For safe and proper cutting, the board must be stay steady during its use. Some boards use spacers on the bottom side to keep the board stationary while using. A layer of rubber below the spacers can add more grip.

If you buy a cutting board with no spacers but a flat bottom, improvise by placing a wet kitchen tissue or a wet kitchen towel between the slab and the chopping board. You'll get the grip.

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