Wood has a lovely feel to it, and, indeed, has natural antimicrobial properties; I am very fond of my Farberware wood cutting board with the channel for catching meat juices. I also have some really beautiful marquetry ones that I can use as cheese boards for entertaining.
The trouble is, I have also wrecked more than one wooden board, because they can't go in the dishwasher without risking warping, splitting, or coming unglued if they're not a single block... and I am horribly lazy about handwashing things. Acrylic boards go very happily in the dishwasher, which sanitizes them quite well.
Three $6 cutting boards, color-coded, will go a long way towards food safety, because if you discipline yourself to stick to the code, you'll never cut raw fruits or vegetables or cheese or bread on the board that's touched the raw meat. No cross-contamination. And dishwasher or bleach will take care of sanitizing.
If you have to hand-wash anyway... you might do better with wood.
And as for the knives? The ones I pointed to are NOT expensive. That was sort of the point -- they are excellent quality, and all under $25 each. The paring knife is under $5! And, believe me, you won't really learn to use them properly if all you have to work with is crap.
Three decent knives, for less than $60. And they'll serve you for YEARS.
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Re: Do you recommend the acrylic cutting board over wood?
Date: 2004-06-18 05:00 pm (UTC)The trouble is, I have also wrecked more than one wooden board, because they can't go in the dishwasher without risking warping, splitting, or coming unglued if they're not a single block... and I am horribly lazy about handwashing things. Acrylic boards go very happily in the dishwasher, which sanitizes them quite well.
Three $6 cutting boards, color-coded, will go a long way towards food safety, because if you discipline yourself to stick to the code, you'll never cut raw fruits or vegetables or cheese or bread on the board that's touched the raw meat. No cross-contamination. And dishwasher or bleach will take care of sanitizing.
If you have to hand-wash anyway... you might do better with wood.
And as for the knives? The ones I pointed to are NOT expensive. That was sort of the point -- they are excellent quality, and all under $25 each. The paring knife is under $5! And, believe me, you won't really learn to use them properly if all you have to work with is crap.
Three decent knives, for less than $60. And they'll serve you for YEARS.
A girl needs a knife, and I've got mine.