My Tell-All Review of Composite Cutting Boards

This submit just isn’t sponsored and all opinions are my very own.

Nothing matches a gorgeous wood reducing board (our Boos board lives on my counter—it is a piece of artwork and durable as an ox). The downside with wood reducing boards is they can not be cleaned within the dishwasher.

For anybody reducing meat, seafood, or something that carries an inherent danger of contamination, which may make you squeamish. True, wooden has some antimicrobial properties. And it may be cleaned effectively and re-oiled to keep up it for ages…However typically, I would like one thing I can simply throw within the dishwasher after reducing up rooster items. Anybody with me?

I’ve heard rather a lot about composite reducing boards, and we have bought a pair to have available. Composite boards are comprised of wooden or paper fibers mixed with resin* (extra about this on the finish) to create a stronger composition that may be cleaned at greater temperatures.

Composite reducing boards will not warp or crack within the dishwasher. And so they will not stain as simply as wooden or pure plastic. Nevertheless, they’re dense, so that you do should sharpen your knives extra incessantly. They will not be your prime choose for on a regular basis meals prep, however they turn out to be useful typically!

I am seeing extra manufacturers available on the market, so I took 7 fashionable composite reducing boards to the kitchen to see how they’d carry out underneath strain. Try my check and findings beneath!

Store Composite Reducing Boards

The Take a look at

For my check, I sliced some carrots, celery, mushrooms, herbs, and pears to check the texture of chopping, an orange to see the way it handled juices, and at last, I left a squeeze of ketchup on the board for over an hour after which washed it within the dishwasher (no pre-wash) to see if that left any stains.

One factor you will discover straightaway—composite reducing boards are noisier than your common plastic or wooden reducing boards. Not as cringe-y as glass reducing boards, however the sound does take getting used to.

With out additional ado, right here is my tackle composite reducing boards!

1. Design: The grippy rubber edges assist it to not slide round, and there’s additionally a (considerably ornamental) juice groove. No circle cut-out for hanging it up, which is okay for me because it means extra floor space. Very clean end. The packaging says the board is comprised of wooden fibers.
2. Performance: It held in place properly on the counter tops when chopping celery. There’s somewhat little bit of a hole sound, however not as a lot as some others. The juice groove contained the orange juice fairly effectively, so it did not unfold.
3. Sturdiness: Very refined minimize traces when urgent down on a knife very exhausting.
4. Clear Take a look at: No stains—I can see minimal seen knife traces.
5. Total impressions: I actually preferred this one! The huge floor space, the grips to protect in opposition to slippage, the worth, all of it provides up. Plus, it has a 5-year guarantee! Whereas it isn’t probably the most designer-looking reducing board, that is my no 1 choose.

1. Design: The colour choices are *glorious.* “Nutmeg” appears to be like extra like wooden than any others I examined. That does imply out of the field, it already doesn’t look as “excellent” as a few of the different ones, however I do not thoughts. It isn’t practically as clean as a few of the others—feels nearer to a wooden reducing board than plastic or the opposite composites. It has fairly a large juice groove that’s actually far “inland”! That does scale back the reducing floor considerably. The rubber dots close to the sides are chocolate brown as a substitute of black or grey rubber, which feels high-end. This one is fabricated from craft paper composite and resin.
2. Operate: It is fairly noisy when chopping the celery. However the juice groove contained the entire orange juice liquid simply (it’s virtually a ditch).
3. Sturdiness: The minimize marks are fairly apparent—it feels softer than the opposite choices (which is healthier for knives).
4. Clear Take a look at: This got here out of the dishwasher trying somewhat “cloudy,” particularly within the juice groove—like it will must be oiled to revive colour.
5. Total impressions: Aesthetically and feel-wise, this one is closest to a pure wooden reducing board! The corporate seems to worth sustainability: they’re GreenGuard licensed and their merchandise are made within the USA. Although I docked somewhat for sturdiness and wash resistance, due to the pure look and useful, refined grips, this one takes 2nd out of seven.

1. Design: I just like the darkish colour. There is a gap in it’s to hold it—I am not going to do this but it surely’s an choice. It is matte and clean—smoother than the Pure Fiber one. This one is comprised of wooden fibers and is FSC-certified.
2. Performance: A bit of bit slippy when chopping celery. Not fairly as loud chopping as different boards which have grips. When chopping oranges, liquid swimming pools up and may be very seen on the chopping board. That might be good to know the place the moist spots are. 
3. Sturdiness: It did tackle some minimize traces in it, however general it held up effectively.
4. Clear Take a look at: The knife traces look extra distinguished after a flip within the dishwasher on a darker-toned board. No stains although.
5. Total impressions: It is a nice choice, particularly should you desire boards with out a juice groove for bigger floor space. The colour is gorgeous and it held up effectively. It is my third selection out of seven.

1. Design: This feels just like the Jeep of reducing boards. This board is thick, and I really feel prefer it stays put effectively. Some meeting required: There’s an extendable rubber tray that you may insert into the facet of the board to catch your cuttings or trimmings. The board has some seen “spackling” with a pleasant tone and a tiny little bit of texture. It is the most important of those we examined and not refined! I believed the cup was fabricated from rubber, but it surely’s truly polypropylene (PP) and TPE (a combo of rubber and PP.) Bummer.
2. Performance: You’ll be able to lean the catcher off the facet of the counter close to your physique to brush within the items you need (or need to discard conversely). Talking of juices, the “moat” was shallower than many others so the juice ran rather a lot farther down the board.
3. Sturdiness: Very refined minimize traces when urgent down on a knife very exhausting.
4. Clear Take a look at: No stains—I can see minimal seen knife traces. The tray takes somewhat longer to dry.
5. Total impressions: Whereas the tray is a neat trick, I feel I’d should get used to it? It feels prefer it’s in the best way of my downward momentum. You need to use it with out the tray, however the juice groove dead-ends right into a waterfall scenario, so liquids would not be contained. The corporate has a heartwarming origin story, and you may in all probability impress your folks with this one (it was on Shark Tank in any case). It is simply not for me, so I am giving it a 4 out of seven.

1. Design: Identical form/design as BestCook with barely much less rounded edges. Has a matte look with somewhat little bit of “stick” to the feel—it isn’t fairly as clean. Feels somewhat thinner. It is comprised of 80% sustainable pine wooden fibers combined with phenolic resin (an artificial plastic), and it is FSC-certified.
2. Performance: A bit slippery on the counter when chopping celery. Orange juice pooled up after which ran off when tilted. An odd factor to note, however when my nails scraped in opposition to it it left a nail polish mark? And it did not buff out.
3. Sturdiness: The board did disguise minimize marks—they really didn’t present up very a lot!
4. Clear Take a look at: No stains—I can see minimal seen knife traces.
5. Total impressions: It is simply OK. Not nice, not horrible. I desire some grips so the board would not slip round. You may selected this one if you need a really skinny board to avoid wasting on cupboard space. It takes fifth out of seven.

1. Design: This one is comprised of “paper fiber and resin” and has a matte, pressed clean end. However why is it angled—is that this like a countertop edge-styling factor? I can not for the lifetime of me perceive why it is angled.
2. Performance: My first response with the celery? Very loud chopping—like there’s virtually no “give”. This one has no “moat,” so the orange juice ran over the sting when it received shut.
3. Sturdiness: Minimal seen minimize traces when urgent exhausting.
4. Clear Take a look at: No stains—I can see minimal seen knife traces.
5. Total impressions: As a result of it is flat on either side, it slips round extra simply. It appears to be like high quality, but it surely’s nothing value writing residence about. This one takes sixth place out of seven.

1. Design: The rubber grips make it stick on the counter and are fairly refined design-wise. I just like the little juice groove for liquids. Nice measurement and weight. Nevertheless, it does look probably the most like “fake” wooden to me. It is comprised of recyclable wooden with sturdy resin.
2. Performance: I feel as a result of it’s lifted off the bottom greater than some others, it creates a loud hole sound when chopping that’s actually disagreeable. The juice groove labored properly to include the orange juice.
3. Sturdiness: No seen minimize traces.
4. Clear Take a look at: No stains—I can see minimal seen knife traces.
5. Total impressions: My ranking would have been greater besides that it was the loudest one! I can hear the echoes of my chopping reverberate in my ears. Sure, the worth per board is sweet, however I do not prefer it. This takes final place.

Last ideas? I am not giving up my trusted wood reducing board anytime quickly, but it surely’s good to have one among these available for a fast dishwasher-safe choice that is not 100% plastic!

*In case you’re attempting to go totally plastic-free, word that resins are both naturally sourced (i.e. tree sap) or artificial compounds. I did not hear again from any corporations as to the supply of their resin, so assume they might have some plastic elements.

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