There are various cutting boards you can use to prepare food. Cutting boards range from oak wood to bamboo to plastic. All of these cutting boards serve different functions depending on how you want to slice, chop, or dice your food. Your cutting board can have many different uses, but choosing which one works best for your lifestyle is the key decision-maker.
Barbeque cutting boards and regular plastic cutting boards are the two cutting boards most commonly used and bought amongst consumers. You must choose between the pros and cons between each cutting board. Both have different functions. Both of these types are the most commonly used, but they both serve two very different purposes. A barbeque cutting board is strictly wood-based. A wood-based cutting board is what barbeque cooks use because they retain the juices from your meat and keep your knives sharp. Plastic cutting boards dull your knife quicker over time and cannot retain the juices due to run off.
To decide which board is best for you, you need to decide the reason behind choosing the specific cutting board. Are you aiming to entertain and put out a fancy spread, or are you trying to developing your cutlery skills and produce quality meat? The reasons you are choosing to cut determine which board you buy. Laid out are the key differences and similarities between cutting boards and what the best option for your expertise is.
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What’s the Difference?
The difference between a barbeque board and other cutting boards is the material used for the board. Having a wood barbeque board is a wise investment for your kitchen.
Wood cutting boards are the most popular material because of their material. You can use your knife for long periods before they dull, and you have the ability to cut your meat in the quickest, smoothest manner.
Plastic boards are the second most common butting board after wood because of its price, flexibility, and durability. Plastic cutting boards are easy to use and clean. They do have to be replaced faster than wooden boards because the cuts from your knife build up over time.
Determining which cutting board type is best for you depend entirely on your specific usage of the board. What your goal and preference is when it comes to cutting your food. A wood cutting board is great for cutting fruit, veggies, and meat. Plastic cutting boards are a great alternative to the pricier wood cutting boards that are easier to clean but wear quicker over time.
Barbeque cutting boards are the most versatile and offer you the most flexibility in your skill set, but they require more maintenance. Plastic boards are not as decorative and wear fast over time, but you can get the job done just as well as a using a barbeque cutting board.
Types of Barbeque Cutting Boards
Popular barbeque cutting boards range from small, medium, or large. A barbeque cutting board strictly uses wood. The type of wood you can choose from consists of:
Cherry:
- This lasts a long time and is a wonderful addition to any kitchen
Maplewood:
- A heavy and strong wood that is durable against any heavy amount of use. Wears well against your daily chopping.
- Easily blocks bacteria from food.
Walnut:
- Another heavy and dense wood that works well against your knife.
- More prone to scratches because it’s a soft hardwood.
Along with various barbeque cutting boards you can choose from, you can also choose from specific types of wood. These include:
Softwood:
- Cone bearing trees
- Hickory, cedar, pine, and redwood
Hardwood:
- Leaf bearing trees
- Cherry, mahogany, maple, oak, and teak
- Produce nuts, fruits
The thicker the barbeque wooden board is, the less likely it will warp and split. It will maintain is shape and use when it is thicker and absorb liquids from your food products. Because hardwood grows more slowly than their softwood counterpart, hardwood styles are the best choice for your cutting board because they last longer.
Types of Barbeque Board Grains
Along with size and wood types, there are different grains or pore sizes of wood cutting boards that vary in its direction, size, and appearance.
- Attractive horizontal grain that runs horizontally along the board
- Most affordable, but most susceptible to scratches that are easy to see
Edge Grain:
- More expensive with its higher quality
- Grain runs horizontally and has thicker edges that still show scratches
- More durable and less susceptible to wear
- Most professionally used type of board that has minimal scratches, less wearing on your knife
- Requires more maintenance to maintain cutting and cleaning of surface
Overall you can choose any type of barbeque board, but you need to evaluate how often you will use your product, what type of cutting experience do you want, and how durable do you want it to be.
How to Clean Your Cutting Board?
When using a plastic cutting board, you simple, clean your board by soaking it in warm soapy water. You can either clean by hand or use your dishwasher. Both can be safely used to effectively sanitize your cutting board.
A barbeque cutting board requires more effort to effectively clean and sanitize. To clean, you must use warm water and soap to hand wash your cutting board then air dry your board. To properly sanitize your board, you use vinegar to eliminate contamination that disinfects your board and kills any bacteria. It is important that you remember to clean your board after every use to prevent any bacteria growth.
Which Cutting Board Better Prevents Bacteria Growth?
Each type of cutting board must be cleaned after every use. For a plastic cutting board, it must either be hand-cleaned or through a dishwasher. Plastic cutting boards do not have the ability to fight off bacteria; therefore, you must use a powerful cleaning product to prevent any food poisoning.
Barbeque cutting boards are different because the wood texture prevents germ and microbial growth due to its antiseptic qualities. Wood cutting boards also have grooves along their surface, but they are deeper, so bacteria cannot live and grow and eventually die. Plastic cutting boards have many openings in their surface where bacteria loves to grow and hide, making it easy to miss and increase the chance of germs and bacteria growth.
Overall, both types of cutting boards have the ability to contaminate your food if you are not fully aware of their cleanliness. You must wash both types between uses. Plastic boards wear faster over time than a barbeque board, so the choice depends on what your preferences are.
Other Types of Cutting Boards
After wood and plastic, there are many other types of cutting board material you can choose from. There are glass, marble, slate, bamboo, and rubber cutting boards you can purchase. Glass, marble, and slate is decorative choices that look appealing in your kitchen or when serving food, but they do terrible service to your knives. Every cut on a glass, marble, or slate cutting board chips away at your blade. These boards work best as serving trays than functioning as cutting boards.
A rubber cutting board is similar to a wood cutting board, but it cannot withstand high amounts of heat. It does not dull your knife and is easy to clean because all you need is to use a dishwasher.
Bamboo is another type you can use. This type of cutting board is resistant to scarring and cutting and absorbs liquid well. Bamboo is also less likely to retain bacteria than a plastic cutting board.
Overall, wood and plastic work best for cutting, but wood is best for preventing bacteria growth, but plastic is the most users friendly and easiest to clean.