Lightweight cutting boards that don't curl??

Cooking Discussions Cookware
#1

We’ve been using relatively thick but flexible colored plastic cutting ‘boards’ to protect our chopping block for years. I think my wife gets them at BB&B. I can’t recall exactly but I think they’re the ones I drill a hole in at one end so they’ll hang on a hook on the side of our fridge. Anyway… after a while they all curl up making them problematic to use as there’s no longer a large enough flat surface. They’re not very expensive but it seems wasteful to replace them often.

I hand wash them and let them air dry, but my wife often sneaks them into the dishwasher. Any opinions as to the probable main reason they curl? Is it us or just what happens with plastic??? More serviceable options?

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#2

I confess to chuckling at the idea of having a cutting board to protect a chopping block, which seems akin to laying wall-to-wall over your new parquet floors. Why bother having something you’re not using? That said, I rinse or hand/wash the styrofoam trays from supermarket meat and produce, to reuse a time or two as cutting boards, the idea being that they are easier on the knife blades. These aren’t recyclable where I live, so have to be thrown out anyway.

#3

I tend to use the plastic ones mostly for meats, poultry, fish, garlic to help cut down on the spread of odors and bacteria into the wood. I just don’t like the idea of using hot water and soap on a good Boos block if I can avoid it.

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#4

Yah, I have a bamboo cutting board that isn’t even allowed on the same table as raw meat or garlic or onion. I am very picky about my cutting boards, I even have a couple “guest boards” for people helping in the kitchen. If they mess them up, I don’t care, because I don’t use them.

Other than that, I’m an easygoing little ray of sunshine.

#5

IMO, the heat of the DW is the culprit. So it’s not “us”.

Even a Sani-Tuff will warp in the DW. Epicurian says theirs are “DW-safe”, but I doubt it means they won’t warp. The only boards I’m aware of that claim no warping (up to 350F) is Tuff-Cut. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/san-jamar-tc121812-12-x-18-x-1-2-tuff-cut-cutting-board/511TC121812.html

#6

I have three plastic boards that I use only for meat and fish. I always throw them in the DW to sanitize.

I’ve had them all for ten years or more and the only one that ever warped is one I bought at Ikea.

The other two don’t have names and I have no idea where I picked them up, sorry.

Upshot is: just buy a new one when you see it. They’re cheap and last a good long time and eventually you’ll have couple that don’t warp.

:wink:

#7

I should probably add that I checked and the warped boards are from Ikea and are maybe 1/8" thick. I’m gonna ask my wife to keep them out of the dishwasher if I get new ones but she puts lots of metal things in there too, so I’m not sure it wouldn’t be easier to just keep a few sets in the garage.

#8

I have many cutting boards: wood, very thick wood and different plastics. I use the wood ones mainly for bread and vegetables, they are not very good for meat and juices that stains. I have 2 Muji cutting boards, extremely thin, not more than 5mm. They don’t curve, except when I poured hot pasta water to clean, they will return to the original shape after cooling down. Despite their thinness, i have been using them for around 2 years now, still in good shape. I have another one from Joseph Joseph, it’s a tray like, and good for cutting cooked meat with juice, but I find they got chipping a bit too fast with sharp knives.

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#9

I have several of the epicurean brand and no warping from the dw but 2 are black and I notices small black bits when I chopped pale foods.

#10

Ah!!! Plastic bits in your food!!! Yum!!!

#11

Believe it or not, some of the thickest plastic cutting boards I’ve used are the ones I bought from Ikea. They come four to a pack and have multiple colors for you to color-code. I have some old ones that I don’t use as the top surface anymore but are great to create more cushioning when you are doing more serious chopping. These things have never curled or warped on me and they are well over 5+ years old. I don’t ever toss them in the dishwasher though.

#12

I probably will get slaughtered for saying this. But wood actually harbors less bacteria than plastic according to a recent study. wood is naturally antibacterial, because trees need to stop bugs from eating them alive.

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#13

I have a thick poly “foundational” cutting board that fits over my sink:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/williams-sonoma-prep-cutting-board-with-well/?pkey=ccutlery-synthetic-cutting-boards&cm_src=SEARCH_TOPPRODUCT&ccutlery-synthetic-cutting-boards

and two smaller hardwood cutting boards that can be used together with, or separately from, my poly board. If I wish, I can add an additional layer of paper or plastic between the items and my boards. I feel that I can adjust my precautions to most any health risk with either wood or plastic boards as needed. while preserving the fine edges of my kitchen knives.

Ray

#14

Yeah I like the Epicurian cutting boards - they are not plastic, they are some kind of compressed, recycled cardboard. Haven’t noticed any bits coming off at all…See link for details. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IP68UA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IP68UA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

#15

I have separate chopping boards for my beloved alium family - garlic, onions, leeks, chives, shallots and their friends.

And no dishwasher. Or, as we used to say, I’m the dishwasher.

#16

The black ones can look pretty scarred up…

#17

Do you know how the recycled cardboard were treated? What are they bonding to for the remaining 50%?

#18

Naf, just looked it up. They are made if a composite paper/resin material called Richlite. See here for more info. http://www.richlite.com/ Claims to be sustainable and eco friendly. Here is the Epicurian website. I think it was the Kitchn or Food52 blog that turned me on to these boards. http://www.epicureancs.com/

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