Chopping boards — wood or plastic?
June 2, 2007
Filed under Cooking tools & gadgets
If my father were still alive and he had a chance to read this entry, he would be smiling from ear to ear. My father used wooden chooping boards — only, exclusively. We would even drive south to buy the large round ones, the cross cuts from trunks of huge tamarind trees.
What’s so special about wooden chopping boards, anyway?
1) They are really made for chopping.
2) The natural acid in the wood kills bacteria. Yeah, I read that somewhere a long time ago when I was reading up on the eternal debate over wood versus plastic chopping boards. That’s why trunks of trees with acidic fruits (tamarind, santol) are best for making chopping boards.
The chopping board on the left side of the photo above came from a santol tree. I bought it in Baguio three or four years ago and I’m still using it. The one on the right side was a gift from a friend. After two and a half years, it’s still great. Wood absorbs oil and oil preserves the wood. I suppose that’s what makes wooden chopping boards last so long.
For best results, do not use detergent on wooden chopping boards. To remove stubborn fat on the surface — and this usually happens when chopping meat — pour boiling water over it while gently scraping the surface with a dull knife.
The cutting board below was also a gift.
I love the color (I believe it was bought from IKEA) but I only use it for cutting. That’s why I call it a cutting board rather than a chopping board. It’s great when mincing or dicing vegetables or meat but I wouldn’t use it for chopping chicken through the bones. When I need to bring a cutting board on the dining table, as when serving uncut loaves of bread, this is the one I use, not the heavy wooden ones.
So, while wooden chopping boards will always be my first choice, plastic cutting boards are pretty useful too — especially if you have to take photos for your food blog. 
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Hi Ms Connie,
I grew up in the province and our chopping board came from the suha tree:) My mother said that it was my lolo (her father-in-law) who actually chooses the wood, boil/cook the wood in oil to seal the wood and make it last longer. And it sure did.:) Too bad he wasn’t able to pass on the trick to us. He died when I was in first grade.
Thanks,
May
Wow, so there’s a preservation process. Thanks for that, May!
Yes there actually is.:) He also boiled the usual kawali in oil to make it almost nonstick - kind of like what you see in the usual wok. I’ll ask my mom. I swear this is for real. I saw this on TV before with WOK WITH YAN (not sure with the title) - my mom said he remembers my angkong. Btw, my lolo (angkong) is Chinese, so there is got to be a trick of some sort.:)You can also try wiping mineral oil to the wooden sandok we can usually buy in Baguio. Tried it but it was messy and it is really hard to get the sealed feel. This sure is a long one - sorry:)
May, I was a Wok With Yan fan for years! Re the kawali. Pano yun, the kawali is placed in a larger cooking pan full of boiling oil?
Ok lang long comment, super informative naman. Thanks.
Yes, medyo vague na yung memory ko kay Wok with Yan, pero ganun na nga po. May larger kawali na may oil at iniikot ikot niya doon yung kawali at binubuhusan ng oil. Tapos later on inulubog sa langis. Nakakatakot gawin:) I just cant remember what kind of oil it was. Pasensya na, I haven’t spoken with my mother yet, maybe she could give us a more detailed information on this:) Magpopost po uli ako ng comment kapag nalaman ko na po yung full details sa pagseal ng kawali at sangkalan haha yan po kasi ang tawag namin sa chopping board - sangkalan.:)
Salamat po,
May
Thank you, too, May. Sana matutunan ko although the idea of submerging a frying pan in a pot of hot oil sounds dangerous to a newbie.
Good day po sa inyong lahat!!!
Hi and I hope to make an inquiry regarding the topic of wooden chopping boards inhibit bacterial growth. I am currently taking up my Masters degree and i’m very much interested in pursuing this topic with a twist of course which I have not deviced yet. FYI way back 2006 the studies of The university of Wisconsin and the FDA of U.S. had these results: University of wisconsin favored wooden chopping boards because their experiments showed wooden chopping boards were able to kill bacteria within 10 mins while the FDA claimed otherwise and favored plastic chopping boards instead. If any of you is familliar with a similar thesis, article or manuscript local or international please send it to my email (frederick_masangkay2002@yahoo.com) so I may have references, it is my goal to produce a comprehensive local and relevant literature that our food, household , market and resto industry can use. thank you and sorry for the lengthy message! have a good day ahead to all!!!