Tool: Cutting Board
About
Surface designed for cutting food without damaging the knife. Cutting boards are made from a variety of materiels, including wood and plastic.
It is important to wash a cutting board after using it to cut meats, so as to prevent the contamination of other foods with bacteria and other food borne pathogens. Though plastic is often thought to be more hygienic, studies have shown that the natural anti-microbial properties of wood actually make it a safer choice.
Despite washing, residual flavors can linger and transfer from one cutting project to the next. This can be extremely unpleasant when a strong flavor, such as garlic, mixes a more delicate one, such as papaya. To avoid this, some people prefer to have separate boards dedicated to separate uses, e.g. one for vegetables, another for meats, and a third for fruits.
