Atma - How to choose the right cutting board?

To help you see more clearly, here we take up the main types of boards, detailing their specificities.

Wooden chopping boards

Very common in kitchens, wooden cutting boards can be of different species. Beech, oak, bamboo, rubber, acacia… Each type of wood will have its own characteristics which will justify the quality or otherwise of a board. For Atma, we opted for the solidity of oak.

Wooden boards are recommended for cutting most fruits and vegetables, fish and other seafood, not to mention meat and poultry.

But what are the advantages of the wooden board?

Hygiene: Carrying a bad reputation concerning its hygiene, the cutting board is however irreproachable. What does she owe this quality to? To the porosity of its wood, which absorbs bacteria which then eventually disappear. Some studies even go so far as to hoist wood into the top of the cleanest materials.
Aesthetics: Faced with plastic and glass boards, there is no comparison: wood has much more cachet. And the aesthetics of its kitchen utensils is very important: it will motivate you to go behind the stove. At Atma, we have opted for oak, a wood that tends to acquire a patina over time, which makes your cutting board unique.
Solidity and sturdiness: Unsurprisingly, wood is one of the strongest materials, which will allow your board to last over time.
Value for money: Unbeatable in many ways, the wooden cutting board has a balanced price/quality ratio.

But since no board is perfect, the wooden cutting board also has some disadvantages, to be honest:

Hygiene: Dishwasher use of a wooden cutting board is prohibited. This type of washing deeply deteriorates the wood of the board due to its permeability.

Also be careful to dry the board well, if you don't want it to soak up water and warp.

Sensitive to odors? Wooden planks may not be for you because they can take on the smell of food (although there are techniques to remedy this, we will come back to this in a future article).

plastic cutting board

It's not just wood in life… there's plastic too (even if we have to admit that we're still less of a fan). In this category, two types of plastic, with different qualities, oppose each other. The boards in polyvinyl chloride or PVC, quite basic, and those in high density polyethylene or HDPE which are more qualitative boards.

These types of boards have certain advantages that are very useful in the kitchen:

Hygiene: Less hygienic than wood, plastic cutting boards still have the merit of being easily washable by hand. They can also be put in the dishwasher. Not being permeable, they limit the risk of cross-contamination.
Solidity: Plastic cutting boards are exceptionally solid. Despite this, when cutting food, the blade of your knife is not damaged.
Price: Plastic cutting boards are available for all budgets. Note that HDPE boards are more expensive than PVC boards, but of better quality.

However, it is necessary to take into account also the weaknesses of such a cutting support:

Aesthetics: far from the beauty that a wooden cutting board has, the plastic board does not make its aesthetics an asset.
Solidity: If these boards are rather solid, over time the first price PVC boards can crumble.
Hygiene: The first price PVC boards are full of toxic products and retain food odors.
Price: Good quality HDPE boards are often expensive.

glass cutting board

Finally, we can mention glass cutting boards, which are rarer but which also have a number of advantages.

On the advantage side, glass stands out in terms of Hygiene:

Hygiene: In addition to being dishwasher safe, glass cutting boards are arguably the most hygienic boards. They do not contaminate odors, avoid cross-contamination between foods and are easy to maintain.
Aesthetics: Glass planks are generally aesthetic.

Unfortunately, these advantages stand alone and come with several disadvantages:

Solidity: Glass is a more fragile material than wood or plastic. Your cutting board is therefore at risk of breaking and the risk of injury exists. In addition, in contact with the glass board, the edge of your knives is likely to be damaged. It is therefore not recommended to use this type of board to make your cuts. Use it instead, to finalize your preparation.
Noise: The noise of the blade on the glass can be unpleasant.

Conclusion

Now that you know more about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of cutting board, it's up to you to choose. At Atma we chose a wooden cutting board, for a unique look.

Note that the purchase of several boards, the use of which you will reserve for very specific tasks, is also something that can be envisaged to always ensure that you cut your food on the right support and avoid cross-contamination!