The Perfect Cutting Board

What makes the perfect cutting board? In my years of making cutting boards, I’ve been asked to build some as large as 24” x 36” and as small as 4” x 6”; less than 1” thick up to 5” thick; using traditional woods like Maple, Cherry and Walnut or exotic woods like Purpleheart, Bloodwood and Padauk; Simple face grain, more durable edge grain, or intricate end grain patterns; or with or without juice grooves. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect board, often dependent on purpose.

Are you looking for an artistic statement that may never be used for cutting? An end grain board is extremely durable, and the almost endless patterns can be as visually impressive as a fine painting. Would you like a board to slice small items? A “Bar Board” would allow you to slice limes like a professional bartender. There are specialty cutting boards designed for serving hors oeuvres, slicing bread, chopping vegetables, and for cutting raw meat.

For most households, a general-purpose cutting board is just the ticket. In my kitchen, my go-to cutting board is a jack-of-all-trades. 12” x 16” and 1 ¼” thick makes it not too big for storage, and not too small to chop a whole roasted chicken. It has a flat side for chopping vegetables, and a side with a juice groove to catch meat drippings. It’s an edge grain board, meaning each piece of wood is cut into strips and then turned on the side (edge) before gluing all the pieces together. This makes it plenty durable, but allowed me to be more creative in design and to blend traditional cutting board wood with some small, colorful, exotic wood accents.

Often time, the price of a cutting board can be a determining factor is selecting a new one. Here, the old adage “you get what you pay for” is true. Inexpensive, mass-produced cutting boards are available, but beware of inferior materials such as plastic, or compressed wood and non-food safe glue.

If you’re in the market for a new cutting board, I hope you’ll shop the selection available at winecountrywoodcraft.net, or consider contacting me to design and create a custom board that meets your every need.