# Choosing a Cutting Board



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hi Gang,

I'd like to get a new cutting board to better fit the space in the new kitchen. In the past I used maple, however, this morning I was made aware of bamboo. Is one "better" than the other, or better for specific tasks? Any thoughts on the pros and cons of each material?

Thanks,

Shel


----------



## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I have a small maple butcher block I made myself long ago, and it's good. But I tend to use the plastic ones more so I can throw them in the dishwasher.

I bought bamboo board not too long ago and to be honest, I don't like it as much. It seems hard and my knife seems to bounce off it a bit. Maybe it needs to be broken in more, but I'm not a fan of it.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Thanks for your comments. I've got several plastic boards, and they're nice for some things - I do like being able to toss 'em in the dishwasher - but I miss my old maple board. I liked that it sat higher above the counter than the plastic boards do, and I can always put the plastic board on top of whatever other cutting board I get.

The bamboo boards were quite a bit more expensive than the maple boards at the one place I checked, so that's probably another reason to go with maple.

What about other wood choices? There's a place near me that specializes in hard woods, so I can get almost anything I want at "reasonable" prices, and cut/trim it to my specs.

Shel


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Plastic for me. Wood takes too much extra care and fussing. The less I have to hand wash the better.


----------



## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

The plastic ones are more sanitary. Wood tends to absorb things and chances are they don't get washed as well as they should.


----------



## sucrechef (Sep 1, 2005)

THIS IS FALSE -- studies have actually shown that the accumulation of harmful bacteria is greater on plastic boards. There seems to be something about the wood which inhibits bacterial growth. The most important thing is to clean all boards thoroughly, sanitize and toss any boards with long or deep scratches and/or gouges.


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

This is a NON ISSUE as the studies actually show that when you wash the board it's statistically insignificant which you use. We do WASH our boards don't we?

This is the important thing and the only issue to focus on.


----------



## jock (Dec 4, 2001)

I respectfully disagree.

It is widely recognized these days that enzymes in the wood act as a kind of natural sanitizer, killing bacteria. Once plastic boards have been used for a bit their surfaces get rough and bacteria grows in the microscopic crevases. Even scrubbing with a bleach solution doesn't kill them all. I don't have a dishwasher to keep plastic boards properly clean so I stick with wood. 

One of the benefits of bamboo from an ecological point of view is that it is a renewable resource. It is very tough but like Mezz says, maybe a bit too tough for cutting boards. (They are selling bamboo for floors now, instead of hard woods.)

Then there's the aesthetic factor; wood just looks and feels nicer than plastic.

Jock


----------



## lynscal (Jan 13, 2007)

Agree on the bamboo!


----------



## web monkey (Jan 18, 2007)

My neighbor, who knows way more about wood than I do (he's a violin maker) says that some woods (like oak) contain chemicals that effect the flavor of the food (which is why whiskey barrles are oak).

You can buy really nice maple cutting boards by the foot from a place called "Woodland Specialties" in Syracuse, NY.

They carry it 1.5" x 25" deep (std countertop depth) from about 1.5' to about 10' in length.

They don't do retail, so you'll need a friend in some type of remodeling/construction/kitchen business to get it for you.

Terry


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

The ol' "enzymes in the wood act as a kind of natural sanitizer" routine. Maybe some truth to it, but the plain facts are that wood, as nylon, will get cut and scuffed up. Bacteria will harbour in these cuts if they are frequent and deep enough--no matter what the material. I repeat, no matter what the material is, bacteria will harbour in cuts. And cuts and scars are a matter of fact for all cutting boards. For something like a breadboard, where only one item is being cut, and a fairly dry and protein free item at that, it's not such a huge issue. But for preparing meat, and moist and starchy vegetables, it's a huge issue.

Just for arguement's sake, if the wood did somehow render all bacteria inert, you would still have food debris (week old dried, or day old moist...) in the deep cuts that would mix in with fresh food. Don't believe me? Roll a wad of dough--any kind of dough-- over a cut and scuffed up cutting board and see what it picks up. 

When your cutting boards get to this stage, you can retire them or take them to a woodworking shop and run them through a thickness planer. This handy little machine will take about 1/16th of an inch off of each surface, basically giving you a brand new cutting board. I've done this with both nylon and wood, many times in fact, until the board become too thin to use.

I love wood, love working with it, especially with hand tools, and it breaks my heart to see a nice wood cutting board doomed to become all scuffed and cut up. I prefer nylon, a heck of a lot easier to toss into the d/w....


----------



## firiki03 (Oct 20, 2006)

I use wood for slicing bread and plastic for chopping and cutting veggies, meat etc.


----------



## carlaird (Jan 16, 2007)

FOOD PUMP IS RIGHT!
Also please check your Martha Stewart Homemaking Handbook 
I don't think she says to place wood boards in dishwashers because they crack the wood. So you wont fully sanitize them! And they ARE hard to keep !
But she does still use them
Cant check for exact facts I'm to tired to lift that **** book


----------



## slate (Jan 11, 2007)

I use the thin color coded cutting "boards" They are sold in sets of 4 or 5 and can be cleaned with bleach. I use them when I am cutting up meats and seafood. When they get nasty I replace them. I also use them when I am teaching my knife skills class. I put them on top of my plastic cutting boards to cushion my blades and protect my clients counters. They can also be used to move cut product to the pot.

my .02


----------



## mannlicher (Jan 8, 2006)

Some research has been done on the subject of whether wood or plastic boards are safer. 
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/i...tingboard.shtm

A good read, and points out that wood is in many cases, the best material to use from a bacterial safety standpoint.

Personally, I use both kinds. I am a big fan of Boos rock maple boards, and I also love my polypro ones.


----------



## pinot (Jan 11, 2005)

I like the plastic ones . They are easy to wash and go into a dishwasher. I prefer the 3/8 inch thick ones as they don't slide about.

I think the most important thing about a board is how easy it is to wash , as this way you will wash it efficently between each task. Personally the idea of cutting raw chicken and the like on wood is rather worrying . But yes , don't keep them too long.


----------



## nofifi (Jan 14, 2007)

Ok, here's where my lack of knowledge really shows, and will probably seem like a real dumb question....what about a good set of knives, isn't it better to use them on wood than plastic? (I told you this may seem like a dumb question). I have globe and henkel knives which I love so I use wood because I thought it would be better on my knives. Thanks for all the info on the cutting boards, I sure learn alot listening to all of you professionals.


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The way you phrased your question is impossible to answer. Some woods are very hard. So are some plastics. Both can also be too soft. 

Wood is also a natural product. This means it varies quite a bit in the same type and within the same tree. Further, wood is prone to inclusions. Dirt and grit are often grown right over and into the wood. Those sorts of inclusions are bad for your knife.

Maple is the classic wood. But you want an endgrain piece as that's a harder and more resilient orientation of maple which would otherwise be too soft and wear out quickly.

The other factor is the knife itself. Most kitchen knives are about 56 RC. That's a hardness measure. For a cutting steel, thats on the soft side. So you want a pretty soft material without abrasive content to cushion the edge as you cut. A properly chosen wood or plastic can do that. Wood isn't automatically better or worse than plastic and vice versa as a cutting surface. 

The right wood or plastic can both make a good cutting surface. 

Phil


----------



## nofifi (Jan 14, 2007)

I use maple wood. Just figured plastic was too hard on my knives and I didn't want to damage them. I'm pretty picky about my knives so I haven't used plastic thinking wood was better for them. Thanks for the info.


----------



## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

The wood/plastic controversy has gone on for a long time.

My son, a professional woodworker who has made some cutting boards, researched this and found studies from the Food Science Department of the University of Wisconsin that concluded wood cutting boards were more anti-bacterial than plastic ones. Bacteria. it seems, get absorbed into the wood boards, where they die.

You'll need to Google this for more details.

Mike


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

As was said multiple times in this thread, that study was for unwashed boards. Washed boards are both very clean. As long as you wash your board, the bacterial properties of wood are insignificant. We all wash our boards right?

Phil


----------



## sushigaijin (Apr 12, 2005)

I have mixed feelings on cutting boards - on one hand, the ease of use with plastic boards is very nice, but i have found some of them to be too soft. After repeated use, the surface becomes very rough and abrades my hand severely - this winter I had open wounds on ALL of my left fingers because of rough cutting boards...and I don't have sensitive skin or wound easily. Chop a lot of garlic, touch the cutting board a lot, end result is painful and a liability in a commercial kitchen. Wooden boards, and harder plastic boards, don't seem to suffer from this problem.

My solution is to iron the cleaned, sanitized boards every week or so - a process similar to lapping with a planer, but can be done in two minutes without much effort. So far so good.

E


----------



## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

We go through this discussion every time cutting boards come up... 

When my son was a cabinetmaker, he made a lot of wood cutting boards, and found serveral reports by researchers at the Commercial Food Institute of the Univ. of Wisconsin. They were unanimous that wood boards were more sanitary, as any leftover germs, after scrubbing, were absorbed into the wood... where they died.

Maple is the preferred wood (hard rock maple, the best) though walnut is good, and looks nice mixed with maple laminations. No experience with oak as a board material. End-grain boards are best, as there's more pores to gobble up the germs. Just treat a new board with USP mineral oil (NOT vegetable- it gets rancid) once a week for the first month - when it's dry, of course; then once a month for six months, and then every six months. Scrub under hot running water, dry in the dish rack. No dishwashers.

If you're making your own, use Titebond III wood glue- it's FDA approved for non-contact food use and is very strong and waterproof. Titebond II is OK and approved, too. Just not quite as strong or quite as waterproof as the newer III. The open time for III is longer, too. (If you're not into woodworking... don't worry about it.  )

You'll need a LOT of clamps.  And a belt sander.


Mike :smoking:


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

My feelings about wood vs nylon are pretty clear, but I've worked alot with wood as well, here are some of my observations. 

Stay away from red Oak for cutting boards. My kids amuse themselves by taking a 3/4" x 3/4" stick of red oak, sticking one end in water, and blowing on the other end and watching the bubbles. In other words it's porous.

Titebond2 is good, but finger joints or dovetailing in combination with glue is even better. 

Use a cabinet scraper to keep a smooth surface on the boards.


----------



## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

"*...but finger joints or dovetailing in combination with glue is even better."*

Wow - that would be a very well-joined cutting board indeed. I've never seen one like that. Also a h**l of a lot of work. After ten or eleven years of cutting board experience, I've never seen one come apart just being butt-joint glued.

But, umm... remember, NOT in the dishwasher. 

Mike


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Most of the commercial boards are finger jointed, and most are held together with bolts running through the width, and plugged with maple caps.

However, I and many other Chefs (and many, many Health Inspectors) are very worried about the implications of bacteria eating wood cutting boards. A wrong message, but one very easy to believe would be that it's ok to cut raw chicken or pork on the cutting board, give it a quick wipe, and everything's up to sanitation standards.

-Wood is a porous material. Stands to reason, given that one of the main functions of a tree trunk is transport water from the roots to the branches. 

-Wood absorbs water, it's a natural function of the wood fibres, they are hollow and they absorb.

-Water is a great transport vehicle for many other things: Salts, minerals, food debris. 

Put it all together and a wet cutting board is wiped down, the moisture eventually evaporates, and the debris, salts, etc, are left behind, plugging up the fibres.

I'm no scientist, have no access to a lab, but my big question is: Can a used wood cutting board, one that has gone through many cycles of wetting and drying, still be effective in killing bacteria on contact? 

A good example is with an ex-employee of mine cleaning off a s/s table. He gives it a quick wipe, sprays it down with sanitizer, and proudly exclaims it's clean. I point out the spilled juices, fish scales and carrot peels. "But Chef, they're sanitized, it's ok". 

Easiest and quickest way to sanitize a cutting board, a way that you're about 95% sure it's sanitized, is to toss it into a high-temp d/w. Can't do this with a wood cutting board or it'll swell and split along the glue lines. Best thing to do is cut raw meat and other perishables on a nylon cutting board and be 95% sure.


----------



## tsblo (Jan 19, 2007)

My chef keeps both on hand. Nylon and plastic cutting boards are softer than the wood boards we have, and he instructs we use the ones we feel more comfortable. Here at home and at school I prefer Maple VS Bamboo, I find the bamboo is grainy and I have have caught some of the grains with a pairing knife and lifted it up. I really don't want that in my food.

As for wood VS. plastic and sanitation, all the boards I work with a replaced after 3 months on average and I treat them with bleach and T20 sanitizer. I've never had a problem, and my boards if they show too much wear get tossed. Easy as that.


----------



## mckenziest (Apr 16, 2007)

I have a solid maple, wood chopping board - about 2 " thick - wires running through the width of the board - approx 22" x 18 " - has lasted 30 to 35 years
cleans with hot water , soap and a plastic scrubbing pad
the board was from ontario
any one in canada or us know where I can buy a similar item


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I don't understand why you have wires running through it. That sort of stabalization is totally unnecessary with a well-constructed cutting board or chopping block.

If you can't find what you're looking for elsewise, contact me off-list. I build custom boards and blocks, from all sorts of woods, and I'm sure we can work something out.


----------



## jayme (Sep 5, 2006)

I have heard the same wood vs.plastic sanitary issues.... personally, I have several plastic boards of varying sizes, I can throw them through the dishwasher. (I also have a spray bottle of bleach solution to spray down the boards after chicken)


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

KY Heirloomer, most maple boards over 2" thick will have a series of 3/8" redi-rods running through them at 12 or 16" intervals. Wood swells and contracts natuarally enough with the seasons on regular furniture, which is why good pieces will allow for wood movement. (ie table skirts having some room when attached to tops, frame and panel construction in doors, etc.) 

Cutting boards and butcher's blocks are subject to alot more abuse, and alot more moisture, which means the wood moves(contracts and expands) more. If no physical means of stopping the wood from expanding are used, the wood will evenutally swell and crack and fail along the glue lines. The redi-rods are used less frequently now due to cost effectiveness and due to kiln dried wood becoming increasingly cheaper.


----------



## muscat (Nov 28, 2006)

Does anyone have a section of butcher block incorporated into the countertop to use as a cutting board, or is it generally thought better to have something that is portable, for flexibility and sanitation?


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Note, Foodpump, that my operative words were "well constructed."

Redi-rods were used for two reasons. The first you touched on; the wood was not cured properly, and so artificial means were needed to stabalize it. 

Second was construction speed. Rather than gluing and clamping, the board or block would be held together by the rods until the glue set up. This allowed the maker to move on to other stages more quickly.

Me, I could care less about saving that time, cuz my game is quality, not quantity. People who order boards and blocks from me know that they're paying top dollar for proper construction and custom features, and we don't need threaded rods to hold the thing together.


----------



## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Well, we go through this every time the cutting board subject comes up.  

When my son was a cabinetmaker, he made a lot of cutting boards, mostly hard maple, sometimes mixed with walnut.

He located several research papers from the Food Service Department of the University of Wisconsin (at Milwaukee, if I remember correctly) that demonstrated the bacteria-suppressing characteristic of wood boards.

He would include a copy of the papers with each of the boards he sold.

I don't think this capacity is a myth.

Mike


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Nor do I. I've read enough over the last couple of months to feel quite comfortable using a wood board. Which is very good because I hate those plastic boards. In any case, I just don't worry about little things like bacteria <LOL>

Shel (living on the edge)


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Folks, I really feel strongly about this, for the life of me I can not endorse someone to bone out a raw chicken, pork roast, or fish, on a wood board, give the board a quick wipe with a towel, and consider it sanitized. I think very few people could endorse this method of sanitation. 

That being said, whatever you do in your own kitchens is your business, but if you're in the food business, no one will take a chance like that.

About construction, redi-rod systems are not a cheap cop-out, with massive boards and blocks they are a neccesity. I currently have a massive 30" by 36" by 30" THICK maple cutting block, made up of endgrain oriented strips dovetailed and glued together. Located at about 10" from the bottom is a series of redi-rods, all nicely plugged with maple caps. Some means of mechanical strength, as well as glue, is needed to hold that kind of massive weight together, and for the life of me, I can't see how these rods could subsitute for clamps during assembly.


----------



## crema (Mar 18, 2007)

OMG, foodpump, how much does that thing weigh?:suprise:


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Around 200 lbs. "Inherited" it when we bought the last place, a clapped-out "Chinese/Canadian" place. Matter of fact, it was of the few things that we DID keep, when we started cleaning that place out... But it was in baaad shape, so hollowed out in the middle my kids coulda curled up and fell asleep in the hollow..

I love wood and working with tools, especially hand tools, but I have a business to run and didn't know what to do with it, and couldn't just toss it out. Luckily for me, the guy across the street runs a pattern maker's shop, had a huge 24" bandsaw and managed to heave that sucker on the table and slice almost 9" from the top. So I lied a little, it's only around 20' thick now, but it was originaly 30" thick. Beautiful thing to pound schnitzels on, or bone out a pork loin (on a nylon board...) without the table wiggling and jerking all over the place.


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Well, Foodpump, it's a long, long way between a 2" thick board (>most maple boards over 2" thick will have a series of 3/8" redi-rods<) and a 30" thick, free-standing butcher block (>I currently have a massive 30" by 36" by 30" THICK maple cutting block<). That's talking apples and oranges.

Some of those old free-standing jobbies were also stabalized with iron strapping. Would you want to see that on a counter-top cutting board?


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Shel,

Check your private messages.


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I guess this is going to be a long one. We've kept it clean so far, and it's my intention to keep it clean, no rabbit punches, no hitting below the belt.

I've seen alot of stuff in my career, seen nylon cutting boards so scarred and yellowed and mildewed you'd run away screaming, seen brand new wood cutting boards and after 2 months of regular use in a commercial kitchen shrink and warp, fatigue at the glue lines, crud getting lodged in the cracks. Seen the damage done by not properly drying boards: rot, mildew, nasty smells--nylon or wood boards, even nasty smells from sanitized boards (again, nylon or wood) by simply placing a wet piece of paper towel under the board during a particularly long prep session. Witnessed and fired eejeits who would ram a knife into a wooden board, breaking off the tip of the knife and poking a hole in the board, thier standard reply to my wrath was "Well, it's a chopping block, isn't it?" Well, gawsh geez whiz, I'd say to them, no it isn't an old oak tree stump, its a CUTTING board, chopping is what you do with an axe. 

Met all kinds of health inspectors, and I've worked in Europe and S.E Asia as well as here in Vancouver in my 25 year career, but the Inspector's only criteria was that the board is to be sanitized by either hot water or chemical and free from deep scratches. I've been very lucky,--- very, very, lucky not to witness first hand the damage done by food poisoning, usually from cross contamination, usually via cutting boards, but it exists, and continues to exist, just ask any health inspector. 

My biggest fear in life, (other than being trapped in an elevator with a Health Insurance salesman with gas...) is that some cook, somewhere, feels that wood cutting boards don't require sanitation; that after a 2 hour session boning out raw turkeys for thanksgiving, that a quick wipe with a damp towel is all that is needed, and that he can now go on to slicing med-rare prime rib on the same board under a carving light for a party of 50 or so guests in Banquet room "C". And if you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen, you know this scenerio could and probably will happen. Just hope it's far, far away from you or your family if and when it ever does happen.

These are my thoughts and feelings on the subject, based on being a caterer with capacities of up to 500 people for some events. What anyone does in thier own home is their business, but I want everyone to know the possibilities of cross contamination, how it starts, and how best to avoid it. 

I have no other motives.


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I don't think any sane person would disagree with your basic contention, Foodpump. Good sanitation practices are good practices, and bad ones are bad, no matter what the cutting surface. 

Prepping a bunch of raw turkeys on a board, giving it a quick wipe with a damp paper towel, then moving on to prime rib is just as wrong on plastic as it is on wood. 

The problem with your posts, whether you intend this or not, is that you imply wood cannot be properly sanitized. And that's just not correct. I've had off-list conversations with several members, and they all read you this way. So it's not just me. 

The only advantage plastic boards have over wood is that they can be thrown in the dishwasher. Well, that and the fact they're cheap. But, by the same token, they have to be disposed of more frequently, and there's the additional labor of sharpening knives more often. So the cost aspect may be more perception than real. 

>chopping is what you do with an axe. <

Or a cleaver. Which is why they are so often called "butcher's blocks." And chopping is often what we do with a chef's knife as well. The act of chopping is what happens when you use a cutting edge without a slicing motion. (And, if you're at all interested, we can discuss why American-model axes do that better than any other tool)

But your point is well taken. Anyone who abuses a knife and a cutting board that way needs to be more than fired. They need to be taken out behind the barn for a whooping.


----------



## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

I certainly didn't mean to imply that wood cutting boards are self-sanitizing.

They need to be taken care of, and sanitized, like any other board. It's just that they can be cared for and not be put in the dishwasher like a plastic board, and may be more sanitary - properly cared for - than plastic. A dishwasher will take most any wood board apart, no matter what glue is used to assemble them. (Well, maybe not polyurethane, but I am pretty sure it's _not _FDA-approved, as Titebond II and Titebond III are.

Mike


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Haven't tested it, Mike, but I'm not so sure even polyurathane would withstand the abuse of constant dishwasher immersion. If nothing else, the wood alongside the gluebead would break away. 

Can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly did not take your posts to mean that wood was self-sanitizing. But wood does have natural anti-bacterial properties which makes it relatively easy to maintain a safe, sanitized surface without the need for the high temperatures of a dishwasher. 

On the other hand, without that high heat, the groves, nicks, and scratches in the plastic boards can become hotbeds of disease.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I would imagine the temps used in a restaurant kitchen dishwasher may, at times, be higher than those found in home dishwashers. Aren't restaurants required to have a certain minimum temp for their washer water? And I'd suspect that restaurant machines may be a little more powerful as well. Perhaps someone can address that point.

Regardless, home dishwashers are all over the place. Some homeowners keep their hot water temp lower than others, some inexpensive machines just barely get the dishes clean, some people use too little detergent. I've got a good machine, am faniliar with appropriate water temps, use the proper amount of a good, strong detergent, and know how to properly load the machine. Still there are times when those plastic boards come out with obvious dirt in the scratches and knife marks.

Shel


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Grooves, nicks and scratches are found on all types of cutting boards, not just nylon. Then again, burn marks ( and, yes, melt marks...) are found on all types of cutting boards too.

To properly sanitize wood boards I endorse the method of rinsing off, then splashing on liquid bleach, rub it in with a paper towel, wiping off the excess, and letting the board air dry--the bleach will dissipate as it the board dries. I would like to know of any other methods of properly sanitizing wood boards that don't involve high heat.

For scarred and grooved boards--all types of materials-- I usually borrow some wood working techniques. Simple and easy is to run the board--again, any type of material-- through a woodworker's electric thickness planer, and remove about 1/16 of an inch off of each side. From this site, on this thread, I have learned of using a clothes iron to iron out scratches on nylon boards. And while thumbing through the Matfer catalouge, I came across a specialty tool that scrapes a light layer off of the surface of the cutting board. This specialty tool strongly resembles a #4 1/2 Stanley-type smoothing plane, albeit without a chip breaker or lever cap...


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

:chef: Useing plastic or wood boards is a matter of preferance. I have found the old fashioned way is the best for wood. that is sprinkling with salt and a course curly kate or steel brush. No water if possible as it tends to expand the wood therefore allowing growth of bacteria. As far as plastic a towl soaked in hypoclorite solution left over night will sanatize and take out discoloration. Putting it in a steamer for 12 minutes also does a great job. Hope this answers some questions. Ed B.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Silicone cookware
Much discussion has surrounded the use of these items, re health issues. Keep in mind they have not been on the market that long, and to state they have no adverse effect is shortsighted. Time alone will be the final judge.It was after the fact years ago that silicone implants were fine it later turned out they were not.Poly vinyl chloride was used for years before some of the items that were made of it were pulled off the market. Each food may have a different reaction to this material and no one has tested them all. A good example is when back in the 60s test were done on M.S.G(ACCENT) The ingredient was introduced to case study groups in its simplest form ,in soda pop many people had no reaction .When it was heated in a wok at high heat many of the people in the study showed reaction. This could be the same for silicone cooking. Remember Dow wants to sell this stuff and they also said implants were safe. Ed Buchanan


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Good point, Ed, but poor example.

Recent conclusions, after a ten year study by FDA, indicates that concerns about implants were a tempest in a teapot. There is no indication that women who use them are at any greater risk for breast cancer or other ailments.


----------



## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

As a Culinary Instructor, do you really endorse someone to sprinkle kosher salt on a bloody, grease smeared wood block, and use an abrasive steel brush? On wet wood? Cross your fingers and pronounce it sanitized?
The method of salt and abrasives on wet wood just lifts and abrades the wood fibres, giving you a very rough surface, as well as wearing a hollow in the cutting board. The rough surfaces hold and trap food debris, and release the said debris whenever it is least convenient--like when cutting of a steak from a strip loin and crud gets lodged on both the steak and the loin....


----------

