Bamboo cutting board

[Muse]

I was in the local Chinatown couple days ago and spotted a ~10"x15" bamboo cutting board (for $9) and picked it up. I bought a hardwood cutting board in the same store probably almost 10 years earlier for around $10 IIRC, which has been my main cutting board. It's kinda warped now and a little cracked. I figured an extra cutting board would be a nice luxury, sometimes the one I have needs cleaning or is still wet from washing.

I got to thinking... don't they have to use glue to make up a bamboo cutting board? Maybe that glue is toxic, or carcinogenic longterm. I just did some googling and reading a couple sites they like bamboo for it's hardness and resistance to bacterial penetration, no mention was made of glue or methods of manufacture.

Do you think they are safe? Do you like them?

 

[Indus]

If you can't return it, I'd wash it in hot boiling water first if you have any doubts.

If there's any glue, the heat will remove/ wash it.

I strongly doubt you're going to be cutting anything that's hot, so after the wash, it'll be a non factor.

My wife has a bamboo board too, we bought 2 years ago. No problems so far. Not only that but she also has bamboo for steaming. As always she always washes with hot water before using the first time to get all the glue from manufacturing and the sticker residue out.

 

[lxskllr]

I have a small one I bought to test the concept. I use it for cheese and crackers. I like it ok for that use, but I prefer real wood as my main cutting board.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I've never bought a cutting board. Why? Because almost every raffle I've ever been in I've won a cutting board. Seriously, it's like some sort of cosmic joke my entire life. #FWP

 

[Imp]

Yes, I have also come to that realization... but it's not just with bamboo. Look closely at other wood cutting boards and you'll probably find that they're made up of many pieces of wood. They're probably held together by glue too.

I was using a wood cutting board as a trivet for a while then stopped because of this. However, I do use cork trivets. Not sure what holds them together: research suggests that it may be heat + pressure + natural resin inside the cork, or it may be glue. Fingers crossed on it being the resin.

 

[lxskllr]

Yes, I have also come to that realization... but it's not just with bamboo. Look closely at other wood cutting boards and you'll probably find that they're made up of many pieces of wood. They're probably held together by glue too.

Any decent board will be glued. That gives it dimensional stability. You could use a slab of wood under the assumption it won't last as long, but you'd probably have to make it yourself. I'd use an oak ring if I were inclined to do that.

 

[renz20003]

A chunk of granite works well, and no need to worry about bacteria or glue.

 

[lxskllr]

A chunk of granite works well, and no need to worry about bacteria or glue.

Grinds the edges off knives.

 

[renz20003]

Grinds the edges off knives.

I sharpen before every use, doesn't everyone?

 

[lxskllr]

I sharpen before every use, doesn't everyone?

Unless you use them professionally, a decent knife shouldn't need daily sharpening.

 

[Muse]

Yes, I have also come to that realization... but it's not just with bamboo. Look closely at other wood cutting boards and you'll probably find that they're made up of many pieces of wood. They're probably held together by glue too.

I was using a wood cutting board as a trivet for a while then stopped because of this. However, I do use cork trivets. Not sure what holds them together: research suggests that it may be heat + pressure + natural resin inside the cork, or it may be glue. Fingers crossed on it being the resin.

I've looked closely (on more than one occasion, such as just now) at the ~10" x 15" hard wood cutting board I bought at the same store in Chinatown around a decade ago and I don't see anything to suggest it's other than one solid piece of wood cut from a big log. It's pretty dense stuff. It's about 31/32" thick and weighs about 4 lb 8 oz.

I should do some work on it. I could hit it with my portable belt sander and then re-oil it. I haven't oiled it for years IIRC!

 

[renz20003]

Unless you use them professionally, a decent knife shouldn't need daily sharpening.

I prefer my knifes like my ice skates, always sharpened. Anyway it may be a mental thing but to each his own.

 

[Muse]

Unless you use them professionally, a decent knife shouldn't need daily sharpening.

My favorite cleavers, I only sharpen occasionally. I do sometimes do a sort of quick and dirty stropping against a steel surface (e.g. the edge of a cast iron skillet), or even the sharpening steel I keep in my kitchen. I have a habit, however, of drying my cleavers immediately when I wash them. I'm convinced that leaving them wet will cause them to lose sharpness faster than if you dry them immediately. I got that tip concerning razors and I always clean and dry my razor and remove to a dry room immediately after shaving and they stay sharp a long long time. Yes, all this stuff is stainless and presumably rust proof but I think that the presence of moisture does have a deleterious effect on absolute sharpness.

 

[lxskllr]

My favorite cleavers, I only sharpen occasionally. I do sometimes do a sort of quick and dirty stropping against a steel surface (e.g. the edge of a cast iron skillet), or even the sharpening steel I keep in my kitchen. I have a habit, however, of drying my cleavers immediately when I wash them. I'm convinced that leaving them wet will cause them to lose sharpness faster than if you dry them immediately. I got that tip concerning razors and I always clean and dry my razor and remove to a dry room immediately after shaving and they stay sharp a long long time. Yes, all this stuff is stainless and presumably rust proof but I think that the presence of moisture does have a deleterious effect on absolute sharpness.

Drying immediately is ideal, but I don't do it. I wash immediately, then put them in the block wet. They should dry pretty quickly in the block.

edit:
I carefully dry my straight razor, and puukko after use since they aren't stainless.

 

[MongGrel]

Grinds the edges off knives.

+1

Have one bamboo one myself, is pretty much my favorite one really.

A chunk of granite works well, and no need to worry about bacteria or glue.

I usually wouldn't use a surface plate more or less for food prep, and sorry, granite is porous.

So bacteria could get in it.

It looks good for mixing Ice Cream I guess.

 

[NAC4EV]

I prefer plastic, and I sterilize them with bleach.

 

[MongGrel]

I prefer plastic, and I sterilize them with bleach.

Remind me not to come over for dinner.

 

[NAC4EV]

Remind me not to come over for dinner.

They're used in many restaurants.

Wood is porous and a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria.

 

[gorcorps]

My favorite cleavers, I only sharpen occasionally. I do sometimes do a sort of quick and dirty stropping against a steel surface (e.g. the edge of a cast iron skillet), or even the sharpening steel I keep in my kitchen. I have a habit, however, of drying my cleavers immediately when I wash them. I'm convinced that leaving them wet will cause them to lose sharpness faster than if you dry them immediately. I got that tip concerning razors and I always clean and dry my razor and remove to a dry room immediately after shaving and they stay sharp a long long time. Yes, all this stuff is stainless and presumably rust proof but I think that the presence of moisture does have a deleterious effect on absolute sharpness.

Stainless is not rust proof, just rust resistant. You still need to keep your stainless stuff dry to make it last as long as possible.

 

[flexy]

http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/27570/safety-of-glues-in-wooden-chopping-boards

http://cooking.stackexchange.com/qu...-boards-get-in-the-food-and-how-to-prevent-th

Even speculating that there would indeed be formaldehyde in the glue, I'd give my entirely unprofessional opinion that this is less a problem since food only comes in contact with the board for a very short time. It would be a different story if a bamboo board/container is used to store food long-term, where any contaminants could then leech into the food.

Your wooden book-shelf is probably more dangerous since it could ALSO potentially have formaldehyde in the glue, and this would then gradually gas-out/poison your home. Cancer cases from cheap furniture in a home and long-term exposure to formaldehyde are a fact. I knew someone whose children got leukemia after he DIY their entire room, walls, bed etc from cheap glued chipboards.

The cutting board? I think the danger there is negligible.

Just my $0.02

 

[lxskllr]

They're used in many restaurants.

Wood is porous and a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria.

Funny thing is bacteria will breed in plastic, but not wood. That's what happens when people make decisions based on feelings, and not science. Some probably use plastic cause they don't require care. You can dump it in the sink and forget about it.

 

[renz20003]

Funny thing is bacteria will breed in plastic, but not wood. That's what happens when people make decisions based on feelings, and not science. Some probably use plastic cause they don't require care. You can dump it in the sink and forget about it.

Howard Johnson is right

 

[NAC4EV]

Plastic boards are easier to sanitize and I feel they are safer.
Sorry I don't have any Quaternary ammonium in my kitchen.

 

[flexy]

Bacteria won't breed "in plastic" or "in wood", they breed in moisture. So whatever material keeps moist would create the best breeding ground for bacteria.

 

[lxskllr]

Bacteria won't breed "in plastic" or "in wood", they breed in moisture. So whatever material keeps moist would create the best breeding ground for bacteria.

That's semi correct, but the problem with plastic is the cuts in the surface can be difficult to clean/dry, leaving bacteria to breed. Bacteria in wood won't increase, even if you can't get to all of them.