Heavy-Duty Cutting Boards

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A good knife is nothing without an equally good cutting board on which to use it. While some cooks like lighter-weight boards, others see the ultimate cutting board as a thick, solid, unbudgeable model made of wood or bamboo. Compared to a lightweight plastic or composite board, this kind of board is an investment; you'll have to spend more money, perform regular maintenance, and use more muscle to lift and maneuver it for cleaning. But for that money and effort, you get a board that is a much greater pleasure to cut on and can potentially last a lifetime.

It had been a while since we last tested cutting boards, and we wanted to know if our former winner, the Teakhaus by Proteak Edge Grain Cutting Board, was still the best heavy-duty option available. So we pitted it against six other models, priced from about $85.00 to just under $240.00. Each model measured at least 20 inches long and 15 inches wide—for an all-purpose board, we wanted enough room to break down a chicken without feeling cramped. The boards we chose were made from bamboo or one of four types of wood (maple, birch, teak, or hinoki, a Japanese cypress). They were also constructed in two different ways: Three of the models were end-grain boards (made by gluing together blocks of wood, each with the grain running vertically), and four were edge-grain boards (made by gluing together long planks of wood, each with the grain running horizontally).

On each board, we minced parsley, chopped onions, sliced loaves of bread, pounded chicken cutlets, and cleaved pounds of bone-in chicken parts. We chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce on them, washed them, and then checked each board for stains and odors. We also washed each board by hand more than 100 times over six months, maintaining them as needed between washings with mineral oil applications. In addition, we sent copies of the boards home with staff members for some real-life testing in their kitchens.

There were no egregious failures here; each model had its fans. But a few factors made certain boards more durable, more pleasant to cut on, and more foolproof to maintain.

Consider the Dimensions of Your Board

Since we'd already selected the boards according to specific size parameters, we weren't surprised to find that all the boards were spacious enough to accommodate every task we performed on them. Given the choice, however, most of our testers preferred a somewhat bigger board, as it gave them more room to work when trimming big roasts or slicing long bunches of leafy greens. Our winner is one of the largest boards, measuring 18 inches wide by 24 inches long.

Our advice: Get the biggest board that your counter an... read more