Cutting boards: which to use and how to clean them
Beginner Kitchen basics
Choosing wood or plastic boards and cleaning, drying and maintaining them so they stay safe and last.
Written with AI help from the sources listed, and published by Cory. Sources: USDA safe minimum internal temperatures, USDA on the danger zone (40-140°F). Spot a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.
How do you do it?
- Pick wood or plastic. Skip glass, marble and stone, which ruin knife edges.
- Put a damp towel under the board so it doesn't slide.
- Wash with hot soapy water after each use, rinse, and stand it up to dry. Plastic boards can go in the dishwasher.
- Rub wood boards with food-grade mineral oil when they look dry. Replace any board with deep grooves.
Why does it work?
Wood and plastic are soft enough to give slightly under a blade, which protects the edge. Bacteria can hide in deep knife scars, so heavily grooved boards are harder to clean. Soaking a wood board or running it through the dishwasher makes the fibers swell unevenly, so it warps and cracks. Oil fills the pores and slows water from soaking in.
What are the common mistakes?
- Soaking a wooden board — it warps and splits.
- Using vegetable oil on wood — it can turn sticky and rancid.
- Moving from raw meat to salad on the same unwashed board — it spreads bacteria.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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