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A good cutting board is a must in every kitchen, that is out of the question. This applies to amateur cooks and professionals alike. While some prefer to buy an inexpensive cutting board made of plastic, others only consider wood. In the test, we, therefore, looked specifically at the best wooden cutting boards and summarized the test winners in our list. This saves you research effort so that you can find a model that is suitable for you more quickly.
But first, we will give you an overview of important purchase criteria, the right size of the cutting board, and explain the main differences between wooden cutting boards and other types made of fiberglass or plastic.
What Are the Best Wooden Chopping Boards in India?
AB SALES Large Non-Slip Wooden Bamboo Cutting Board
The AB SALES model has established itself as one of the best wooden cutting boards. At 1.8 centimetres, it is relatively thin, but offers a 9.5 X 29.5 cm surface, a circumferential notch, and is made of bamboo, i.e. sustainably produced.
It is very cut-resistant and therefore gentle on the knife and has small feet that ensure a firm stand. This gives the board a total height of four centimetres including feet. The size is chosen so that you can use the board excellently on the ceramic hob because the feet are gentle on the glass and the ceramic hob is usually free when preparing for cooking so that you do not need an additional work surface to put the board on, but the work surface to a certain extent additionally expand.
The bottom line is that the cutting board is very well made, stable and solid and it is also interesting in terms of price so that overall, it is very good value for the money.
HOKIPO® Large & Thick Bamboo Chopping Board
The cutting board from HOKIPO is a very solid and above all thick cutting board made of bamboo. It measures a total of 40 x 28 centimetres, is 1.5 centimetres thick, and has a very deep circumferential groove in which liquids can collect well.
The workmanship is very good, and the hardness is ideal to protect your knives and at the same time not to leave too deep cuts and grooves when working in the kitchen. The board weighs a total of around 1.2 kilograms, looks very stylish, and was able to convince across the board in the long-term test because nothing warped, and no cracks appeared.
Of course, cleaning should only be done by hand, as with all wooden cutting mats. In terms of price, it is very interesting, so that the bottom line is a very good price-performance ratio.
Webhushi’s Genuine Sheesham Cutting/Chopping/Serving Board
If you are looking for an affordable wooden cutting board, the rosewood model from Webhushi’s could be of interest to you. It is made of rosewood wood, looks very nice, and offers an ideal, knife-friendly hardness.
It measures a total of 10 X 15 inches, which makes it a bit narrower, but is sufficient for most work. With a total thickness of 1.6 cm, it is very robust and stable and, due to its slightly smaller size, can also be used very well as a breakfast board or serving mat for bread, sausage or cheese and not just as a cutting mat.
The material is comparable to bamboo in terms of its properties and is ideally suited as a cutting mat. In terms of price, the model is in the entry-level range, but is still of high quality and looks very elegant. If you have enough space, the Webhushi’s model is a solid cutting board with a very good price-performance ratio.
Buyers Guide
Ideal size
The ideal size of the cutting board depends on the work surface available to you. In principle, it cannot get too big, because it is always advantageous to have a lot of space available so that something does not keep sliding off the board while you are working. However, a very large board is also correspondingly bulky, so that the ideal size is somewhere between too small and too large. The cutting boards available on the market are usually between 20 x 20 to about 50 x 60 centimetres in size.
Some models have non-slip feet so that the board has a distance to the surface. This means that under certain circumstances it can also be used directly on the hob or ceramic hob, which gives you additional workspace. This is very helpful and useful, especially in small kitchens.
Please note, however, that board only 20 cm wide is disadvantageous when cutting or chopping large foods such as lettuce. Therefore, the recommendation is to use a model that is at least 35 to 40 centimetres wide. When cutting several foods on the board, it is always advantageous if there is enough space available. For example, if you are preparing a stew or soup and want to prepare the vegetables in advance, the board should be at least 40 x 30 centimetres. Make sure to think about where and how you want to stow the board when you are not using it because it is inconvenient if it is too big for the planned drawer or shelf.
Material selection
It has been found that boards made of hardwood such as acacia, beech, bamboo, or oak have the ideal strength so as not to damage knives and to protect the blade. We do not recommend boards made of softwood, because deep furrows and cracks appear here too quickly so that you must dispose of the board after a shorter time. A hardwood board may last for many years.
The boards are often glued together from smaller pieces of wood, which makes them much cheaper, but also a bit more susceptible to moisture. Under no circumstances should a wooden chopping board be cleaned in the dishwasher or if it is too wet.
If you do not want to do without cleaning in the dishwasher, you should use a plastic cutting board. Because, depending on the model, these boards also have an ideal strength, but are easier to clean. However, the plastic board should not be too thin either, otherwise, it can warp and bend under the heat in the dishwasher.
Very hard sheaths such as stone, metal, or glass are strongly discouraged, especially if you are working with high-quality knives, as this will damage the blade. Compared to wood, plastic boards are usually much lighter, so that they are not quite as solid and firm on the work surface and can accordingly slip away more easily.
In principle, neither wooden, plastic nor glass cutting boards should be too thin. A very thin wooden cutting board can tear quickly and warp if the humidity changes or if it dries too quickly on the heater. The thicker the better.
Other purchase criteria
A cutting board is always a hygienic risk because raw food is processed on it and cracks, furrows and cuts occur in which the remains of the food can stick. A good and careful cleaning is therefore very important.
The special thing about wood is that the woods used for cutting boards have a higher degree of acidity, which also disinfects the board. Therefore, bamboo, acacia, maple, birch, beech, or oak are ideal as a cutting mat. However, the lifespan is not endless, so even a good cutting board should be replaced after a few years.
When processing meat or vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and wherever liquids leak, it is important to have a circumferential notch in which the liquid can collect so that it does not immediately run off the board.
It is generally not advisable to use a very cheap wooden chopping board, as it is usually relatively thin and can tear more easily. The board should have a minimum thickness of about 1.5 centimetres. Two or three centimetres are better. In principle, you can do without a handle that some models offer. Because if it is attached outside, it makes the base bulkier and if it is milled out of the material, it takes away workspace.