Cutting Boards: Glass vs. Wood

My perfectly uniform cucumber chunks!

I am a germaphobe and I am not ashamed to admit that, in fact I proclaim it to all those around!

So it was never surprising to me that I had an extreme aversion to salmonella and other  bacteria leading to food borne illnesses. See, once upon a time, The Healthy Hoff did eat meat, well chicken, turkey, etc. to be exact.  And I took extreme precautions when bringing said items into my home - always double bagging at the store, never packing with other food at the check-out, dedicating a shelf in the refrigerator and always, always using a glass cutting board for preparation!

Aside from an aversion to wood (an issue for another time), I felt that wood cutting boards were a bacteria trap!  Just by nature, cutting results in cut marks in the wood, which inevitably turns your cutting board into a salmonella breeding ground!  So, I only used glass - no crevasses for meat juices to seep into and easy to clean.  In fact, I have five of them in various sizes.

One problem, I suffered from "dull knife syndrome" or so I thought...  I would cut my produce exactly as the Food TV people did and I never had the same results!  My food would slide around, eluding my knife, flying off the cutting board.  "Knife must be dull," I always thought.  Yet sharpening never solved the problem.

Then not too long ago, I asked a professional chef, Chef Robin of Cooking with C.A.R.E. what type of cutting board she preferred.  Her reply, "wood," because it provided the best knife control.  Knife control!  Never heard of that before, now I was intrigued.  So I hit the Walmart for a cheap wooden cutting board (because I still wasn't sold on the concept), which I found for around $13 bucks.

Guess what.  I never did suffer from "dull knife syndrome."  I had "faulty knife control" due to a poor cutting surface.  Now thanks to the right cutting board, I am emulating my Food TV idols!   I am cutting onions and potatoes and peppers with ease!  My cuts are precise and my food is uniform.  I can't tell you how fantastic it is to cook when you have the proper tools.  I now look forward to all my choppy chopping!

Why was I so easy to persuade into a wooden cutting board, now?  Well, now I'm vegan, no meat in this house and no more meat juices - less chance of salmonella poisoning!  I still thoroughly wash all veggies, even the tripled washed kinds, because you can never be too careful.

Choppy Choppy!
The Hoff