The Worst Product We’ve Tested This Year? | Gear Heads
Your cutting board is just as important as your chef’s knife, and choosing the wrong one can ruin a sharp edge in seconds. Lisa McManus and Hannah Crowley break down our rigorous testing across glass, titanium, steel, plastic, bamboo, and wood cutting boards.
Find out why glass and metal boards wreck knife blades after just a few cuts, see our robot-arm sharpness tests on bamboo versus hardwood cutting boards, and see why edge-grain teak is our ultimate choice for durability and blade protection. Plus, learn the lab-proven rules for cutting board hygiene and care.
Heavy Duty Cutting Boards:
Large Plastic Cutting Boards:
Small Cutting Boards:
Metal Cutting Boards:
Teakhaus Edge-Grain Teak Wood Cutting Board with Grip Handles, Extra Large:
Teakhaus Edge-Grain Teak Wood Cutting Board with Grip Handles, Large:
Winco Rectangular Cutting Board with Red Rubber Grip Hook:
OXO Good Grips Plastic Carving & Cutting Board:
Sonder Los Angeles Winsome Acacia Wood Cutting Board:
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At America’s Test Kitchen, we investigate every aspect of cooking—recipes, equipment, ingredients, and techniques—with a goal to empower and inspire home cooks. Since 1992, our team of 50+ cooks, editors, and culinary creatives ask a lot of questions—and do a lot of testing—so that you get dependable, delicious recipes, comprehensive guidance, and thorough and unbiased equipment and ingredient reviews. You can find us in the pages of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, on our television shows America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country, in dozens of best-selling cookbooks, and via the 14,000+ recipes, reviews, and classes available on our website and app. Whether you’re in search of a great weeknight meal or an impressive dinner-party dish, we’ve done the testing to deliver reliable recipes and comprehensive cooking info to your home kitchen. Bring your curiosity, and we’ll make you a better cook.
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I’ve had a Boos board for over 20 years, used daily and would buy another
The use of these boards appeal to the germophob’s like me. I don’t want to cut meat on wood. I don’t think it can ever truly be sanitized. However, the expense comes with dulling the knives.
Need a perfect alternative.
Can we address the stupid giant holes in so many boards? Nobody carries around a cutting board like a suitcase, it makes 20% of the board unusable, wastes material, and takes up storage and counter space.
Hate bamboo cutting boards.
Wooden boards are nice for cutting, but I'm concerned about cleaning them after cutting chicken. Thee boards cannot be put in the dishwasher. Will they end up clean enough with hand washing them? After a period of time wooden boards will have some tiny cuts in them, a perfect place for bacteria. Will hand washing remove it?! I use bamboo for cutting fruits and vegetables and composite boards for cutting chicken, fish, pork, etc. The composite boards can be safely washed in the dishwasher.
My favorite part is the paper test.
What was the paper made of again?
Why not use aluminum foil to show how sharp it is.
Stick to wood, or restaurant quality plastic, or the flexible sheets on top of said above.
This is super helpful, thanks!❤
What about japanese cutting boards?
No bamboo recommendations or mention of micro plastics on plastic boards?
What about marble or composite?
I bought an acacia wood cutting board once. When I got it wet it not only smelled bad but smelled up half’s my house. Is this common?
What about meat on a wood board?
If you are tall, a thicker board can be great for easing strain on your back and shoulders!
I got fed an ad in my "news" feed about titanium cutting boards. The "blogger" talked about how bad wooden cutting boards are bc of bacteria and flies with formaldehyde. She said all the same things about glass and metal but she said titanium or wheatever metal it was is used by hospital kitchen and is doesn't dull knives. Marketing is a powerful thing.
Good advice…but why only a quick reference to composite boards with no testing?
Suppose your spouse took your fabric scissors out to the garage to cut out a piece of tin to patch something, how would that go over? That's what you're doing to your knives if you use metal or glass cutting boards.
6:01 that is good to know, about the bamboo. Thanks!
3:46 I have a teak cutting board, and when I deal with raw meats, I break out the thin, flexible, plastic cutting mat. I do not use it often enough, for it to be a shedding hazard, and when they get beaten up, I replace them. (But I hate throwing plastics away, so I do not do that often. Truly, I rarely eat/prepare meats.)
Microplastics have not been scientifically linked to any disease or condition yet. Although there is a health "concern" doctors are most likely to state that a correlation exists, but nothing causal at this point has been found due to a few limitations and lack of standardization. This means that we don't know. Jumping to a linking health concern without any actual knowledge is not smart, in fact it's likely overreaction.
We have four Epicurean boards for every day use, we like them and they are easy on knives. Then a big Teakhaus edge grain board for carving a rib roast in front of our guests.
10:19 can a wooden cutting board absorb flavors?
Can a wooden cutting board go rancid with the oil used to keep it water resistant?
11:31 Beeswax might be dangerous for some people with extreme allergies related to bees especially if it’s not very refined
Metal-on-metal cutting is like nails on a chalkboard to me. It's the opposite of ASMR. I don't know what someone was thinking when they thought a metal cutting board was a good idea.
I bought a Zwilling bamboo with a pull out tray on Amazon for $50.00 and it meets all my needs…. at 1/4 the cost, the trade off was worth it to me over spending $200.00…
Good stuff, thanks. You didn't mention composite boards such as the Asahi rubber cutting board that is made of a composite of rubber and wood and used mainly by sushi chefs. Nothing is more gentle on a knife edge. Also when knife edges dull they don't go flat, they roll over onto themselves sometimes breaking off unevenly at a microscopic level. Remember that at the apex, the knife edge is hundredths of millimeters thick.
Small kitchen, limited counter and storage space, plastic ones may be the only option. Yes plastic is bad but the size offerings may make more sense.
I watched a guy with a thick (crazy thick, 1½") white plastic board that he planed to remove the cut marks.
Never saw it before or since.
Made me wonder, though.
I can use a planer.
Well done on calling out the BS of these boards.
Robot-arm sharpness tests. Only ATK 🙌
I'm convinced metal cutting boards intended use case is buying as a gift to people you hate. Looks quality, you can plead ignorance, but is such a sh*t product
Who names a video on the breakdown of cutting boards just "The Worst Product We’ve Tested This Year? | Gear Heads". A useful video with a useless title
rage bait i can't watch
The ATK team are so great. This video is packed with such useful info – especially about the test of bacteria after washing