Wooden chopping boards..perfectly ok or a hygiene disaster waiting to happen?

[Houseplanter]

I've always erred on the side of caution and had plastic dishwasher ones, but I'm yearning a beautiful oak one (for my new kitchen ).

What do you use?

IKEA bamboo - how long were humans cooking on this earth before the invention of plastic?

I have a wooden one for bread, I use dishwasher JosephJoseph plastic ones for other things

Well the cat sits on ours and we’re all still alive.

Wooden ones are fine. They fell out of fashion for a while but it transpires that wood has some kind of natural antibacterial properties which plastic doesn't, so wood is arguably more hygienic.

Mine are wooden, bought from Argos when I moved into my first flat...they are older than some of the people I work with, I'm very much NOT a clean freak and I'm still here 😀

I did try a plastic one but the first time it went in the dishwasher it seemed to absorb all the colours of food dregs from the plates/dishes so it looked shit.

Wooden is perfectly ok, surely? So long as you clean and dry them properly.

I'm definitely not changing my beautiful chopping boards for ugly plastic.

I’ve had my wooden one for years and never been unwell. Occasionally sand it down and rub some olive oil into it. I prepare veg first then meat, then spray with some rubbing alcohol if I’ve been cutting chicken/raw meat on it. Then wash with dish soap and leave to dry.

Chopping what on it? Raw meat, no thanks. Bread, fine.

Shall I count my wooden boards?

Perfectly ok, of course.

How many people do you know who are ill or dead from chopping board related illnesses?

They’re healthier than plastic.

Every time you chop on plastic you’re breaking tiny microplastics off and they’re then in your food.

Plus wood has natural antibacterial properties and cleans better than plastic.

We use plastic ones for raw meat (for speed annd ease of bunging them in the dishwasher) and wooden for other stuff.

Butchers and cooks have used wood chopping boards forever. Unless you're a manky git who never washes it, you'll be fine. Just get a good one. DH bought me a pieced together board of different woods, and after a few washes it started coming apart. I've got a potted plant on it now.

I use the wooden chopping board my mum gave me. She bought it in 1978 so it's older than me and none of us has ever been ill as a result. Hot scrub after use and then left It dry. I hate the feel of plastic ones and they get damaged and stained so quickly plus all the teeny shreds of plastic

I wouldn't go for oak, it will go black surely? Our everyday chopping board (IKEA) is beech and still going strong after 10 years. The fewer jointed pieces, the less likely to split. Unless you go for an end grain board.

Wood is better for your knives too. Plastic is crap for them. My kitchen knives were expensive so it's a no brained.

In chef school we were taught to salt them.

I have a set of three with little tabs showing veg, meat and fish. Following those rules lasted about a week so they get a good scrub in soapy water and we're still alive.

I have 3 wooden ones - the old fashioned round breadboard type that have gone in the dishwasher for 30+ years and are still great!

I have the Emma Bridgewater one with sourdough written on the side, it's made of oakwood apparently

I’ve got a wooden one. Must be 20 years old. From IKEA. I don’t chop raw meat on it. But I do everything else.

I'm a slob, my wooden board is years old, use it for everything, nobody has died...yet !

Wooden boards are better than plastic. And hand washing is also better than putting things in a dishwasher, so win/win. The wood absorbs and neutralises bacteria, and when you scrub them with dish soap they get cleaner than plastic in a dishwasher. If you are wary, just spray them down with antibacterial every so often.

I've got a couple of glass ones I keep for raw meat, but other than that it's well scrubbed wood all the way.

Ex publican so had years of rainbow boards! IME they need replacing far too often, plus if they get that scuffed, how are bits of them not ending up in the food...? In which case, I'd rather be ingesting wood dust tbh.

We've only got wooden chopping boards. We have a few as I get one in TK Maxx whenever I'm passing through.

I've been using same original chopping boards for 13 years in this house and never had any problems. I don't even have designated meat chopping boards, just wash with washing up liquid in the sink.