Wood, plastic, stone? What chopping board to buy

Do you have one chopping board in your kitchen and use it for everything? Then you may want to invest in a new separate one, especially if you eat animal products, for hygiene reasons.

Chefs and doctors recommend that you use one chopping board to cut bread, chop herbs and slice fruit, and use the other one exclusively for animal products such as meat.

For fish and meat, you should use a separate board and preferably one that's easy to clean and that has a juice rim. A separate board for dicing onions can also prevent unwanted flavoring.

The first two things to look for in a good chopping board are an anti-slip base and a design and material that makes it easy to clean. Remember that oversized boards can be nicer to chop on but also a pain to clean in the sink and may not fit in the dishwasher.

When it comes to materials, these are the key differences you should consider:

• Wood: Wooden boards are pretty and gentle on your kitchen knives. But over time, they will be covered in cuts and notches where germs can hide in and multiply. Wood is also not dishwasher-proof, and if left damp can grow mold. After use, the board should be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned before it is left to completely dry. Provided that you oil them, you could also make them waterproof.
• Plastic: This material is especially suitable for cutting fruit and vegetables, but also meat and fish. These boards are usually cheap and can be put in the dishwasher, unless it indicates otherwise, but can easily scratch and should then be replaced.
• Glass: The surface is hard and not porous, which means cutting will not leave any notches or scratches where germs can propagate. Cleaning is also easy. The only downside is that knives will become blunt much quicker on this rigid surface and they are slippery, which is not best for cutting, rather for presentation.
• Stone: The surface is similarly hard as glass but not as low maintenance. For example, marble boards have to be washed by hand because the material is porous and swells in the dishwasher.

If you were to ask a knife expert or chef, out of all these options, they would still recommend end grain wood. Not only is glass and stone too hard they would say but wood provides great stability when cutting up meat. Plastic may be a good choice for smaller and pungent foods such as onions. Regardless of which options you choose, it's best to have two separate boards for raw meat and vegetables and disinfect them regularly.

One easy way to disinfect, and one favored by the Turkish, is to wipe it down with white vinegar or rub half a lemon and some sea salt to give it a good scrub to get rid of stains. When you see signs of irreversible wear and tear, you should also replace them.