Sheldon wrote:

> notbob wrote:
>
>>On 2005-03-06, > wrote:
>>
>>>I learned by sad experience that repeated water and soap washings, even
>>>if "wiped off and set on end to dry," the wood will absorb the water
>>>even after you wipe it up, and eventually warp and split along the
>>>joins, if it is butcher block.
>>
>>Depends on the board. I have a 10" cutting board I've been using for
>>7-8 years. Wash with soap and water with every use with an occasional
>>chlorine douche. Never wipe with paper towels, just drip dry.
>
>
> Just curious... what about paper towels prevents their use for wiping a
> food prep board? Btw, I detest the term "cutting board"... it implies
> cutting the board rather than the food,

<LOL> And now Sheldon becomes a linguistic blowhard, just like he does
with food issues. How about "shaving cream?" Does that make you think
someone's shaving some cream? Idiot.

> why would anyone want to cut
> into their food prep board... with correct technique there should never
> be any cuts/gouges imported into a food prep surface. Cover the food
> prep surface with butcher paper and practice your knife wielding
> technique until you can do your food prep without making any slices
> through the butcher paper.

This is happy horseshit. If it were the case, there would be no need
for cutting boards at all - wood or plastic. We could all save
ourselves the cost and effort to keep boards maintained. In the
professional kitchen, cutting boards are scored and marked by the
process of cutting. Period. That's why there are instructions provided
by the professional equipment manufacturers for refinishing boards and
some companies offer the service of refinishing them for you.

> For butchering (beef, fowl, fish, etc.) on
> wood always choose an end grain surface, professinal butchers don't
> work on the flat of the grain and neither should you.

More nonsense. Professional butchers use end grain for "chopping
blocks" where they're bringing meat cleavers down with force. And
contrary to the advice on the Boos site, they use wire brushes to work
the surface.

If it's simply breaking down a chicken or cutting portions out of a
larger one, a cutting board of rock maple, oak, cherry or any of
several other woods is fine. You'll see those long workboards on the
back of butchers' meat display coolers where that last cut is often made.

Wood is what several of our worktables in my restaurant operations
were made of, specifically for those cutting purposes. Like the ones
on the page <http://johnboos.com/JBC_Web/jbc0006.asp> Do notice that
*all* the tables have edge-grain tops. I brought one tabletop home
from my last operation. It's 8 X 3 feet by 2 1/4 inches thick and
weighs a couple hundred pounds.

What's the difference what grain you use if you aren't going to
actually push a knife against it and cut it?

> Of course
> nowadays butchers, and all food prep venues are more and more switching
> to plastic and so should we all.

The gospel according to Cookie Katz. Sound and fury, as usual. So,
Sheldon, why should we even need cutting boards at all if knives don't
actually cut into them? Why not just put down an easy-to-sterilize
stainless counter top and cut on that - of course being careful not to
actually touch it, like you say should be the case...?

Maybe go to a neighbor's and ask to watch some professional cooks do
their thing on tv. Cooking in the navy 50 years ago is hardly
credentials for this modern world.

In another post today, you offer this:
--------------------
Learn from the masters... go here and click on "Tips":
http://johnboos.com/Default.htm

Don't forget to click on the "Sanitation" link too.
------------------

Right. And don't forget to look at the "specs" link where they show
all sorts of end- and edge-grain boards. And note that they make a
distinction between chopping blocks and cutting boards. Look at all
the pretty pictures including the professional edge-grain boards.

And they tell you how to refinish boards since it's to be expected
that knives will come into contact with the wood.