Cutting board care
Plastic can go in the dishwasher. Wood needs hand washing and thorough drying. Both pick up knife grooves, and deep grooves hold food bits, so retire a heavily scored board of either kind.
Separate boards for raw and ready food
Many cooks use colors, like red for raw meat and green for produce. At home, two boards do the job: one for raw meat and fish, one for everything else. Rub food-grade mineral oil into wood now and then so it doesn't crack.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
How do you best clean a wooden board after raw chicken?
Scrub with hot soapy water, then dry upright. Soap lifts raw juices, and drying removes the moisture microbes need.
True or false: A wooden board is naturally germ-proof, so it needs no washing.
False. Wood isn't germ-proof. Any board needs hot, soapy washing after raw meat.
What went wrong? You cut raw chicken on a deeply scarred plastic board, rinse it in cold water, then chop vegetables on it.
Deep grooves and a cold rinse left residue. Raw juices stay in grooves. Use soap and hot water, and replace scarred boards.
Fill the blank: Wooden boards should stay out of the ___, where heat and soaking warp them.
Wooden boards should stay out of the dishwasher, where heat and soaking warp them. Heat and long wet cycles make wood warp and crack.
When should you replace a cutting board?
When grooves or cracks refuse to scrub clean. Grooves that hold residue can't be cleaned fully.