# Cutting Board Wood Taboos



## Nature Man (Mar 11, 2019)

What species of wood should absolutely NOT be used for cutting boards? Chuck


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## Tony (Mar 11, 2019)

Chuck, avoid Red Oak, too porous. Stay away from all softwoods. Your best bet is to stick with domestic woods. Some imports are okay, but it gets a little tricky sometimes. Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nature Man (Mar 11, 2019)

Tony said:


> Chuck, avoid Red Oak, too porous. Stay away from all softwoods. Your best bet is to stick with domestic woods. Some imports are okay, but it gets a little tricky sometimes. Tony


Thanks! Really hoping to come up with a specific list of species that are verboten. Chuck


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## FranklinWorkshops (Mar 11, 2019)

The best is hard maple in my opinion. Beech would be comparable. Cherry and Walnut are okay but softer than the others.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 11, 2019)

Open pored woods such as oak as mentioned above. And walnut, ash, and others as well. But we all use them. As long as you keep the wood sealed with a good oil wax blend finish it's not that big a deal imo. Of course the food safety police will tell you a different story, lol. But just about any hard wood has been used for butcher blocks and cutting boards forever. I often use oak (white oak prefered) cherry, ash, walnut, beech, maple, and even some exotics sometimes like purple heart or bloodwood. But I also seal mine well with a good oil and beeswax blend.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Mar 11, 2019)

I have read somewhere recently that wood like oak and ash have tannic acid which kills bacteria from food that might be trapped in the pores. I can't find that article right now but maybe someone else here knows about it.

Update, I just found it. https://commonsensehome.com/wooden-cutting-boards/

This article says that oak is one of the most effective at killing bacteria.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Tony (Mar 11, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> I have read somewhere recently that wood like oak and ash have tannic acid which kills bacteria from food that might be trapped in the pores. I can't find that article right now but maybe someone else here knows about it.
> 
> Update, I just found it. https://commonsensehome.com/wooden-cutting-boards/
> 
> This article says that oak is one of the most effective at killing bacteria.



The tannic acid also makes black marks appear on the board, fyi.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Mar 11, 2019)

Tony said:


> The tannic acid also makes black marks appear on the board, fyi.


Just use black oak.  
Are all of your problems this easy to solve?

Reactions: Funny 6


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 11, 2019)

Tony said:


> The tannic acid also makes black marks appear on the board, fyi.


Only if it comes in contact with metal.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## barry richardson (Mar 11, 2019)

I used to make a bunch of cutting boards, mostly end grain ones. I've never heard of any wood that is "taboo" although there are lots of different opinions of the "right" wood. Mainly, Like Tony said, dont use soft woods. I have had trouble with exotics too, the oily wood can delaminate over time. I've heard many people say don't use porous wood, but one of the first ones I made was red oak, and it lasted many years of daily use like a champ. And white oak is a great wood for cutting boards IMO. Some of the more unstable hardwoods like hard maple can delaminate over time because of movement in the wood. There is a bakery hear here that had sample bread on a Boos Maple Board (the are maybe the biggest maker of cutting boards for the food service industry) I noticed the round endgrain board had a huge crack in it, looked like a pacman I guess it didn't survive the transition from humid Illinois to dry Arizona. Also, avoid putting dissimilar wood together, just as you would with any type of woodworking, the different rates of movement will cause problems over time... I sold some boards in a specialty cooking store, for a while. The lady Chef who owned it said the best boards from a practical chefs standpoint was cherry, its very stable, closed grain, and not too hard, so it is gentle on the knives......

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Great Post 1 | Informative 3


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