[425lisamarie]

I am always worried after cutting up, say, a chicken and use something not so good. I have a nw maple cutting board though, and I don't want to use anything harsh. So do you use vinegar? Diluted? Or what else?

 

[stacyg]

I use a baking soda paste and then spray on vinegar and let it do it's magic.

hth

 

[EricaLeigh]

I would NOT use the wood board for meat fish or poultry. Use glass then toss it in the dish washer (if you have one). Or dump boiling water over it. It's next to impossiable to get the germs out of wood. Keep the wood board for fruits & veggies.

 

[mzfern]

Slightly OT -- Aren't glass cutting boards really bad for keeping a good edge on knives?

To OP -- I'm no help here. I'm a wuss when it comes to cutting up meat *which I rarely do* and I use a plastic cutting board that I can throw in the dishwasher.

:

 

[Ilovelife]

I agree that glass can be tough on your knives. And I always thought wooden cutting boards were more sanitary than plastic ones. I think some wood has antimicrobial properties. Also, bacteria thrive on plastic, and can do so within cut marks. But in wood, bacteria do not generally multiply and usually die. Let me see if I can find a link....

http://www.alladd.com/cutting%20board%20study.htm

To answer your original question, vinegar should kill most anything. I've also heard you can alternate a spray of vinegar and a spray of peroxide for a near 100% "kill rate" if that's what you're going for. :LOL

Personally, I use both wood & plastic. I wash the wood with soap & hot water after & put the plastic in the dishwasher. I would use all wood, but only have a small wood one and then those cheapo plastic sheets for cutting. Not that it matters what I do, just thought I'd share.

 

[425lisamarie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilovelife I agree that glass can be tough on your knives. And I always thought wooden cutting boards were more sanitary than plastic ones. I think some wood has antimicrobial properties. Also, bacteria thrive on plastic, and can do so within cut marks. But in wood, bacteria do not generally multiply and usually die. Let me see if I can find a link.... http://www.alladd.com/cutting%20board%20study.htm To answer your original question, vinegar should kill most anything. I've also heard you can alternate a spray of vinegar and a spray of peroxide for a near 100% "kill rate" if that's what you're going for. :LOL Personally, I use both wood & plastic. I wash the wood with soap & hot water after & put the plastic in the dishwasher. I would use all wood, but only have a small wood one and then those cheapo plastic sheets for cutting. Not that it matters what I do, just thought I'd share.

That's what I thought. I think it's old news that wood is bad and a bed for germs to live but I just always want to be safe. I bought this beautiful maple board from Williams Sonoma and it's huge and very heavy so I wasn't planning on picking it up to clean it. I have a small plastic one but you can never keep an entire cjcken contained to a small are, something always drips ya know?

 

[Ilovelife]

Yeah, I bet you're fine just wiping up the drips with some water & vinegar or soap. I'm jealous of your maple board!!

 

[kewb]

I do not like plastic & glass cutting boards. I use my wood ones for everything. I always wash them in hot soapy water immediately after cutting raw meat (just like my mom did) and we have yet to have problems.

 

[anudi01]

I take half a lemon and rub a generous amount of Kosher salt on my wood boards. The acid of the lemon and the properties of the salt kill all. Plus the lemon is a good handheld scrubber and the salt gets in to the nooks and crannies.

 

[boongirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kewb I do not like plastic & glass cutting boards. I use my wood ones for everything. I always wash them in hot soapy water immediately after cutting raw meat (just like my mom did) and we have yet to have problems.

You probably have built up a resistance to the bacteria. But, others won't have it. You cannot kill the bacteria from meats and eggs with just soap. If you were running a restaurant, you could loose your food handlers license for doing that. The University of California Davis did a study and found that plastic cutting boards can be just as germy as wood and just as difficult to clean, especially after plastic gets much use and has lots of microscopic indentations. The study showed that cleaning cutting boards in bleach or in the hot dishwasher (not good for wood) is best. However, the children's environmental health coalition lists the combo of vinegar and peroxide as a safe alternative to bleach for both wood and plastic. Keep the solutions separate until you are cleaning.

http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/...sp?Main_ID=564

 

[425lisamarie]

boongirl - where did you get that about restaraunts? Just curiuos because many restaraunts have food prep areas that are wood and are huge and don;t go in a dishwasher.

I just don;t quite understand what exactly you are saying. That no type is safe unless you put it in the dishwasher? Which exactly are you saying is better?

 

[RiverSky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie boongirl - where did you get that about restaraunts? Just curiuos because many restaraunts have food prep areas that are wood and are huge and don;t go in a dishwasher.

The restaurant that I work at doesn't have wooden prep areas but they disinfect all over with a diluted bleach solution to kill the bacteria. I have a family member, an executive chef, who has her certification in food safety (something like that) and she said that by law, (in CAlifornia at the time), all cooking and serving utensils and dishes need to go through a bleach solution in the dishwashing process. I think there is the detergent cycle, then the bleach cycle, then rinsing with water. Something like that.

Not good for humans, but not good for bacteria, either, I guess.