BS: how many cutting boards?

Subject: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 12:12 PM

Well, I think in light of the "outing" of the spatula owners, the soul searching and air clearing about their ownership, the laughing and crying and pensive moments, I would like to propose another issue entirely.

Tell us about your cutting boards. How many? What are your favorites? Wood? Plastic? flexible? Do you have a special board for uncooked meat?

My wife often comments on how I can prepare three dishes and have 7 dirty cutting boards in preparation, so I am trying to control my rampant excessive use. I do have a favorite board and I also use a colored board for meat that gets no cross use. I have recently gotten fond of the flexible sheet that you can pick up and fold and use as a funnel to get the diced produce into the pot or skillet without spilling.

Let me hear your innermost CB thoughts.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: maire-aine
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 12:55 PM

Since you asked,

I have 4. They're all small, because I don't have much counter space. 3 are plastic. If I cut up raw meat, I put that in the sink and use a different one for vegetables. I also have a wooden board with adjustable handles, that I can put over the sink-- vegetables only, never meat, on that one. It's pretty handy.

I also have a big one (20 x 27 inches) that I only use for rolling out cooky dough and pie crusts.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 01:01 PM

This will take some research. I had several of my own, but when my father died and I packed up the contents of his kitchen I ended up with a lot more. The man had a thing for kitchen gadgets, including cutting boards. I will report back later.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 01:09 PM

I just use the floor.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 01:19 PM

I suppose you do, Rapaire, but since you are merely dragging in a roadkill Elk, I mean, "Heck, Them ELks is heavy!"

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 02:19 PM

I have 3, of various sizes, ALL wood, cut from a Maple countertop.

There was an experiment done a few years ago, out of curiousity, to see whether wood or plastic was 'safer'...(The semi-official common-sense line was that wood was naturally more dangerous, and that modern, clean plastic was easier to clean and sterilize..etc... )
   It turned out that, given the usual scratching and cut marks in each, if reasonable care was taken in washing, the # of bacteria present after a few hours was MUCH less on wood. There seemed to be some natural anti-microbial process in good old wood that made it 'generally' safer than plastic.


I read it in the paper, and also heard it in a consumer report on TV.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 02:20 PM

Hmmnn, I think I just realized why my counter tops are so nasty looking.

"Cutting" boards, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 02:25 PM

LOL

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: pdq
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 02:54 PM

Well, let's see. You need a small one to take out to the living room to cut cheese on while you listen to tunes.

The built-in one in the kitchen (about 12 inches wide) does OK for most jobs such as cutting bread. However, a second portable medium sized cutting board comes in handy on occasions.

Then there is the jumbo-sized turkey-specific unit with built-in studs and a small moat for juices. This one is only used at Thanksgiving dinner but is indispensable.

That's four.

Cutting boards should only be made with 'closed grain' woods. Maple is ideal. Oak, ash and other 'open grain' woods may be hard enough to stand up to knives, but the open cells collect fluids and debris and serve as breeding grounds for bacteria.

Please wash and disinfect cutting boards often. I have a 'squirt bottle' taken from a science lab, filled with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Note: not 'rubbing alcohol' which may contain lanolin or other additives. I spray the entire kitchen counter and wipe-off with paper towels once every day. Each time a cutting board is used for meat, raw or not, it is wiped clean from debris and disinfected with the same isopropyl alcohol.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 03:18 PM

Pdq:

I second that.

I'm a great believer in alcohol's use in the kitchen.

Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 03:25 PM

a nice treatment of the type of cutting board topic see very bottom of page for wood vs. plastic explanation.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Sorcha
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 03:42 PM

My faves are wood....I have 3 of those in the kitchen. Also, on formica topped 'sink cut out' one. In the garage are at least 4 more for camping and butchering wild meat. All are either formica topped or plastic. I HATE plastic ones.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 03:52 PM

Well, my WIFE was some. There's two wooden ones that can be put across the sink (one big, one little), a paddle-shaped wooden one, a smallish plastic one, two or three of the flexible ones, a little wooden one in the camping gear, and part of the kitchen counter is a removable butcher block.

Sometime I just use an ol' stump, though. Works pretty good, you can burn it up when it splits too bad, and it sure as heck saves me from uxorious wrath about the floor.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Kaleea
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 03:57 PM

Thanks for the good link, Bill!
    As a kid, there was usually a wood cutting board built into a slot just under the countertop in the kitchen. I have always preferred a wooden board, on which I could cut meat, chop veggies, knead dough or make egg noodles. I normally have one which has vinyl coated wire thingies that come out on either side so as to fit directly over most any sink. I always wash any cutting "board" with hot soapy water.
    Now that I am living with my vegetarian neice & daily slicing fruits & veggies for "our" little one year old girleen to enjoy finger foods, I'm using her plastic cutting "boards" which I do not like. They are quite grooved & sliced into, & as yet, I have not been able to convince my neice that they should be replaced, as they are only about 6 months old, she says. I'm going to go right out this afternoon & find a good wooden board! When she fusses at me, I'm going to sit her down here & make her read the cutting board info.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 04:13 PM

What's a cutting board? Jeeze, you people sure live fancy!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 04:45 PM

PS Use bleach on the plastic boards or yer gonna end up sick.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 05:28 PM

That's what I'm saying, Bruce. Jist put the ol' chicken or potato on a stump or the floor and WHUMP! hit 'em with an axe. Works great (I like a double-bitted ax, myself).

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 07:42 PM

I recently bought a plastic board cos they were healthier! I dunno why I believed the advertising.

In my craft supplies I have a plastic board I sometimes use when cutting paper & card, & unlike the self-healing cutting mat, it has lots of cuts, so I wonder why I expected the same brand of board to behave any differently in the kitchen.

Fortunately I kept one of my old wooden boards & strangely enough, use it more than the white board.

I have a glass cheese platter & a small wooden cheese board with wire cutter.

I also have a little bendy white cutting sheet that I bought for camping. I won't replace it as I only use it for cutting fruit or as a plate for preparing salads.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: open mike
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 09:33 PM

i have one less than i did
one of my wooden ones fell
to pieces recently and sits
in the fire box waiting to
become kindling. When i
think of all the onions i have
chopped on it , it brings a tear
to the eye.

but i still have four others,
none gets used for meat. i
remember seeing a report once
on chicken cutting equipment
which was photograhed under a
black light and the kitchen was
a-glow everywhere the chicken
had touched...including hand
towels, refridgerator handles,
knife handles, drawer pulls,
cabinet knobs and esp the
cutting board...scary stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 09:50 PM

I hear you, Rap. Next, these folks gonna be talkin' about plates and cuttlery. Sheesh!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Janie
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:09 PM

I have 2, both wood. I don't like the way the synthetic boards feel under the knife, and I'm not convinced they don't damage the blade. (In the garden and in the kitchen, my experience is that a really good cutting tool is worth paying for.) One is square and one is rectangular. I would like one more, smaller, thinner and lighter than the two I have. I don't keep one just for meat, but I scrub them both really well before and after each use.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:23 PM

I once travelled 3 hours out of my way in Manitoba to view the Royal Canadian Cutting Board Museum (and assorted other roadside curiosities including a five legged squirrel and a nanny goat with 12 udders.) It was up a gravel road and past a big tree. Then I woke up in the hospital 8 days later with the taste of green onions and vodka still in my mouth. I have since hardly mentioned it for fear that Brucie would somehow find fault with me...... and to this day I cannot stand the smell of Johnson's Floor Wax.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: pdq
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:26 PM

"You must know it's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!".

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:35 PM

That's just great! Now you tell me! After I have tried so many things on Icecream and Puddings, Easy off oven Cleaner, Comet, Argo Starch, and all this time, right under my nose, the true dessert topping with dual use! It is the Houseware Valhalla!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: pdq
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:44 PM

Must give credit where credit is due. That tip came from Fred Miller (alias Thread Killer). Hope comes back. I sprung for the Fred Miller decoder ring and it don't work on anything but Fred's posts.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:45 PM

"It was up a gravel road and past a big tree"

The tree has since been struck by lightning and the road paved. Yad hardly recognize the place.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:50 PM

But, Brucie, you gotta admit, you fell for the same signs, didn't ya? They are just like those darn Wall Drug ones! Once they grab your attention, you are hooked.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 11:12 PM

True, jimmyt, true.

BUT, they're not gonna get me with THAT old trick a sixth time!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 11:13 PM

'"You must know it's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!".'

I can understand about the floor wax part, but a dessert topping? Wouldn't the sand soak it all up?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 11:15 PM

I have three in a drawer under the counter where I do most of my cooking. The largest is wood, the middle size came with some knives years ago and is (I think) MDF and a heavy-duty formica sheet on each side. And the small one is a paddle-type plastic one. Any time one of them is used it is washed in soapy water.

There is a butcher-block type cutting board on another counter, sitting with a microwave oven on top of it. This way I can extend the microwave a little way past the end of the counter and make more food preparation space around it. The board itself is composed of strips of wood and a couple of them are unglued, so this isn't useful as a cutting board any more. I have a couple of the very flexible thin plastic sheets that really are very nice but get rather fuzzy with use. Always get washed well after use. There are a couple of plastic boards with cutouts for handles that came from Dad's house, and there is a great big slab of white thick plastic that must have been used by Dad as a huge cutting board on top of his counter top. And then there is the fancy wood thing with a circle and spikes in it that fits into a groove and is meant for cutting cooked meats. I keep the big one standing on end beside a cupboard, and there is also another large wooden cutting board there. Too big to use for much of anything except special occasions (like big enough to set the hot pan of turkey on in the middle of the dining room table or kitchen counter).

Oh, and I have a Hoosier Kitchen (AKA 'Kitchen Queen') in my kitchen and it has a counter top that slides out, but when it is pushed into place there is a little sliding cutting board that pulls out (like one mentioned above that is found in old fashioned kitchens just below the level of the countertop).

I'm sure there are more around. Redundancy was Dad's middle name. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:28 AM

Mention was made above (somewhere) of "the big board that slides out from under the cabinet top" or something like that.

In traditional use and intent, this is not a cutting board. It's a "bread board," intended for rolling out the biscuits. Dough products dry enough to be rolled will normally be too dry to support bacterial or mold growth, so sliding them back under the counter doesn't create any particular sanitary hazard (after the crumbs are brushed off, and you've shaken out the sock, of course). Even if you wash them thoroughly after cutting meat, you may be tempted to slide them back in while there's still enough dampness to breed "stuff."

Admittedly, they did (and do) get used as improvised cutting boards; but if you do so you should follow the advice of the 1890s era "Domestic Science" texts and pull them completely out of the slot, lay them on a counter top for use, wash (preferably with chlorine bleach) and dry completely, preferably overnight, before putting them back in the hole.

A better practice is to restrict the "slide outs" to baking, and get a proper cutting board for critter cuisine.

As to the relative safety of plastic versus wood, one thing contributing to the safety of wooden boards is that you do need to keep the surface "fresh" with occasional applications of a suitable oil, and nearly all oils - vegetable or mineral - are naturally bacteriostatic. They don't kill bacteria, but they generally don't support growth. While I personally don't approve of using any mineral oil on wood, the mineral oil/beeswax stuff is fairly commonly used. If you clean and refresh fairly often, a good vegetable oil (I like walnut) should never get rancid on the board. The porosity of the wood also allows it to dry out, and no common bacteria can survive being completely dried. As mentioned above, a cutting board should never be "left wet" longer than necessary to the task at hand.

It is not necessary for a plastic board to be "nicked and scratched" to harbor growing bacteria. The "surface charge potential" of most plastic surfaces suitable for a cutting surface can supply a source of chemical energy that many bacteria can use in metabolic processes with no, or very little, additional "food." The "sticky feel" on that Tupperware that comes down from the top shelf for the church picnic is a direct evidence of how the "surface potential" attracts, holds, and embeds even airborne "particles" and chemicals (think smog?) that can nourish bacteria. Bacteria can and do live on plastic surfaces, and NO NORMAL WASHING can reliably remove them. The chemical film that adheres due to the plastic's surface potential retains the bacteria - and sufficient moisture and food to keep them growing.

On reasonably oiled wood boards, growth of the bacteria is inhibited by the oil, and the wood will dry out until they die. On plastic, the surface potential holds moisture and nourishment and bacteria can live, and sometimes grow.

In order for plastic boards to be "safer" than wooden ones, it is necessary that you have a way to KILL the bacteria, in place, so that it doesn't matter if they're all removed. The ONLY reliable (approved) way of doing this is in a "commercial" dishwasher that exposes the entire board to a temperature of at least 160 F (70 C) for at least 10 minutes. (Restaurant codes in my area say 170 F.)

The health codes' spec temperature is not a "practical" temperature for home dishwashers, but most home washers will maintain at least 140 F for a half hour or so, if they're working properly and are not run on an "environmentally friendly setting;" so they probably can achieve the desired result through longer dwell at a slightly lower temperature. Setting your water system above about 120 F (49 C?) is not recommended due to the risk of accidents in the sink and in the bath, so your dishwasher must have a working heater.

For those without a dishwasher, you can probably "sanitize" your plastic board by slowly pouring a minimum of 1 quart (or about a liter) of boiling water over it for each square foot of surface to be "cleaned;" but this isn't a "code sanctioned" method.

Alcohol is NOT AN EFFECTIVE killer for bacteria on plastic boards, since the same surface potential that binds the bacteria in the surface film (and feeds them) may bind the alcohol, making it ineffective and in effect just giving the bugs more to eat. Chlorine bleach is "approved" as a sanitizing rinse for plastic boards by most health departments I've heard of, but is NOT A SUBSTITUTE for "Pasteurizing" at high temperature. Alcohol does have an effective drying capacity, which may help remove surface moisture; but this is not as effective on common kinds of plastic as on more usual "laboratory utensils" since the "film binding" prevents the alcohol from mixing with all of the bound up moisture.

I do have several plastic "cutting boards," but I use them mainly to "define the work spaces." It seems people are less inclined to pile stuff on the boards than on the rest of the counter tops, so there's usually a place to set down a mixing bowl, at least.

I use wood (almost) exclusively for food preparation that involves cutting - because I like it better as a work surface and I believe it's safe if you treat it with respect.

John

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 12:21 PM

Sounds like we should all be doing our cutting on ceramic platters.

I guess no one will be coming to my house to eat, because I can't imagine sustaining that level of anti-bacterial warfare in the kitchen. I will stick with hot soapy water and air drying (we rarely use the dishwasher as a dishwasher, we use it as a dish drainer). Don't leave meat out to get warm--get it out, cut it up and cook it then wash the board. Don't wave your poultry around, cut it up, cook it, and wash all of the utensils and surfaces it came into contact with with soapy water.

When I was a kid I spent a few weeks one summer working at a rural resort community in the giftshop and sometimes had to help out in the lunchroom. They washed dishes in really hot soapy water and the rinse water had chlorine bleach in it. Were I to up the germ-killing ante, I'd add a little bleach to rinse water (now we usually rinse under the tap--but this is wasteful so I should switch to a vessel and the bleach, I suppose).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 01:06 PM

John IS right about Walnut oil to treat wood surfaces. It is a 'drying oil' that does not remain sticky, and is safe. (I don't know if it has issues for that small portion of folks who are allergic) Pure Tung oil is also a good choice.

I wash wood cutting boards immediately after use with hot water, using a stiff bristled brush and allow them to air dry before applying a bit of oil (it doesn't take much!)

We have an old Hutch cabinet that belonged to my grandmother which has 3 'slide out' bread boards (or "extra space for settin' stuff boards") but they are way too soft for cutting board use.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 01:24 PM

Where do you get walnut oil or tung oil?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:15 PM

Pure Tung oil is usually found in paint departments, as one of a batch of 'finishes'...must be PURE.

Walnut Oil is usually found in Gourmet food stores or health food stores....sometimes a big grocery chain will carry it, but they like a larger turnover rate.

(Walnut Oil is easier and has less to concern you)

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:41 PM

Stilly -

I find walnut oil with the other cooking/salad oils at my local supermarket. It seems a few people like it as a salad oil. You may also find sunflower, pecan, safflower, cottonseed, and bunches of "flavored" oils like taragon, sage, dill, etc., as "salad oils" even at fairly low class markets (like where I shop). Specialty salad oils may also be found at a "health food" shop, but are likely to be much more expensive there. The quantities used for your cutting board generally are small enough that a small bottle will last quite a while, unless you have a really big block.

You may also find "walnut oil finish" materials at a lumber yard or woodworking shop, but these are likely to have added hardening/drying/spreading/penetrating materials that make them questionable for food use. Even if specifically labelled for food use, it's usually assumed that the finish will be aged/hardened before used with food.

Bill D.

I'm not sure I'd consider Tung oil for cutting boards, partly because it does harden really well. Once fully hardedned, you can't "replenish" the surface because additional oil can't penetrate the hardened material. It's generally considered "food safe" once it's fully hardened, but allergic reactions by people who use it as a "finish" and handle it in liquid form are fairly common.

The bacteriostatic properties of oils are most effective while the oil is liquid, or at least soft. Walnut oil hardens, but not rapidly enough to really set up before I'd wash and re-oil (wash fairly often, oil if I remember to do it). Of course any nut oil has the potential for allergic reactions in a few people. If that's a problem, a "real butcher block oil" from one of the fancy cookware shops might be "hypoallergenic" for a family member who has difficulty. These, I think, are usually mineral oil/beeswax, although few that I've seen say more than "secret magic ingredients."

John

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: open mike
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:54 PM

i have seen a fiddler who polishes her fiddle with walnut oil
by rubbing actual walnuts on the wood...nut meats can't be beat.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: number 6
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 03:01 PM

I own four Peace !!


sIx

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 03:07 PM

Six -- four plastic and two wood.

I cut meat on a plate, or the butcher's wrapping paper spread on the granite counter. The wrapping paper is also the best surface for tasks like giving a chicken a light coating of olive oil before roasting.

One of the wooden ones is a thick maple affair with feet that has a standing gig as the thing the roasting pan gets set on, or the preserving kettle.

BillD: What do you think of grape-seed oil as a treatment for wooden kitchen tools?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: number 6
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 03:49 PM

No 2 plastic, and 3 wood.

Ooops ... that means I have Five Peace!

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: GUEST,bunnahabhain
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 04:38 PM

ceramic ones!? NO! NO! NO! They're very dangerous indeed.

It's not due to them trapping anything, it's as they're too hard. the knife won't grip the surface, so can slide about very easily. this is not good. Plus, even if you don't hurt yourself, it will make a mess of the knive in no time. This is why large kitchens use colour coded plastic. Fodd saftey and finger saftey.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: bobad
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 04:57 PM

Charmion

I make maple cutting boards and use this product on them which I find to work very well.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Cluin
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 05:00 PM

One for meat, one for chicken, one for everything else.

They wash.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Cluin
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 05:01 PM

The one for chicken is hard plastic.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 07:07 PM

I have one made of absorbant cotton fiber over balsa wood that I use for raw chicken and I never wash it as it gets too heavy. I wipe it off with the butcher's paper and keep it in a plastic garbage bag under the sink. I also.........excuse me, I need to get to the bathroom pronto!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: pdq
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 08:33 PM

Looks like jimmyt has found out why Graham Kerr was called The Galloping Gourmet!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 08:53 PM

A plastic one with a handle for everyday use & the occasional spanking, and a wooden one with feet for serving salami & cheese to guests.

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: Nations, for now, are necessary evils, and mine, for now, is among the most necessary & the least evil. :||

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 10:23 PM

I also have a very small one that is useful for serving cheese or scooping kitty litter. I wash this one.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 10:39 PM

Jist chuck it on the floor and chop it up there, I tell ya. Or use an ol' stump.

Goldanged pantywaists, WASHIN' their cuttin' stuff. Next thing ya know they'll be washin' dishes an' they won't even let a man take a chaw at the dinner. Sissies, ever' one of 'em. 'Fraid of germs, somethin' ya can't even see.

Don't make folks like they useta, no sirree bob! Great-granpa Rufe didn't wash no cuttin' board and he lived ta be a hunert an' twelve or so. Hell, he din't even HAVE no cuttin' board. Used the floor or a stump, like I tell ya to. Fathered twenny-seven kids that we know of, too, ol' Rufe did. Drank two quarts of whiskey and chawed half a pound of terbacker every day of his life, too, even at his mammy's breast. Never took a bath, never even caught the sniffles.

Nosir, they don't make 'em like they useta.

Cuttin' boards....

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 11:35 PM

Bunn, I was speaking tongue in cheek--it would be horrible to the knife and the plate, to say nothing of difficult to cut on.

Rapaire, take that over to MOAB where it belongs!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 11:48 PM

I have a small business enterprise where I am recycling old cutting boards and refabricating them into spatulas of every sort. I have an IPO that will be offering next week. Jump on if you want a piece of this action. This should be even bigger than the thong business.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: open mike
Date: 15 Nov 05 - 04:09 AM

great idea jimmy..you can get 2-4 spatulas
out of every cutting board!

you can even make chop sticks out of the
slivers..

ah, oh, and tooth picks...

what an industry!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 Nov 05 - 08:09 AM

Two simple words: cutting thongs!

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 15 Nov 05 - 09:13 AM

Ex Chef ........ one board, it has two sides one for raw meat the other for everything else, when it gets dirty I scrub it in the sink

Simple

Amazing what you can do with running water an a stainless steel scrubber

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 15 Nov 05 - 05:16 PM

Ex Stripper,,, one thong, 2 sides, one for Sundays (My off day), the other for the days in the week that end in y. Simple yet effective. AMazing how unpleasent a stainless steel scrubber can be, running water or not.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Cluin
Date: 16 Nov 05 - 12:11 PM

I carved a pretty nice bullroarer once out of an old cutting board. Thin, yet heavy enough to get a good spin going.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Nov 05 - 12:57 PM

Thanks, bobad, for the tip about Lee Valley salad bowl treatment. I shall buy some, right soon.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 11:01 PM

I have just read Jo9hn from Hull's latest business adventure thread and I think if:

1) we could get some venture capital

2 Joh9n and I (and perhaps Oaklet) could integrate a business model involving:

   A Hamsters
   B Thongs
   C Cutting boards
   D and this is an alternate, spatulas or anything related   
    to certain startrek celebraties

3 we can count on some Mudcat support

we could be on to something really big. I suppose we could bring in Brucie if he would like to head up the Canadian operations and Skarpi to market us in Iceland. Thoughts please.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Sorcha
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 09:54 AM

You'll need spatulas to turn them with......

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Cluin
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 05:33 PM

Herding hamsters with spatulas.

Ah, the good old traditionals of our forefathers before us.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 02:49 PM

My cutting boards will get a big workout this week--good thing I have so many to choose from. I usually go through several on Thanksgiving Day with the chopping. They also serve to protect the table from hot dishes.

I don't think you need a cutting board for a hampster. They're too small. Treat them like sardines and eat the whole thing, or blanche them then pop them in the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer with the paddle. That'll sort out everything.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 03:17 PM

Hamsters...mm, mm. GOOD!

Questions have arisen in my mind: Is a cutting board like a cutting horse? If I were sawing wood and got really tired of the repetition of doing it, would I be cutting bored? And if so, would anyone collect me? And why??

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 07:51 PM

Repeat after me: "Spatula"!

Note the way in which the word rolls off the tongue. Note the pleasing mix of consonannt and vowel sounds. If the word "spatula" hadn't already been assigned to a household utensil it would make a great name for a goddess, an oracle or a high priestess.

Now, say "cutting board". Would you consider naming a goddess "cutting board"?

I rest my case.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 07:55 PM

I agree with BWL. But I think the word "SPATCH you luh" is dramatically improved by saying "spa TIU luh".

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 08:56 PM

Rapaire, in answer to your question.....it is quite obvious...you would use a saw horse

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: jimmyt
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 09:01 PM

Spatula was a goddess of the scullery, and daughter of Thongesius and Cuttingborja, who were instrumental in establishing the city Of Hull. Cuttingborja used to ride bare-breasted through the countryside urging her troops on much like her second cousin Boudicca. Thongesius has a modern-day family member.   The Thongesius line ascends directly to none other than Oaklet. I rest my case.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 09:15 PM

Wsn't Cuttingborja a member of the infamous Borja clan which also gave us Sees-Herborja and Look-Greasyborja?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Peace
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 09:27 PM

And the third cousin of Hopeyehavant Borja, right?

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Gorgeous Gary
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 11:41 PM

We have at least five. I had a decent size wood one handed down from my dad (rarely used) and a small plastic one that we use for salad slicing. Then we got three (maybe more, I forget) as wedding gifts. Two very nice, large, thick, heavy bamboo ones (I think bamboo, have to check). And one intended for fish; that one is wood with a metal fish head and fish tail attached.

-- Gary

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Rapparee
Date: 20 Nov 05 - 09:50 PM

I think I forget to mention that part of the counter is a butcher-block cutting board. It comes out for cleaning and so that you can use both sides. Too bad it's inconveniently close to the fridge.

But I still like using the floor or a stump.

Subject: RE: BS: how many cutting boards?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 01:01 AM

Reading out loud is an underrated activity these days, but is a great assist with some of these board certified puns.