My grandad's butcher block is still in use after fifty years, but my new guy prefers plastic boards.

Henry West · 2026-02-28T19:56:12.734391+00:00

Wood blocks last forever and give better control, but plastic is cheap and sterile, which side are you on?

Have you ever looked into why wood might be safer than plastic for cutting boards? I read that wood pulls bacteria into its pores and then the drying process kills them off. Plastic boards can get scratched up, and those grooves let bacteria live through washes. Like @ray173's spoon splitting, wood needs some care, but if you oil it regularly, it lasts for ages. Wood also gives you better control and doesn't dull knives as fast. So I'm totally on the wood side, it just makes sense in the long run.

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the_hugo6mo ago

Actually, I heard wood kills germs better than plastic once it dries.

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hannah_fisher586mo ago

Wondering how dry it needs to get to actually kill the germs. Like does it have to be bone dry or just mostly dry?

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ray1736mo ago

Heck, my wooden spoon handle split last week!

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