Want to go Green with the rest of the world, try a Cork Wood Cutting Board from architec; this light weight cutting board is a naturally anti-bacterial environmentally sustainable material that repels water and does not absorb scents.
Ease of Use/Performance: 23/25
Convenience/Storage 24/25
Appearance/Design 22/25
How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 92/100
At first the thought of a cork cutting board sent my mind a reeling with little particles of cork in my food or the flimsy thing breaking in half the first time I set it in the sink, but boy was I surprised. The Cork Wood Cutting Board from architec is a great alternative to those plastic and wood cutting boards that are so environmentally unfriendly.
A safe alternative in both environmental impact and anti-bacterial safety is the Cork Wood Cutting Board and you can get a great selection from a company called architec. The cutting board I received for review is a nice size for just about anything in your kitchen at 18 by 12 inches and is about a half inch thick. A smaller version is also available in a 9 by 12 inch size but with the same half inch thickness.
The cutting board has a nice aluminum grommet an inch and a quarter wide for hanging the board up and the board is not rough but very smooth. The aluminum grommet makes a nice way to move the board around and hold onto it when transferring the contents into a pot or pan.
Cork is the bark of trees grown in Europe and China that is harvested by hand by cutting the trees bark off, but fear not for the seemingly defenseless tree. The bark will grow back in a year and the tree will continue to produce this great natural resource again and again for harvesting without damaging the tree.
I thought about cork and cork boards and the first thought I had was this cork used for paneling and how it was constantly leaving bits of cork when you ran your hand on it. The Cork Wood Cutting Board is made in a patented heat and pressure process that makes a fine grained and smooth surface on the cutting board as well as a very flexible one.
I am sure you could break it if you wanted but it flexes well and allows the user to bend it and not have it snap in half easily. The board is nice for countertop use as the cork has a nice non slip surface so it does not slide across during use. The aluminum grommet is flush with the rest of the board’s surface on both sides so you can use either side and not worry about the grommet scratching fine countertop surfaces.
The board works very well for all the uses I tried from fresh vegetables and canned fruit to meats like chicken and roast beef both cooked and uncooked. I have used it for cutting up chicken and red meat raw and found it cleans up very easily, much easier than my plastic cutting board I usually use.
The grease and fat from chicken and beef does not stick to the cork surface and makes cleanup easy as well as not leaving any scent behind. You can cut up onions and garlic right on the cork wood board and rinse it off with no smells left behind right after washing.
Care is quite easy as you treat it just like any wood cutting board; wash with soap and water then rinse. For regular routine care the company suggests mineral oil just as chefs and others recommend for wood cutting boards. Just add a little to a paper towel and wipe on, leave it till it absorbs and wipe off any excess after a few minutes.
Using the cork cutting board with a variety of vegetables, fruit and meats I found no bits of cork cut off or left behind on my food and I really cannot find any cut marks on it. Even a wood board gets cut marks but the cork allows a much better “self healing” quality and does not leave behind marks like regular wood ones do. I am sure after much use the board will get marked but I am sure it will not be as bad as some of the wood ones like I have seen after years of use.
If you use a serrated knife on the board it will leave a mark if you press hard enough but the cork will press into the cut and “heal”. This self healing property is why for a long time we have used cork for boards with pins and tacks and now you get the same healing properties in a cutting board. I had a really hard time finding the cuts in the board after purposely cutting it with a bread knife that is very sharp.
The Cork Wood Cutting Board from architec is available from many kitchen internet sites as well as stores like Crate and Barrel and of course Amazon. I highly recommend the Cork Wood Cutting Board from architec for a great natural alternative that is environmentally friendly.
