The Unique, $20 Kitchen Find That Makes Dinner Prep Way Easier
As important as good-quality knives are to a chef, the surface on which you use them is also critical. For years, I experimented with cutting boards, looking for the perfect match. Big, small, thick, thin, wood, plastic — I tried them all.
Finally, I found the ideal cutting board. It’s the Joseph Joseph Cut&Carve Large Multi-Function Chopping Board. In the two years I’ve owned it, it’s rarely seen the inside of my cabinet. Instead, it’s a constantly-in-use fixture on my countertop. Whether it’s raw vegetables or roasted meats, this candy-red cutting board can handle it all. To me, it’s perfect. Here’s why.
This cutting board is thicker than most plastic cutting boards (it’s one-inch thick, in case you were wondering), and it’s that way by design. See, there are two useable sides. One side is flat but angled, slightly sloping toward a raised wall. You don’t notice this angle when you’re chopping, but it’s incredibly helpful for corralling ingredients, as well as catching any drips or juices. The other edge of this flat side is open (no raised wall), which makes transferring chopped veggies to prep bowls or right into a skillet easy-peasy.
The second side of the board is pretty unique, too. It has a collection of sharp plastic spikes right in the center, which are meant to grip and hold onto cooked meat — like a roasted whole chicken or a pork tenderloin. (This extra hold is even great if you’re sawing through a loaf of crusty bread.) This side has raised edges all around and rounded corners that easily catch any juices and are easy to pour from, too.
No matter what side you’re using, though, I love that this board has nonslip corners that keep it in place as you chop, carve, slice, dice, and mince. Pardon my bad pun, but once you try this, you’ll be on board with it, too.
Do you have a cutting board you love? Tell us about it in the comments!