This Sleek and Popular Cutting Board Is My New Kitchen BFF — My Only Regret Is Not Getting One Sooner
I didn’t realize how much I disliked my most-used cutting board until I got the Material reBoard. Over the years, I’ve collected a few beautiful and special wood cutting boards that were given as gifts. I love how heavy and sturdy they are; using them feels special. But over the past 10 years spent in five different kitchens, I’ve always had tiny kitchens and, perhaps more infuriatingly, little bitty kitchen sinks. Needless to say, washing those wooden cutting boards was a pain. So, for far too long, I relied on a thin, lightweight composite wooden cutting board that I brought home for free one day from work.
Using the freebie brought me no joy. It was hard on my knives and quickly became dull in the center and scratched all over. Finally, after admiring Material cutting boards from afar, I decided it was about time I tried one for myself. And after using it just once (once!), I bid farewell to my old composite wooden cutting board forever.
What’s So Great About Material reBoards?
Let’s state the obvious: They’re pretty! Material reBoards come in an array of bold and beautiful colors, and I took far too long agonizing over which one to choose. Ultimately I decided on an understated neutral called To Pó-Po with Love, because 50 percent of profits go to Heart of Dinner, a nonprofit organization that delivers food packages and “handwritten notes of love” to Asian elders throughout New York City.
There are obviously a lot of other plastic cutting boards on the market (including this well-reviewed OXO board, which I used constantly in a past kitchen job and like using), but I appreciate the use of sustainable materials in the reBoard (75 percent recycled plastic and 25 percent renewable sugarcane).
As for functionality, the reBoard is significantly easier on my knives and comes with a textured surface that makes it painless to slice through slippery foods. Although it’s lightweight, it’s also sturdy enough to handle chopping heavier ingredients, like a butternut squash. The Mini reBoard (a smaller version, which I also have) means you don’t have to sacrifice countertop or storage space either.
I’ve read complaints that there aren’t any feet grips for the countertops, but I don’t miss them. I’ve been placing a small sheet of rubber drawer liner underneath my cutting boards (the same effect as a wet paper towel) ever since culinary school. Because I went with a light color, I was worried it would stain quickly, but after more than a month of everyday use it still looks fresh out of the box.
And perhaps most exciting of all, unlike the freebie cutting board I’d previously used, it can go (and fits) in my dishwasher!
Buy: Material reBoard, $35