Reset Your Kitchen For Better Health

It requires a polymeric binder apparently which is what AI says. A phenol-formaldehyde polymer is… plastic. Which doesn’t mean it is toxic, but it is plastic. So someone who is trying to avoid synthetic polymers might want to use a chunk of maple board to cut on.

I do not believe Ai. You can if you want to.

“Epicurean’s unique material is made from many layers of high-quality custom craft paper. Rolls of paper are infused with a thermosetting resin before being cut to length and laid by hand.”

Thermosetting resin: Thermosetting Resin - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Bunsen and AI are correct in this case.

I also don’t think you need to worry about it being toxic. Materials that come into contact with food are pretty rigorously tested.

I have a variety of cutting boards for different purposes. For stuff like poultry, I prefer the plastic cutting boards which can be thoroughly disinfected in the dishwasher. I use my wooden cutting boards mostly for carving already cooked meats. I inherited one from my parents that is so heavy that I think I won’t be able to use it for much longer unless I leave it on the counter top!

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By previous posts it would seem that @GRITS80 is really trying to avoid all plastics. Maybe more than the average person (which is totally and their prerogative!). I think it was kind of @BunsenBurner to point that out for his purpose - if no one else’s.

The differing info at least gives someone who is plastic conscious a reason to explore a little more before making the purchase for their kitchen.

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AI summarized a video posted by Epicurean.

A cutting board must be non-porous to prevent bacterial growth inside it or to be made of bacteriostatic material. How would a paper product become non-porous? Logically, it has to have some binding agent. Glass or metal wouldn’t work for that purpose.

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You may want to consider having it planed down to 3/4” thickness. Wood cutting boards such as the ones made by Boos can be 1.5” to 2” thick or more which makes them heavy. You could reduce the weight by half or more. Often there is a channel routed out on one side to catch juices so you’d have it planed down on the other side, then they can use a router bit to round over the edges.

If it’s end-grain construction I wouldn’t do it, those are great (and expensive) boards and I’d try to find a family member who wants it. (see End Grain vs Edge Grain Cutting Boards: What’s the difference? | John Boos )Also planing end-grain easily leads to chipping so the new surface might have gouges.

But for edge-grain if the alternative is not to use it I’d consider it. I have a wood cutting board over 30 years old I made in woodshop that is edge-grain and 3/4” thick. Still as good as when I made it. I put a thin coating of walnut oil on it every few months, let it soak in for an hour or so, and buff until it appears dry. Walnut oil is a drying oil (unlike mineral oil that you often see recommended for wood items) so over time it builds up a tough coating.

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It’s an end grain cutting board that has been in the family for longer than I’ve been alive. It will go to my daughter when we can’t lift it anymore!

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Do you think the walnut oiling would make it allergenic for those with nut allergies?

sorry, i don’t know.

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Apparently it can be dangerous. I don’t know what might be good alternatives - do beeswax, olive oil, or mineral oil work?

Talking about John Boos - when my brother gave us an ulu cutting board, he recommended this:

I ended up treating just about every food prep wood in the kitchen - cutting boards, salad bowls, spoons, etc.

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I just use olive oil on my wood cutting boards, but :woman_shrugging:

FWIW, in studies wood (which, of course, is porous) has been shown to harbor less bacteria than plastic.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/5/225

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/cutting-boards

Also, FWIW, I have somehow accumulated 6 wood cutting boards of various sizes and 3 composite paper cutting boards. Cutting on the composite paper board is very similar to cutting on wood. We have made a concerted effort since before we had kids to reduce our reliance on plastic. I have never owned a plastic cutting board that I can recall, but my mother-in-law does. I very dislike them.

Final FWIW, I am pretty sure the material that Epicurean uses is Richlite. If you are wanting to do a real deep dive on in Richlite has oodles on info and specs on their website: https://www.richlite.com

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Any good kitchen equipment store will carry the John Boos wood conditioner or something similar. My husband, who’s made a few cutting boards says you can use a food-safe oil, but not a food oil, which can go rancid.

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We have a meat drawer at the bottom of our refrigerator. If we have any dinner leftovers that fit in that drawer, that’s where I put them… tis more of an entree drawer.

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That’s why I said “or bacteriostatic.”
Meaning preventing bacterial growth. So thank you for confirming what I said but please do not cherry-pick quote my posts. :slight_smile:

Yes, and it contains about 35% of “phenolic resin.” Which is a phenol-formaldehyde polymer aka a type of plastic.

I personally don’t have any issues with using plastic cutting boards, but some people are trying to avoid buying new kitchenware made of plastic for different reasons ranging from generation of micro plastics to use of toxic chemicals in the manufacturing of the final non-toxic polymer.

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Thought I’d post an update on what I’ve done in case anyone is interested in trying something similar. Turns out Google AppSheet can create a simple app that runs on your iPhone or Android, acting like a front-end to a spreadsheet in the Google cloud. So using Gemini AI extensively (it’s free) to explain what to do I made an app that has item, date frozen, quantity. On my phone I can view the list by date frozen or alphabetically, and I can do this at home or while out shopping. Everyone in the family that installs the app can see the freezer content since they all refer to the same cloud spreadsheet. The app has buttons to adjust the quantity, delete the item, or add new items.

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Any way to share how this looks??

Question: anyone have a salt substitute they like??? I’ve recently switched to a better tasting salt (Redmond) but I also want to start using LESS salt to a degree and am looking for an alternative that is not disgusting. :slight_smile:

Here is a screenshot

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Very cool!