Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: Growster... on June 05, 2021, 06:28

Title: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on June 05, 2021, 06:28
Mrs Growster and I have had a serious unpleasantness from food poisoning - or a milder form maybe - this week, and we can't nail it down to what happened over last weekend - probably Monday!

We both had different light meals, we thought the wine was bad, but that doesn't seem to start the problem, as alcohol negates the nasties...

Listening to advice from a reliable source, it seems that the dreaded wooden chopping board could be the culprit!

It's quite old, I've shaved it several times, but apparently this doesn't solve the problem for long, so I wonder what chums here think (we have a coloured four-set, stacked like books in a frame), because even veg chopped on a wooden one will transfer bugs from the various parts of - say a salad!

We're looking at maybe a larger plastic one (not glass, which blunts the knives) for general use like bread etc., on a central island unit in the kitchen , but any ideas of what to get would be very helpful!
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: GraciesGran on June 05, 2021, 06:46
Hope you are feeling better.

I  have a wooden bread board, wedding present in the 1970s, used only for bread but scrubbed every couple of weeks.  For fruit, veg and meat I have some white chopping boards that go in the dishwasher after every use. They do discolour over time and at that point they go in the bin.  Much to my husband's dismay I  only use dishclothes and tea towels once before they get washed, they get washed separately from normal laundry on the hottest wash my machine does.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: hasbeans on June 05, 2021, 07:01
Hygiplas boards might be what you are after?
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Lardman on June 05, 2021, 07:38
I demoted the wooden board to a bread board a while back.

I have 2 of the industrial plastic chopping boards,bought from a catering supply store. Not sure if they're Hygiplas but they are the same ilk. Be careful about size, you need to be able to clean it properly in the sink or dishwasher mine only just fit in the dishwasher vertically. They're very easy to clean properly, I even give mine a quick spritz with bleach now and then, very robust and don't warp and do very little damage to a knife.   I'd also buy 2 - 1 to wash and 1 to wear.  ;)
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: snowdrops on June 05, 2021, 07:42
I use the plastic type boards I’ve got a John Joseph one for cooked meats that collects the juices & then white ones with a green edging on I think from Sainsbury’s that has a drip dip around it with a green edging that grips the worktop & stops it moving that is quite good. They do get cut though & marked but I pour bleach on them, I wash them in the sink usually as they don’t fit in the dishwasher very well.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: mumofstig on June 05, 2021, 09:40
I still use a wooden board for bread and another for veggies, which get scrubbed when I remember (if I'm honest!)
Meat or fish always gets cut on one of 2 white plastic boards that go in the dishwasher after each use.

I worry more about using up things like soft cheese/pate/hummus/salad dips etc that you buy from supermarkets - some have very short eat-by dates...
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: lettice on June 05, 2021, 10:03
Always used a wooden chopping board and have had mine over thirty years and are still as good as new.
All my older and trusted cookery books mention wood has the natural anti microbial properties. Was taught that too in cookery classes back in the 70s at comprehensive school and many tv and online chefs /cooks say the same thing these days.

I never do raw meat, cooked meat, salad or veg on the same board, so have a few of them and one specific for bread.
Always wash in hot soapy water between or after use.
Then dry with a paper towel and to preserve the wood put a few drops of rapseed oil on them and wipe over.
Once a week do sprinkle a small amount of baking powder over it and rub that in with half a lemon and wipe off with a paper towel.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on June 05, 2021, 14:29
Wow! Thank you everyone!

Our board really is quite old now, and just looking at the cuts, dents, burn marks and scratches, it isn't pleasant, so we've ordered a decent 'plastic' board, (got all the gummint requirements for listeria, e coli etc.,), and we'll see what occurs.

Mrs Growster is in fact still quite poorly as of lunchtime today, and has had to revert to a fall-back  Marmite/white bread diet, but it all seems to have left me for now, so fingers crossed...

Thanks again for all your advice, it's very nice to know that chums are out there who can help Growsters in their hour of need!

XXX
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: GraciesGran on June 05, 2021, 15:40
Marmite and white bread, true comfort food.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on June 06, 2021, 07:30
A sideshow to all this happens to be a non-desire for tinctures, and a noticeable weight-loss, as my shorts, (yup - it's that time of year), now fit me for the first time in ages...

;0) several times...
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: GraciesGran on June 06, 2021, 08:40
Not the nicest way to shed weight.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: mrs bouquet on June 06, 2021, 11:00
Sorry to hear you have both been poorly.  Hope Mrs G is soon on the mend.   Tell her how much weight she has lost and how gorgeous she looks, that will help.
I think advice has mainly been covered, but I will add.  A wedding gift was a wooden "Bread Board" with the knife fitting into the side of it.  The board has long since gone, but the knife is in the greenhouse.
You mentioned coloured boards.  I use my red one for raw meat, the green for veg, a small white one for onion and garlic, and buy sliced bread !!.   Get well soon both of you, and a piccy of you in the shorts please.
Mrs Bouquet
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on June 06, 2021, 12:40
Thank you GG and Mrs B!

Mrs Growster needs a few more days, and will be fine then, but her spirits (as usual), are still very high, but the legs aren't good at usage still!
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Subversive_plot on August 05, 2021, 09:29
I'm late to the conversation, but . . .
We have several cutting boards. Several plastic ones of various shapes, sizes and materials. These all get washed after every use.  If cutting meat, it's a very hot-water wash with detergent, or a trip through the dishwasher. Vegetables and fruit are always cut on a different board from meat (unless the meat is cut last).

One cutting board is made from bamboo (a gift from one of our investment brokers). That was seasoned with mineral oil (the kind available from the pharmacy) before it's first use (it helps seal the pores, keeps food juices out of the "wood"). We use that for fruit, vegetables, and cheese, never raw meat or fish.  We surface wash and promptly dry after every use, after thorough drying we apply mineral oil if needed.

The cleaning, and cutting bacteria-bearing foods on separate boards, will greatly reduce the risk of food poisoning.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on August 05, 2021, 09:58
Thanks, SubP!

Mrs Growster has at last started to get her appetite back - it's been that long!

Fingers crossed!
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Odders on September 01, 2021, 00:12
I use wooden boards for non meat items & give them a rub with a salt/olive oil mix then a wipe down  every few days, nothing else.
For meat of any kind, I use plastic boards & sterilise with Milton &/or wipes after every use.
Been making my own sausage, bacon & burgers for years & processing the occasional deer/sheep for even longer with nary a sign of gyppy tummy.
With meat, temperature & clean surfaces is essential.
Title: Re: Wooden chopping boards...
Post by: Growster... on September 01, 2021, 06:38
Thanks, Odders!

We're using plastic boards now, and they're closely washed and sterilised, and, 'touch wood', seem to be contributing to improvements - with no further details needed!

Incidentally, I kept the old wooden board (for kindling next winter - or next week if you like) outside in the woodshed, and it's now growing green mould along every joint in the woodwork...

Hmmm...