Table of Contents
Certain best wood species are superior to others for certain cutting boards. However, the final choice depends on your personal preferences. For instance, I personally believe that Zebrawood is stunning in both face and end grain cutting boards; however, it leaves a little to be desired on edge grain boards (this is, of course, based on the milling direction and the milling orientation of the board).
As a manufacturer of custom-made cutting boards to order, the most well-known wood for cutting boards over the past few years is American Black Walnut. You can find an excellent example of this in my article on how to build an end grain cutting board. Although solid Black Walnut boards are beautiful and well-known, a different choice is a blackboard with exotic species to create accent wood along the edge of the Book of the Butcher Block.
What wood is desirable for making a cutting board?
Most hardwoods will be the preferred material for making a cutting board. However, softwood can be used for cutting boards, and certain hardwoods cannot be used for cutting boards. Poplar, for example, is classified as a wood but is usually considered too soft for cutting. Heart pine, also known as old-growth pine, is a softwood, but it is more difficult to cut than many hardwoods.
Learn more about the Best of Pennsylvania: A Guide to Travel PA
It is complicated. Oak is a wood that is dense enough to be together as cutting boards. However, it’s more porous. Another reason is that Red Oak is more porous than White Oak. Try placing a small piece of each in one cup of water to find out what I’m discussing. If you are looking for a face or serving boards, Oak is Probably fine. I would not use Oak (especially Red Oak) in end-grain cutting boards because it exposes the most porous aspect of the wood.
Domestic or exotic wood for cutting boards?
When someone begins to study wood for cutting boards, they’ll come across research that suggests some irritation levels, specific allergies, and other health concerns related to different kinds of wood. If you take a closer look at this data, Walnuts are one of the species that cause the most allergy and irritation problems. Some assert that none of the exotic wood species are suitable for cutting boards. This is a lie. I recommend that you conduct your research on your own.
Most of these health issues stem from the dust generated by cutting, routing, and sanding wood. Cutting food items or serving them on the wood surface does not release these dangerous particles into the air or food. In addition, using a respirator or mask while milling wood is required!
A few of the exotic species of wood I commonly use in my custom cutting boards are Padauk, Zebrawood, goncalo alves (Tigerwood), Canarywood, Purpleheart, Peruvian Walnut, Bocote, Ipe, Wenge, and a host of others I’m sure I’ve forgotten.
For more general information about nearly every kind of wood you could imagine, browse the Wood Database.
Is there an accurate Domestic wood for cutting boards?
Maple, Walnut, and Cherry are the three central native hardwoods that are the most sought-after and the perfect option if you are looking for an American hardwood cutting board. The three species are plentiful throughout North America, come in several different varieties, and have incredible strength and density required to make a great cutting board, whether it’s end grain, edge, or face grain types of construction. Be aware that you can find soft Maple varieties as well. As with all kinds of wood, the density of the wood can differ from board or tree.
Like with nearly every species, you will find specific figured parts in the wood. Examples include Ambrosia Curly or Quilted, Birdseye, Crotch Figure, and more.
Learn more about the best mattresses for kids over months of snoozing in 2024-25.
Which is the most accurate and best wood to use for cutting boards?
If you were making a cutting table entirely from one type of solid wood, I’d pick something similar to the popular hardwoods used in the home. This could include Mahogany or even Peruvian walnuts. Making an entire board from Zebrawood, Purpleheart, or something similar is possible.
So, which is the perfect wood for cutting boards?
Again, it depends! Choosing the kind of wood for cutting boards is a personal choice, and I’d do you an injustice to suggest one species. If it were my choice, I’d have boards for every species and each mixture of species! In the end, there’s no single accurate wood to make cutting boards, but the possibilities for combining beautiful wood species to create your unique cutting board are endless.
