Butcher Block

The Three Basic Types 

Is a wood block often made from teak, sugar maple, rock maple, lyptus or walnut used as chopping board or table for heavy duty cutting in a butcher shop. However, it is not exclusively for the butcher shops these days as residential houses also use the block as chopping boards. There is a very large variety of  design each are made for different purposes. But there are only three basic types, the end grain, face grain and the edge grain.

The End Grain 

The end grain was made by gluing wood pieces side-by-side together. The pieces of woods were continuously together forming rows of it parallel with each other. One great advantage of end grain is its aesthetic appeal. Pieces of woods can take two or more colors achieving wonderful checker board design.

The pieces of wood being glued together are good for the knives and can easily resist the gouges and nicks from it. This is because the wood fibers, being arranged by rows, can absorb the impact of a knife blade. That is why the end grain butcher block is good for the knives as it can keep its sharpness longer while withstanding the blade’s cuts.

The Edge Grain 

The edge grain is famous for its long wood rails that run as long as the wooden block. This chopping board is made from series of wooden blocks cut through at right angle to expose the harder surface of the wood.  Because of the hard surface, the edge grain is famous, or infamous, for blunting the knives. This is the only aspect of it that chefs basically do not like although this works well with the heavy duty chopping with the butcher.

End Grain vs. Edge Grain

End grains are best known for its long wearing quality although edge grain often has a longer lifespan than with the end grain. However, chefs prefer end grain as it is not tough for the knife. End grain is also more affordable than that with edge grain.

The Face Grain 

On the other hand, the face grain  blocks are very cheap and the easiest chopping board to make. These are often made from a single block of wood. One of the most examples of which is the pizza paddle. This is called as such because the board has the face of wood surface exposed. This surface is, as opposite to edge grain, the softest side of the wood. This made the face grain easiest to damage, vulnerable to nicks, chips, gouges and the likes. This chopping board is, ironically, not good for chopping but for serving food décor.

Block Finish

The  block finish must be taken in to consideration when purchasing the chopping board. There are finish that are safe and not. For instance, the food-safe natural oil finish is safe to cut on directly with. This is because wood chips can be carried with the food or some of its finish may end up on the food as well. With natural oil finish, this will not present a problem.

On the other hand, with the varingque-semi gloss finish, might not be as safe as the natural oil finish. It is recommended not to cut the meat or food directly on it. It is best to cover the board with safe covering before chopping it.

Knowing what type of butcher block to purchase will help the consumer in his or her cooking. It does not matter if the cook is a newbie or professional chef or butcher, the chopping board is must purchase kitchen object. But it is best to take note on how professional buy their kitchen tools like to keep the knives at it best conditions for comfortable and safe cooking.

Marcela grecevich :