When it comes to eating healthy, we often focus on what goes on our plate and overlook the tools we use to prepare it. According to nutritionist Rashi Chowdhary, something as basic as your chopping board matters more than you think. 

From hygiene and cross-contamination to the type of food being prepared, your choice of chopping board can play an important role in everyday kitchen practices. 

"Chopping your food on a plastic board is like chopping food on the sole of your shoe. Will you ever lick the bottom of your handbag? This is pretty much the same thing, but you just can't see it,” the nutritionist explains, adding that more than a thousand particles from a single use over a year can lead to up to 10 credit cards. 

Talking about wooden chopping boards, she shares, “Wood is porous. It literally drinks up the juices from the raw meats that you cut on this and also goes in the grooves of the knife. So you are not cutting on a board. You're chopping on last week's bacteria.”

She recommends a steel chopping board. "nonporous, sheds nothing, soaks up nothing. It's what every commercial kitchen uses,” she adds. 

Plastic vs. Wooden vs. Steel Chopping Boards

Choosing a chopping board depends on your priorities for hygiene, knife sharpness, and upkeep. Here are the pros and cons of each chopping board:

Plastic Chopping Boards 

Pros: It is lightweight, affordable, and dishwasher-safe. 

Cons: It scars easily with deep knife grooves that trap bacteria, dull knives faster than wood, and can shed microplastics into your food. 

Wooden Chopping Boards

Pros: It is gentle on knife blades, and the natural antimicrobial properties draw bacteria away from the surface and neutralize them. 

Cons: It requires regular oiling and hand-washing and can warp or crack if left soaking in water. 

Steel Chopping Board 

Pros: it is completely non-porous and rust-resistant. It does not mold and absorb odors. It is extremely durable and easy to sanitize. 

Cons: the hard surface rapidly dulls and damages knife edges, creates a loud clacking noise during use, and can be slippery for food or blades. 

Sharing her thoughts on chopping boards, the nutritionist writes, “We spend so much time talking about healthy foods that we forget to talk about the surface they're prepared on.” She adds that if the chopping board is cracked, deeply scratched, or older than your favorite frying pan, it might be time for an upgrade.



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