cutting boards??

[Babywhite]

I always put my "meat" cutting board in the dishwasher. Since it is made of some form of plastic, I decided to trade it in for a glass one. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that it doesn't say that it is dishwasher safe.

Does anyone know why it wouldn't be dishwasher safe? What other option besides the "plastic" ones are dishwasher safe?

TIA

[Marisa6826]

Word of advice - the glass ones are *horrible* for your knives. They have absolutely no give and wear the blades down big time. They also make a most obnoxious noise when you're cutting on them (my MIL has one and I hate using it for that reason alone - her knives already suck ;) ).

You can try some of the newer wood composite cutting boards. There was a review of them in Cooks Illustrated last month.

I'd honestly be much more inclined to risk having my food on a plastic cutting board for 10-15 minutes while chopping it than having it on a board that you may not properly clean (unless you KNOW you'll be diligent about using a bleach solution with a wood board) and risk getting salmonella, e.coli, etc.

-m

[August Mom]

Don't use the glass ones. They are awful for your knives. My only thought about the glass not going in the dishwasher is maybe the type of glass can't be heated to the temperature of the dishwasher? I know you can break some glass lids in the oven if they get too hot. I'm just speculating though.

For Christmas, DH got me the Epicurean cutting boards. They are very nice and gentle on your knives. They are pricey, though. They are wood composite and dishwasher safe. You can get them at Sur La Table, Bed, Bath & Beyond, cooking.com and various other places. The 15x11" is a nice, everyday size.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/search/search.aspx?order_num=-1&sstr=epicurion&Dim=1&Nty=1

[ged]

I third the recommendation for wood composite boards. i have had some for at least 2 years or so, and put it in the dishwasher all the time. love them.

[Babywhite]

Are the slate ones safe to use too?

[Marisa6826]

Are the slate ones safe to use too?

Slate will wreck your knives, too. You need something that will provide some 'give'.

Slate is also quite porous. Not something you would want with raw meat/fish, etc. (I have a marble cheese board and it's perfect for that, but it's all I use it for.)

-m

[txmomtobe]

While we are on the subject of cutting boards...I heard that you are supposed to have a couple of boards...one for meats...one for veggies...one for fruits. Is this true? I'm going to pick these up at BBB so I just want to know how many to get and what sizes should i get. I just had a would one that broke on me so this is a good time to replace.

[elektra]

I have separate ones. We actually have one big wood one, that we marked on one side with an "m" and we use meat on that side, and fruit/veggies on the other.
And then I actually have a plastic one that I use for raw chicken. I know plastic has it's downsides, but just feel better about the plastic cutting board because I feel like I can get it cleaner.

[August Mom]

Are the slate ones safe to use too?

Yes. You are talking about the Epicurean slate ones judging from your subject line. Those are made with the same process as the tan ones, they are just slate in color, not material. However, in the reviews I read, people with the slate/black ones thought the knife marks showed up more and therefore that color looked more worn/used than the natural color. I liked the black ones to coordinate with my kitchen but went with the natural color based on those reviews. I read reviews on cooking.com. If you really like the slate color, I'd probably just buy one (in the smallest size you'd want), use it for a few weeks and see what you think. Then you can buy others accordingly.