Do plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than wood boards?

Question

I've heard on numerous occasions that plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than wood boards. I use a large wooden cutting board often, but recently I've been finding it heavy and it sometimes leaves behind a flavour on food despite good cleaning.

Is there any objective evidence that plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than good wood cutting boards? I'm hoping there have been experiments with sharpness measuring instruments such as the Edge-On-Up Industrial Edge Tester.

I've heard anecdotes and I've seen people provide plausible explanations why wood would be better for keeping knives sharp, but I haven't seen any hard data.

As a side note for this and your earlier bacteria question: do you [oil your board](https://www.cuttingboard.com/how-to-oil-and-maintain-a-cutting-board/)? It will help prevent the left behind flavour and prevent the pores from soaking up liquid. Immediately hand drying, as opposed to air drying, the cutting board after its washed helps as well. — Soulis, Jun 26 '20 at 16:15
@Soulis thanks for this. I do oil and wash etc., but with onions and garlic and strong foods over the years I think it is inevitable — Behacad, Jun 26 '20 at 17:20

score 28 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 25 '20 at 06:16

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There is such a report, but you're not going to like the result. According to KnifeGrinder's scientific test(PDF), plastic board materials other than low-density polypropylene are the least edge-wearing board materials you can get. Wood wears the edge more than plastic, as a rule.

answered Jun 25 '20 at 06:16

FuzzyChef

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All I need now is a way to tell high from low density polypropylene ;) – Tetsujin Jun 25 '20 at 06:55
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@Tetsujin easy, all you have to do is measure the density. If the density is high, i.e. if it is of high density, then you have high-density polypropylene. If... _ducks_ (Seriously, the density is almost the same, but the hardness is significantly different.) – leftaroundabout Jun 25 '20 at 09:29
I did several hours of research on this, UK-based. It seems that the common 'proper' catering boards tend to be high density polyethylene rather than polypropylene. I did find one high-street brand, though, that do HDPP & that is Taylor's Eye Witness [£8 Amazon]. Hope that might help anyone also looking. – Tetsujin Jun 25 '20 at 09:34
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why the "but you're not going to like the result"? Wouldn't he actually like the result since he wanted to replace his heavy wooden cutting board – Ivo Jun 25 '20 at 09:38
And, yet, I recently read the exact opposite. I wish I remember where. – Rob Jun 25 '20 at 10:27
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While not directly related to the question, I've had people tell me that glass cutting boards are even worse, for obvious reasons, but show up more often than you might think. – Sean Duggan Jun 25 '20 at 13:18
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Thank you for this helpful answer. It’s a shame that the tester only used Acacia which is known to be a pretty crap wood for cutting boards due to the hardness, but nonetheless it’s a great experiment. – Behacad Jun 25 '20 at 13:21
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The article does mention that softer woods are not suitable. What surprised me most was that sharpness actually *increases* over time on all but three materials - one you'd guess obviously [glass], the other you probably wouldn't [low density polypropylene - which is probably what all my current flexi-boards are made of, hence my interest in this.] – Tetsujin Jun 25 '20 at 14:03
@Tetsujin softer woods are not only suitable, they're superior! I'm not talking about having a board of douglas fir, but black cherry is a wonderful cutting board wood and is much softer than maple. – Behacad Jun 25 '20 at 16:24
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I'm going to stick with what the researchers said - soft woods are porous, making them less suitable. Cherry isn't much softer than maple - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test - but I'm not going to debate one wood over another. – Tetsujin Jun 25 '20 at 17:23
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@Tetsujin are we looking at the same table? Hardness is 1000 instead of 1500, quite a difference indeed. And cherry is not a soft wood, it is simply softer than maple. It is commonly used for cutting boards. My point is that he only used acacia as a hardwood and this is seen by some as not a great wood for cutting boards. Some might argue that the experiment would have ended differently if he had used a better wood. – Behacad Jun 25 '20 at 17:51
Yeah, I was sad to see that he didn't test any common woods like oak, maple, etc. However, that's the only public report I know of that used actual scientific methods for testing. – FuzzyChef Jun 25 '20 at 18:48
Tetsujin, read the commentary towards the end of the report. They were really surprised by those results too and re-ran the tests. It's interesting, and surprising. – FuzzyChef Jun 25 '20 at 18:49
That said, there is one advantage to wood over plastic, which that plastic tends to harbor bacteria over time. You should be extra diligent about cleaning a plastic cutting board, particularly if it's had a lot of use, as those grooves from repeated cutting are a perfect breeding ground for germs. If the plastic board starts becoming seriously discolored and it doesn't wash off easily, it's probably time to replace it. Particularly if you're using it for cutting raw meat or seafood. (Veggies are probably fine.) – Darrel Hoffman Jun 25 '20 at 20:38
@DarrelHoffman I believe it’s the other way round: Wood is much less hygienic. – Tim Jun 25 '20 at 20:43
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@Tim Are you sure? I know I've heard that plastic is more bacteria-prone in other dishes, like cups and plates, but that's compared to glass and porcelain, not wood. I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that wood for whatever reason tends to be less germ-ridden, but I may be conflating things... [FWIW](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wood-or-plastic-cutting-board_n_6133318): – Darrel Hoffman Jun 25 '20 at 20:47
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So it turns out my cheap plastic cutting boards are actually better than the end grain wood one that I paid a fortune for? Every day you learn... – Noctiphobia Jun 25 '20 at 21:01
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I've also heard plastic boards are worse for bacteria, but again, I haven't seen any hard data. New question! https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/109303/do-plastic-cutting-boards-harbor-more-bacteria-than-wood-boards – Behacad Jun 25 '20 at 22:49

Do plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than wood boards?

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