Product Description

BoosBlock professional cutting boards are FDA-approved and are used by professional chefs throughout the United States. These high quality cutting boards are available in end grain and edge grain construction, and come in more than 39 shapes and sizes. John Boos & Co. is the number one supplier of butcher blocks countertops and cutting boards to restaurants, butchers and even the White House. BoosBlock cutting boards are manufactured by John Boos & Co. based in Effingham, Illinois. Since its inception in 1887, John Boos & Co. strives to provide the highest quality products to the most discriminating consumers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3152 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Size: 24 by 18 by 2-1/4-Inch
• Brand: John Boos
• Model: RA03
• Dimensions: 2.25" h x 18.00" w x 24.00" l, 24.00 pounds

Features

• Solid, reversible maple wood cutting board; measures 24 by 18 by 2-1/4 inches (LxWxH)
• Hard maple edge grain construction with cream finish; two flat sides and slightly rounded edges
• Handgrips on the ends for easy transport from countertop to stovetop
• Wood board is easier on knives as plastic boards can dull knives more quickly
• Hand wash and oil regulary

Amazon.com Product Description
Add a handsome yet highly functional tool to your kitchen arsenal with this solid, reversible Boos Block maple wood cutting board from John Boos, which measures 24 by 18 by 2-1/4 inches (LxWxH). Strong and heavy, this finely crafted board is built to endure all of your chopping, mincing, and dicing needs. This board has a hard maple edge-grain construction with two flat sides and slightly rounded edges for comfortable handling. It features handgrips on the ends for easy transport from countertop to stovetop and a Boos Block cream finish with beeswax. The thick board will hold large cuts of meat, piles of vegetables and ample size turkeys. Keep your Boos cutting board clean by simply washing it with hot soapy water after each use and dry it with a clean paper towel or let it air dry.

This board was shipped from the factory with a penetrating oil finish which allows for great cutting, chopping, and slicing, but it's important to give your cutting board a good oiling on all surfaces every 3-4 weeks. When the cutting board becomes dry and lighter in color, you know that the time has come to re-oil your board. With a minimum amount of care and maintenance, you can lengthen the life of your Boos Board by many years.

More appealing and attractive than a plastic, a wooden cutting board is a great alternative to plastic cutting boards as it can inhibit bacteria growth, while plastic boards harbor bacteria in the grooves cut into their surface. (Although Boos Block cutting boards do not harbor bacteria, it is a good habit to use separate cutting boards for different types of food prep.) Wood cutting boards are also easier on knives, where plastic boards can dull knives quickly. Boos Block cutting boards are manufactured by John Boos & Co. in Effingham, Illinois, which has been manufacturing high-quality wood cutting boards, butcher blocks, and countertops since 1887.

Customer Reviews

Nice, but not END GRAIN quality
The other review for this cutting board is accurate, but fails to mention one important factor...this board is constructed of EDGE grain maple, not END grain maple. This makes a huge difference when chopping and slicing. End grain cutting boards and butcher blocks are prefered by home and professional chefs for a number of reasons. End grain construction does not dull the edges of expensive cutlery the way Edge grain does. End grain boards also cut easier, have a more varied and figured grain, and a cutting surface that lasts longer. In the end, it's not worth spending $98.00 (with shipping) on a John Boos Edge grain cutting board from Amazon.com, when for the same price, you can buy a quality End grain cutting board that will perform better, save your knife blades, has a prettier grain, and will last a lifetime.

This is a decent cutting board for the average home chef, but simply not worth the money. Buy an End grain maple butcher block 16" x 20" for $80.95 from theboardsmith.com. They have a large selection, quality construction, beautiful craftsmanship, and competetive prices. When you compare the two, the choice is obvious. And if you still want this John Boos cutting board, metrokitchen.com has them for $51.95 with no tax and FREE shipping!!! Amazon just doesn't seem to stay price competetive when it comes to their houseware items. Lastly, whatever board you get, make sure to season it periodically with FDA approved mineral oil. This will keep the board from bending or cracking and will preserve your knife blade edges and the cutting board itself.

Great Heavy Duty Utility Wood Cutting Board for all your Chopping Needs
This is a wonderful utility wood cutting board.

When shopping for a cutting board, there are several factors you want to consider: Material, Size, Shape, Upkeep.

Material:
There are several to choose from, but Wood is the best if you care about your knives and your chopping arm. Wood is the easiest on your knives because the blade will sink into the wood instead of dulling on it (as if you were on granite/glass). It absorbs the shock of the impact, unlike granite/glass, which can be quite jarring to cut on. Wood also has natural antibacterial properties. There was rumors going on for awhile about the dangers of wood harboring bacteria, but after extensive research, they found out the wood actually seems to kill bacteria naturally. Scientists were not able to recover bacteria on a wood board after an hour, yet they could recover bacteria from plastic after days... There's extensive material on this, so I'll let you research more of it on your own as I continue the review of this board.

The advantages that a plastic cutting board has over a wood board (it's easy to clean, dishwasher safe, light, easy to store) goes downhill over time - whereas the advantages of a wood board deteriorates very little over time. The biggest reason for this is that a plastic cutting board is only "cleaner" than a wood board when it's brand new. As soon as it gets knife scored, those little crevices harbors bacteria. People say that can be taken care of by scrubbing with soap - but think about it, you can't FULLY clean your teeth by just brushing! Why? Because brushing does not get into the crevices between your teeth, that's why it's crucial to floss. Now think about how much smaller a knife cut in plastic is than the crevices between your teeth. Microscopically smaller, yet large enough for lots of microscopic bacteria to live in. Then some people say to soak the plastic board in bleach water. This doesn't work either because of the vacuum effect and water's surface tension. You'd need to be able to force the bleach water INTO each knife score to rinse out the bacteria in there. Water will not force it's way into a vacuum like that on it's own (what you're doing when you simply dunk it into a container of bleach water). Bottom line when it comes to plastic vs wood - wood has natural anti-bacteria properties that does not diminish over time, and a knife scored plastic board does not. Even all studies and people recommending plastic over wood tell you to toss the plastic board when it becomes badly scored.

Size & Shape:
I think that this 20 x 15 x 2.25 size is excellent - although, it's the "heavy duty" size - it also comes in a thinner model, 1.5" thick. I like having a board that is large enough to chop on, and then move items over to little piles off to the side while I chop something else. The rectangle shape allows me to do this better than a square or circle. An oval shape might work, but it would be harder to store since you can't stand it on it's side. There are larger and smaller of these John Boos boards but I think a larger one would be too bulky and heavy (this board is just about the topmost limit that my kitchen countertop can handle, along with my sink to wash the board in). This board is also 17.33lbs, which makes it a quite bulky and heavy. These boards also comes in 2 thicknesses: 1.5" and 2.25" thick. I think if you buy a wood board you want it at least an inch thick. Thinner boards warp/break easier. You need it to be hefty. The 1.5" thick of this board is perfect for the regular home chef. The 2.25" thick one is good for heavy chopping - as in bones, and is more in line of a "butcher block".

Upkeep:
Glass/Granite can break/chip, but otherwise can last forever. It's easy to clean, can be very pretty, and is dishwasher safe. It's just jarring to cut on and will dull your blades.

Plastic is superior on everything easy. Dishwasher safe. Light, easy to store, cheap, comes in different colors...but be prepared to replace it as soon as it's badly knife scored.

Wood. Of all the materials, wood needs the most to upkeep. You can buy John Boos Mystery Oil which is a mixture of Mineral Oil, Linseed Oil And Tung Oil. You can't just use any oil because it needs to be safe to eat in case of any oil transfer, and you don't want an oil that can go rancid. You just oil the wood every 4-6 weeks . Wood is not dishwasher safe. You want to avoid ever soaking wood in water, although a quick scrub and rinse through the sink, along with a quick and thorough drying with a towel will do the trick just fine. Yes, it's more work than the others, but it's not THAT much work, and I think it's defnitely worth it.

One more note about wood boards. Maple is the best material becaues of it's small pore size ratio to hardness of wood. You might think that oak is very hard wood, but it has bigger pores, so stick with Maple.

John Boos Cutting Board Conclusion:
I think this is a perfect cutting board. The material, size, shape, weight, is all right. John Boo has also been doing this since 1887, so it's a good American company that's been around long enough to know a little something about wood. The customer service is great as well. My only complaint is that it's not very pretty. It's quite plain looking. The wood boards are a gorgeous addition to my kitchen, warming it up and giving it a very earthy and real feel - but being a girl, the cherry on top would have been if it were just "prettier".

One last thing, this board is reversible. I don't like when they put little feet on one side of the board that prevents you from using both sides. This extends the use and life of the board and I think it's a shame to take that away. You can always just place a removeable, nonslip surface under your wood board to keep it in place - like silicone pad or a sheet of that non-slip drawer liner stuff.

Bar None.....
This is the BEST cutting board you can buy. I've been a professional chef for over 18 years and I swear by John Boos' boards.