Does size really matter?

I decided it was time for a new cutting board.  Mine has served me well for the last, I don’t know, 12 or13 years, maybe longer.  It’s warped and even with a non-skid pad under it, it tends to move around and I can’t flip it over any more because it’s so warped.

While visiting OpenSky, I noticed that Tom Colicchio was recommending some beautiful teak cutting boards by Madeira.  I just had to have one, they looked beautiful. I ordered the “jumbo” board.  I’m sure I looked at the dimensions and they seemed big enough but I didn’t compare them to my current cutting board.  That becomes important later.

I happened to blog about another purchase from OpenSky, my copper heat diffusers, and somehow a celebrity chef/writer found my blog.  He said my blog almost made him want to buy the diffusers.  I’d love to know if he actually did.  I use them a lot.  I’ve found when I have things that need to simmer for a long time (where I typically start them simmering then go clean the house or something, I don’t stand there stirring all the time) I do get a circle of overcooked whatever at the bottom of my pot.  With these diffusers, that doesn’t happen!  That makes me happy because the stock, stew, sauce or whatever I'm cooking cooks more evenly.  Even better though, cleaning the cooking vessel becomes so much easier and I don’t have scraped up bits of yuck in my pasta sauce or whatever I’m making! 

Ok, so I digressed.  This celebrity chef/author commented on my blog and said I should have purchased a board from his collection, not the one Tom Colicchio was pitching.  So I took a look at his board.  It’s from Boos and it is maple instead of teak.  This time I looked at the dimensions too.  It’s exactly the same length and width of my current board.  The Madeira teak board is smaller by an inch in the length and two inches in width.  My current cutting board is maybe a half inch thick, hence the eventual warping.  The Madeira board is a little thicker, 1 ¼ inches.  The Boos board is 2 ¼ inches thick!  I don’t think that board is ever going to warp!

My poor warped Board:

The beautiful Madeira Board.  Isn't it beautiful?!

The monstrous Boos Board:

So I already like the Boos board better because it’s the same length and width dimensions as my old board.  It fits perfectly on my island and there's no way this thing is going to warp!  I also love the Madeira board because it is beautiful!  Almost too beautiful to use!  My concern however, is that the Boos board is so much thicker I'll have to wear heels in the kitchen just to be able to chop.

I've seasoned them both well with mineral oil (which took days because of my crazy schedule) and performed a few tests.

I had a cake order and needed to chop chocolate.  I didn't notice anything too odd.  I could chop the chocolate and I wasn't on my tippy toes.  I've rolled fondant, nope, still no issues.  So I think I'll like this board for every day work.  The Madeira, well, I think that will make a beautiful bread / cheese board when we have guests!