Kitchen Stuff: A Good Sturdy Cutting Board

In a small kitchen, you don’t need a lot of equipment to cook great food. Still, you do need some pots, pans, utensils, and dishes–obviously. In the BGSK book, you’ll find a bare bones list of necessary equipment, but I’ve long wanted to bring you a similar resource on the web.

So we’re going one by one, stocking up our virtual pantries and maybe our real ones too.

In the last column, I talked about the chef’s knife, and today I want to move on to its partner, the cutting board, which is not very glamorous but is quite essential to comfortable, efficient prepping. I own a few cutting boards-some wood, some plastic. But if I had to pick just one, I’d go for a thick, stiff board like this OXO Good Grips Cutting Board. Thin boards that fold up for pouring or storage are just no good for chopping-they’ll slip around your counter as you go. So sturdy it is.

In terms of size, you’ll have to adjust your expectations to fit your counter size. A big board is preferable, not least because you can use it like a portable countertop. But if small is all that fits, that’s okay too. Also, if we’re being idealistic, you’ll want to invest in 2 to 3 cutting boards, so you can cook with a friend or prep meat and fish on one and veggies on another.

Of course you’ll pull out your cutting board virtually every time you cook, but you’ll vastly prefer your time in the kitchen with a good-quality cutting board when the dish you’re making calls for tons of minced garlic - like this delicious Garlic Bread.