TIL that bamboo cutting board I ragged on for years actually outlasted my fancy End Grain board

I was always the guy saying bamboo boards were too hard, dulled knives, just a gimmick. Bought a $150 end grain walnut board from a local shop in Austin 4 years ago, treated it like a baby. Thing warped after 2 humid summers, split right down the middle last month. Meanwhile that $20 bamboo board my mom gave me in 2019? Still flat, no cracks, barely any knife marks. I finally sharpened my knives again and used the bamboo board for a week straight, cuts feel fine, maybe a tiny bit more sound but not dulling faster. So yeah, I was dead wrong about bamboo being trash, turns out the maple syrup of cutting boards was the real deal all along. Anyone else get proven wrong by a cheap fix that just wouldn't die?

2 comments

2 Comments

williams.sage15d ago

You are completely wrong about bamboo being better in the long run. That cheap board might seem tough now but wait another year or two and it will start splintering at the edges from all the moisture it traps inside. End grain walnut is a premium item that needs proper care like oiling and keeping it away from humidity extremes. Your board cracked because you probably let it sit in a damp kitchen or didn't condition it right, not because the material is bad. Bamboo is actually harder on knives over time because of the silica in the fibers, you just haven't used it enough to notice the difference yet. A well made end grain board will last decades if you treat it right, bamboo is disposable no matter how flat it stays.

lunaw7215d ago

Ha, yeah but bamboo doesn't need all that fussy maintenance either!