What To Look For When Purchasing Butcher Block
You may have seen butcher block before. These sturdy durable cutting surfaces are excellent because they are reasonably priced, long lasting and easy to find. It is simply how you want to incorporate them into your home that can be a problem.
Butcher block got its name from where it was first used. This material was a favorite of butchers who loved the fact that it could handle being hit with a heavy knife. As well, it was so heavy that when it came time to resurface the block, it didn’t matter how many times you did so since it never got any thinner. Butcher block was traditionally well over four inches thick, which made it extremely durable and long lasting.
Advantages to butcher’s block include its versatility. You can get counter tops made of butcher block as well as individual cutting boards. There are two different types of butcher’s block including end grain, where the wood grain is perpendicular to the surface of the board, and edge grain, where the grain is parallel to the surface of the block.
How is the board formed? This can be an influence on how you will use the board in your home. If you will be doing a lot of prep work, consider an end grain block. Because the wood fibers in these boards are perpendicular to the surface of the board, they absorb the force of knife blows and will not dull the edge of the knife. They are also harder to mark on the surface. This can be great if you are someone who does not want to have to worry about resurfacing and conditioning your board any more than is necessary.
Edge grain butchers block is the kind that many people are used to. This is the style that many see when they picture butcher’s block. It is made of long slats of wood that often run the length of the block and the look is very similar to that of wood flooring.
Butcher block is superb because it can be refinished repeatedly and requires very little care or maintenance. If you are using a butchers block cutting block, it is not advisable to let it soak in water. This is because the pieces of wood are stuck together with glue or other adhesives and by soaking it you can allow water to weaken the joins between the pieces of wood. As well, you don’t want water to soak into the wood since this can cause it to swell and this will also make the board weaker and it will be damaged more easily.
You need to know what kind of oil the wood has been treated with. Butcher block needs to be treated with oil to keep the wood pliable and conditioned so that it does not break or splinter. There are a number of different oils that wood can be treated with and some can be toxic if they are ingested. That is the last thing you want if you are using it to prepare food on.
If you have decided to incorporate butcher block into your home, you should think whether you want to use a separate cutting board. If you are resurfacing your cabinets, consider using butcher’s block for all or a part of your counter top. This way you have the richness and beauty of wood with the versatility of having a counter long cutting surface to prep food on. Whatever your choice, you should know that you can enjoy the beauty and durability of a butchers block for years to come.
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