Finest chopping boards for college kids
Heading off to college this autumn? We have chosen among the greatest chopping boards so as to add your uni kitchen packing checklist, examined and reviewed by BBC Good Meals specialists.
For further recommendations on what to pack for college, try our information to one of the best uni kitchen necessities and uncover our assortment of pupil recipes.
Finest chopping boards to purchase at a look
- Finest chopping board set: Joseph Joseph folio chopping board set, £45
- Finest chopping board for households: Salter bamboo chopping board with lip, £29.05
- Finest for design: MasterClass non-slip raised chopping station, £16.48
- Finest chopping board for versatility: Brabantia Tasty+ chopping board set, £22
- Finest eco-friendly chopping board: Smidge Slice chopping board, £17.60
- Finest funding chopping board: Oak & Rope personalised chopping board, from £165
- Finest finances chopping board: ProCook non-slip chopping board, £8
- Finest chopping board for storage: Marks & Spencer hexagonal rectangular massive chopping board, £19.50
- Finest chopping board for presentation: Robert Welch pebble oak chopping board, £42
- Finest massive chopping board: Cole & Mason Berden extra-large acacia wooden board, £50
Finest chopping boards to purchase in 2023
Joseph Joseph Folio chopping board set
Finest chopping board set
The most recent in a complete secure of practical worktop savers from Joseph Joseph, an organization that by no means fails to give you options to niggling kitchen issues. This time, it’s a set of boards for these with space-challenged kitchens.
This ‘library’ resolution retains 4 boards cosy in a slim, upright storage field, which might sit unobtrusively towards a wall or splash-back. In a alternative of two completely different colourways, both brights or greys, each is in a unique shade, so you might determine to maintain one solely for veg, meat or strongly-flavoured meals reminiscent of spices and fish.
Extra like this
The boards themselves are uniformly sized and carried out effectively, their nook ‘toes’ gripping worktops with meals objects held in place because of a subtly textured floor. Select from common (20x30cm) or massive (24x34cm).
There’s area for air to flow into round every chopping board too, so it’s an effective way to maintain boards dry and hygienic as soon as out of the dishwasher – they got here out wanting good as new.
Obtainable from:
Salter bamboo chopping board with lip
Finest chopping board for households
We preferred an excellent design function of this bamboo alternative – an ingenious lip on the entrance edge which butted securely towards the counter to make slicing and chopping protected and safe. It gave a mess-free solution to slide peelings off the sting of the worktop and right into a compost caddy, too.
Meals didn’t slide off the again both, because the board might be flipped to cease cross-contamination – one other upside.
It’s a pleasant dimension for household meals prep, 38x32cm – one of many greater fashions in our choice.
As per the directions, we used coarse salt and a lemon to maintain this no-soak worktop saver scrubbed clear between completely different meals in a single chopping session. Extra hand-washing and drying ensured it stayed fresh-looking with out staining, in comparison with another picket boards we tried.
It has a 5 yr assure when registered, so take care of it and it will likely be a countertop stalwart.
Obtainable from:
Amazon (£29.05)
MasterClass non-slip raised chopping station
Finest for design
This chopping board’s USP is the 2 little detachable containers at one finish. Which means that when you’ve completed chopping, you possibly can simply sweep them into the bathtub and get on with the subsequent process, separating your elements and leaving area on the board. We additionally used it as a bin for peelings. One of many two containers has straining holes, so it doubles up as a sieve or colander, too. Something that saves on washing-up is a winner for us.
There’s a method to be discovered to take away these – you might want to slide them first, then they carry out simply. It signifies that when slotted again, they’re very safe. As an additional bonus, they’ve ml/cup measurements, although as they’re black-on-black, they aren’t all the time straightforward to learn.
The board itself is a impartial gray and pleasantly sturdy. It’s a doddle to scrub. It wipes down very simply – no beetroot stains right here – and you too can put it within the dishwasher.
Obtainable from:
CookServeEnjoy (£16.48)
Brabantia Tasty+ chopping board set
Finest chopping board for versatility
This set of boards by Brabantia gave us a alternative of three nice reducing areas. The most important additionally served (actually) as a lipped tray for serving up meals or transporting cuppas to the subsequent room.
We used it as a breakfast tray – it was the right dimension for bacon sarnies and tea for 2. Flip it over and you’ve got a rock regular board with sufficient area for giant meal prep.
Nesting aspect by aspect contained in the bigger board, the 2 smaller surfaces of our check mannequin had been in several tones of inexperienced and seemed nice within the kitchen. These stayed unblemished it doesn’t matter what we chopped and sliced, repelling smells and stains and saving stray juices within the channels operating round their borders.
Though assured by Brabantia for 5 years, it factors out that sizzling pans shouldn’t be rested on them – bear that in thoughts if you happen to’re liable to plonking sizzling trays on boards straight from the oven.
Obtainable from:
Smidge Slice chopping board
Finest eco-friendly chopping board
There’s tons to love about this hardworking Smidge chopping board. Crucially, it stands out from a sea of lookalikes because it’s produced from sustainable supplies moderately than plastic.
Salvaged paper is compressed to make a rock strong board that may face up to heavy obligation use with out blunting knives. The squishy, detachable silicone corners meant it stayed firmly in place on the worktop. Don’t wish to oil or hand-wash a picket board? This will go straight within the dishwasher.
Obtainable in three sizes, we examined the biggest model, and at a roomy 44x32cm, it got here into its personal when prepping sofrito for a marathon batch cooking session.
Imagine it or not, it’s additionally ovenproof to a temperature of 240C – as soon as we’d ready our bolognese, we gave the board a rinse and used it for heating (and serving) selfmade garlic bread.
Obtainable from:
Harts of Stur (£17.60)
Oak and Rope personalised carving board
Finest funding chopping board
Sure, it’s far costlier than another board right here, however its fashion and high quality are one other stage. It could appear unusual to get excited a few slab of oak, however this expertly handcrafted piece would make a stupendous marriage ceremony present or household heirloom.
These boards are individually fabricated from English oak and hand-carved together with your alternative of phrases on either side of it its chunky 50cm lengths.
Hottest orders learn ‘Mum/Dad’s Sunday Roast’ or give namechecks or start dates, however get as inventive as you want. Oak and Rope wish to make each particular person board bespoke.
One other good contact is a deep, carved channel operating across the edge with a scooped effectively in a single nook, so juices received’t spill if carving on the desk. The grooved ‘spout’ makes transferring liquids into one other vessel straightforward, and insures each final drop from a juicy roast might be poured into the gravy combine.
Whether or not the Christmas turkey or a Sunday rib of beef, this board will make each single carving an event, holding meat in place with screw-in stainless-steel spikes.
ProCook non-slip chopping board
Finest finances chopping board
This little board quickly turned a agency favorite. Straightforward to make use of, light-weight and versatile – all for a really affordable £8.
It has a deal with, is reversible and retains agency on surfaces with out slipping because of rubber corners. Grooves on both aspect led to a narrowed ‘slope’ at one finish of the board, nice for sliding chopped elements right into a pan simply.
In fact, which means a number of fruit or meat juice can leak off the board, so greatest to keep away from utilizing for reducing the Sunday joint. Nonetheless, this cut price carried out effectively, cleansing like a dream within the dishwasher and stashing away snugly within the narrowest of cabinet areas.
Obtainable from:
Marks & Spencer hexagonal rectangular massive chopping board
Finest chopping board for storage
This board is lighter to carry than it appears to be like, and effectively designed for its price ticket.
The helpful seize deal with means it may be hung from a meat hook-style rack – a pleasant choice for storage.
The herringbone alignment of the wooden appears to be like nice, however makes the floor much less easy than others examined, and means it’s extra prone to cut up with heavy, long-term use.
However for now, it withstood our drop check and stayed wanting pristine after a number of chopping, hand-washing (this one’s not for the dishwasher) and splashing with beetroot juice and spiced hen joints, heavy on the turmeric.
Obtainable from:
M&S (£19.50)
Robert Welch pebble chopping board 32cm
Finest chopping board for presentation
In a world of rectangular chopping boards, be pebble-shaped. This feature, from British firm Robert Welch, is made with a easy, strong oak that’s a pleasant different to the same old fashion. It appears to be like nice on show within the kitchen or used to current meals on the eating desk.
Staying unscored after hefty knife use, it wiped down simply and appeared extra water-proof than others when given a radical hand-wash. Nevertheless, to keep away from any warping, we adopted directions to dry it straight afterwards and made certain to not soak or immerse it in water.
Strong oak with a food-safe oiled end, this felt beautiful to deal with, with comfortable, tapered edges. We tried the 32cm model, which was a superb dimension for making and serving lunchtime sandwiches.
There’s a bigger 44cm model, and because it’s surprisingly mild for such a strong board, it might even be a flexible worktop-to-table alternative.
Obtainable from:
Farrar & Tanner (£42)
Robert Welch (£42)
Cole & Mason Berden extra-large acacia wooden carving chopping and serving board
Finest massive chopping board
You’re unlikely to expire of area while you’re utilizing this chunky, strong wooden board, which measures in at a hefty 46 x 34cm. There’s loads of room for chopping a sizeable quantity of greens, so it’s best for these cooking for the plenty. The large floor additionally doubles up as a sexy serving board.
This has one other trick up its sleeve, too: flip it over and the opposite aspect is designed for carving meat, with ridges to gather juices that then stream into the deeper effectively in a single nook. There’s a small area subsequent to the effectively for draining these juices off – one other helpful element.
The board is fabricated from acacia and it’s on the heavy aspect. We had been very nervous when performing the drop check, nevertheless it survived intact. You’ll want to scrub this by hand, nevertheless it scrubbed up effectively and the purple beetroot stains got here out with no drawback.
Obtainable from:
Cole & Mason (£50)
How we examined chopping boards
We examined a consultant pattern of chopping boards produced from wooden, bamboo, plastic and eco-friendly recycled materials and scored them utilizing the next standards.
The Good Meals ‘drop check’: reasoning that over its lifespan, a chopping board suffers a number of knocks and scrapes, we dropped them from knee top to see in the event that they stayed intact.
Additional capabilities and aesthetics: boards are available in all sizes and styles – some with spikes to safe meat, others with knife sharpeners and folding sides. We rated the additional capabilities on whether or not they’re price the additional cash. We poured water over boards with moats to test whether or not the groove captured all of the liquid – in an on a regular basis kitchen, a substandard moat equals wasted meat juices.
No marks: we put every board via a rigorous check of chopping and hacking with a pointy knife to test whether or not the floor was left with irremovable marks. Chopping boards naturally endure wear-and-tear, however we wouldn’t anticipate them to break simply on first use.
Ease of washing: we used beetroot throughout testing to test whether or not the board would soak up colors and odours that may’t be eliminated with heat soapy water.
Which chopping board ought to I purchase?
There are myriad chopping boards to select from. Many individuals like a strong picket board, a few of that are handsome sufficient to double as a serving platter. Wood boards are nice for bread and carving meat – they usually have slightly moat for catching juices.
Nevertheless, they’re extra prone to soak up odours and stains than plastic chopping boards, though arduous wooden is much less absorbent than comfortable. A picket chopping board shouldn’t be uncovered to a number of water as it would warp or crack, and if you happen to’re an actual geek it is best to deal with it with oil to maintain it shipshape.
Teak is a dependable wooden sort, however equally as essential is the fashion of chopping board – one strong piece of wooden could also be extra prone to face up to the check of time than a board made up of a number of layers or items of wooden joined collectively.
Plastic (polypropylene and many others) chopping boards are seldom as engaging as their picket counterparts, however they win on hygiene (and sometimes worth) as they are often colour-coded for explicit duties, as seen in skilled kitchens (crimson for uncooked meat, blue for uncooked fish and so forth) and might face up to rigorous washing and sanitising.
Intelligent new designs embody chopping boards with folding sides, to funnel your chopped meals right into a pan or bowl. Bamboo chopping boards are glorious and sometimes fairly affordable, so we included them in our check.
Whichever board you select, keep in mind to contemplate the duties you’ll be utilizing it for, the place you’ll be storing it, whether or not you desire a deal with in your board to hold it up, and whether or not it’s non-slip, as you don’t need your board skidding in every single place.
Finest knife sharpeners
Finest knife units
Finest bread knives
Finest chef’s knives
Finest meals processors
The way to sharpen knives
For extra of one of the best kitchen tools, go to our critiques part.
Which chopping board do you employ? Depart a remark under…
This evaluate was final up to date in September 2023. You probably have any questions, recommendations for future critiques or spot something that has modified in worth or availability please get in contact at goodfoodwebsite@fast.co.uk.
