Carved boards: types, rules of choice and care

Each housewife has several cutting boards in her kitchen. Such a kitchen accessory can not only be used for its intended purpose, but also be an item for decorating the kitchen and complementing the interior. To give the kitchen a certain style, carved planks made of wood are most often used.

Wooden chopping surfaces can be made from smooth, sanded wood, or be decorated with hand-carved patterns. All wooden boards can be divided into 3 types, which imply the way they are made.

• Solid wood... With this method, a piece of solid wood 3-5 cm thick is polished, given one shape or another, the edges are processed and, if necessary, a carved pattern or drawing is made. Such boards are heavy and expensive. Most often, solid wood is used by craftsmen who make boards by hand.
• Glued wood... These cutting boards consist of 2 or 3 thin layers of wood glued together. Such models are made in mass-production enterprises. They have a low cost, are more susceptible to wear and tear during use.
• End cutting boards. Such solutions are very thick and very massive. Such boards can be recognized by the characteristic arrangement of wood fibers: they run perpendicular to the cut. The end boards are wear-resistant and are used for cutting meat. In addition, knives used to cut food on end boards are less prone to dullness, since the blade of the knife slides along the grain of the wood during operation without cutting them.

Carved wood planks can be made from different types of wood, each of which has both positive and negative characteristics. Most often, cutting surfaces are made from the following breeds.

Such material is available, has a low cost. But due to the high hygroscopicity, a board made of pine will absorb a lot of moisture, gradually swelling and becoming unusable.

This wood is considered the softest, which is why wood carvers most often work with her.

It is also customary to decorate linden products with a carved pattern. Paint or varnish is excellent on this wood., therefore, linden boards are more often used as decorative gizmos than for their intended purpose.

Oak planks will be very heavy and expensive. No carvings or patterns are used on these boards.

This breed is also used in the production of cutting surfaces. But you need to remember that when in contact with water, a birch board will quickly darken and lose its neat appearance.

Is pretty durable and abrasion resistant material. However, beech is capable of absorbing moisture.

Most suitable for daily use planks. Such the material has great moisture resistanceso the board will not deteriorate after washing. And thanks to the heat resistance of larch, the cutting surface can be used as a hot pad.

Wooden cutting surfaces come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The choice of the model should be determined by the purpose. And if you can choose any shapes, sizes and colors for interior decoration, then for work in the kitchen, it is desirable to have several planks of standard sizes.

• Board size 30x50 cm suitable for butchering meat, poultry or fish. It is better if it has a protective coating to avoid absorbing odors and excess moisture.
• Plank size 25x40 cm ideal for slicing cheeses, sausages, vegetables or fruits.
• Instance size 15x20 cm suitable for cutting baked goods.

When buying a particular model you need to consider what it will be used for. Different products will require different boards. For example, a carving product cannot be used to carve fruit. Pay attention to the shape of the board, because you will have to work with it every day. Rectangular products will be most convenient.

It is important that the selected board has a protective coating. Popular and double-sided models: on one side there will be carving, and on the other there will be ordinary wood intended for use.

Basic care for wood carvings consists in completely drying them after contact with water and thoroughly cleaning the recesses in the drawing. Wet wood can darken, bend, smell unpleasant, and mold and mildew due to food debris.

You can find out how to make a carved cutting board with your own hands in the next video.