Which wood ?

Which wood is used to make butchers block?

By far and away the most popular wood used to make butchers block is Maple. But – there are numerous alternatives, including Black Cherry, Ash, Red Oak, Lyptus, Black Walnut, and Teak. The original use of Maple was due to the abundance of Maple in North America, where butchers blocks were first made using the technique of gluing smaller pieces of wood together to form a block. Traditionally, a butcher would buy a block at the start of his apprenticeship and the block would last his entire career.

As the wood is chopped into, the surface of the block is sanded off, creating a brand new, bacteria free surface every time. Each butcher’s block is unique, and will slowly shape itself based on the type of butchery being done, how the butcher uses his implements and how often and hard the planing or sanding is done.

A recent trend is to use recycled wood, and I suspect this will happen increasingly as we become more environmentally aware. Plus – the hard woods needed will run out at some point. We are even seeing a new jargon emerge which includes such terms as “rediscovered forest products,” which  adds to the confusion surrounding the Eco friendly movement. Plus some of the marketing is inappropriate and making statements such as “wood is all natural and renewable,” is misleading. Yes – all woods are natural and renewable but some hardwood trees takes as long as 100 years to grow to maturity, and if they are not being replaced – which they are not – because of the length of time needed to see a return on investment, then this is not a renewable resource.

It is possible to make your own cutting boards using reclaimed wood, but the end result is never quite as good as using a commercial cutting board maker because the glue needs to be bonded at high pressure to create a butchers-block solidity. Not practical for an individual.

The hardest woods certainly make the best blocks and these tend to be expensive, especially as they are becoming increasingly difficult to find. The variation in wood coloring and varnishes makes it possible to create unique, individual blocks and even the mass produced stocks tend to have a lot of variation in tones and warmth. Teak is a big favorite – although this is usually used to make counter tops rather than cutting-boards. Cutting boards are often made of lighter colored wood and the food safe oil applied does not give as dark a finish as some of the varnishes applied to kitchen countertops.