Beauty And Function, Butcher Block Cutting Boards

As the name implies, a butchers block was originally a tool used by a butcher. The block is made of wood, commonly sugar maple, that has been bonded with glue together to form a thick block for cutting meat. The best butcher block is invariably made from hard woods.

There are two types of butcher block, one made when the wood grain is perpendicular to the top of the block called end grain butcher block and another made when the grain of the wood is parallel to the surface of the block called edge grain butcher’s block.

The reason for preferring end grain butcher’s block is that they keep your cutting tools and other cutting instruments sharper. Most end grain blocks are at least four inches thick, thus they are both tough and durable. Repeated blows by cleavers do no significant harm to these blocks. Occasionally, the surface has to be re-planed and re-oiled, but with the great thickness, the block continues to be useful for a lifetime. This invariably makes the best chopping board.

Butcher’s blocks constructed with edge grain are usually not as thick as end grain blocks. They do not allow the cutting tools to land between wood fibers and thus make them dull sooner.

Up until the 1880s, butcher cut meat on tree rounds, which were a section of a tree trunk that was set on legs. These predecessors of the butchers block would often crack and meat waste and blood could collect in these cracks to form a breeding ground for bacteria. The stuck construction of the butcher block makes cracking much less likely. Maple Wood provides the right hardness for durability, yet is not so hard as to dull knife blades. Even with today’s high standards, butchers blocks are considered sanitary.