With their quintessential good looks, intricate construction and premium prices, end-grain cutting boards are the Ferraris of kitchen accessories.
We have identified the best end grain cutting boards of 2020 to help you to make the perfect choice.
What Makes End-Grain Boards Unique?
End grain cutting boards are highly desirable for two reasons. First, their looks are iconic and bold. Second, they are simultaneously better for both kitchen knife edge retention and board durability.
End grain cutting boards show fewer knife marks, and their forgiving nature doesn’t dull or chip blades either.
The reason is that end grain cutting boards, unlike the more common face grain and edge grain cutting boards, have vertical wood fibers instead of horizontal.
An illustration is helpful in understanding this point.
End grain boards simply perform better by better handling the tradeoff between hardness of wood and knife edge retention.
Best End Grain Cutting Boards
We picked out the ABSOLUTE best of 2020 to help you make the ideal choice for YOU. To better understand why we made these choices, check out our buying guide. It’s one of the best on the internet.
See detailed reviews below.
Best Overall – Sonder Los Angeles Teak End Grain Cutting Board
Looks, price, innovative features and knife-friendliness…this board has it all. It comes in a medium color teak wood (pictured below) and is available in a darker walnut wood as well.
Teak cutting boards are most notable for for their knife “friendliness” and stylish look that makes the wood grain absolutely pop.
Teak is softer than both bamboo and maple and is excellent for edge retention, meaning you will be sharpening your knives less frequently.
This highly versatile board is reversible (e.g., you can use one side for vegetables and the other side for meats to avoid cross contamination) and can also be used as a serving tray. It has three built in compartments on one side. These can either be used to hold different vegetables when chopping or different snacks if using as a serving tray.
The rubber feet are removable. At just under a foot and half long and 1.5 inches thick, the Sonder is big enough to handle most jobs and small enough to fit on most countertops.
What I like:
- Beautiful look that brings out the character of the wood
- Medium color works with a wide variety of kitchen decors
- Most knife friendly board in our roundup
- Reversible with built-in handles
- Innovative 3 compartments that make food prep and serving easier
- Lower profile than some boards (1.5 inches) for easier maneuverability
- 1 year hassle free replacement warranty
- Comes in very nice gift packaging.
What I Don’t Like:
- Too heavy for some activities (e.g., lifting with one hand to scrape cut meats and veggies into a pan.
Sonder provides an easy to follow set of care instructions.
Best Overall II – Sonder Los Angeles Walnut End Grain Cutting Board
This is the exact same board as discussed above, except that it comes in walnut instead of teak wood. The biggest difference is the color. Walnut is a dark wood where is teak is a medium color.
The other difference is that a walnut board is slightly harder than a teak board. On a Janka hardness scale, walnut is approximately 15% harder than teak. This means that it will dull your knives slightly faster, but on the plus side, show slightly fewer knife marks.
However, teak and walnut are close enough in performance terms that you can feel comfortable simply choosing which color you like best.
Both of these boards are absolutely top notch. Sonder is a small business that offers made in the U.S.A. products to boot.
Best Runner Up – Top Notch Bamboo End Grain Cutting Board
Top Notch Kitchenware’s medium sized bamboo cutting board is a crowd favorite.
At approximately 16 x 12 x 1.5 inches and 6 pounds, this board is especially well suited for apartments and smaller kitchens.
I’m a big fan of bamboo. It is very eco-friendly with a harvest cycle of 3-5 years versus 20+ years for trees. It also produces up to 35% more oxygen. This means that in addition to all its great features, the Top Notch provides a feel good factor as well.
All in all, Top Notch’s product is an excellent introduction to end grain cutting boards.
What I like:
- Made of organic and sustainable (fast growing) bamboo
- Is reversible and doubles as a serving tray
- Lightest weight board in our roundup for those whom weight is an issue (e.g., arthritis)
- Has all the expected features: Non-slip, rubber feet base, built-in handles and juice grooves
- Non-porous surface limits bacteria growth
- Really well reviewed.
What I Don’t Like:
- Smaller size (16 x 12) not suitable for larger cuts of meat
- Rare reports of warping and cracking
- Less knife friendly than maple, cherry, walnut and teak (note: this is partially offset by being an end grain board).
Best Chopping Block – Michigan Maple Block
If you’re looking for an iconic “chopping block,” look no further than the Michigan Maple Block Company which was founded in the early 1880’s. Their End Grain Chopping Block has a classic, minimalist look with no handles, juice grooves or even logos. It’s simply a work of minimalist kitchen art.
Measuring 20 x 15 x 3.5 inches and weighing in at 25+ pounds, the Michigan Maple End Grain Chopping Block won’t move or slide and is designed to last a lifetime. This is your go to board for heavy duty applications like chopping, cleaving and deboning.
It cleans up well with soap and water and is easily maintained with routine applications of mineral oil or suitable creams.
This is one of the best cutting boards made in the U.S.A., and the company has a great reputation for customer service.
What I like:
- Classic, iconic look
- Great balance of knife-edge retention and board life (i.e. not scarring)
- Can handle all food prep applications like chopping large, tough cuts of meat
- Weight limits slippage, increasing kitchen safety
- National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certified
- Excellent customer service reputation
- One year manufacturer’s defect warranty.
What I Don’t Like:
- No handles or feet
- Heavy weight (25+ pounds) makes this a non-starter for some people.
Best Hard Wood Board – La Mongoose Acacia End Grain Cutting Board
The La Mongoose is the darkest end grain cutting board in our review. Its medium darkish hue falls somewhere between teak and walnut.
This board is average in terms of size and weight. What is not average is the hardness of the wood. It checks in at just over 50% harder that the Sonder LA teak board and 27% harder than our bamboo runner up.
The plus side is that it will not scratch easily. The downside is you may have to sharpen your kitchen knives more frequently.
Believe it or not, acacia is actually a member of the pea family. It’s more of a shrub than tree and provides much of the same eco-friendliness as bamboo.
Other than that, the Mongoose is just a good, solid cutting board that customers really love.
What I like:
- Very hard wood for those who want their boards to last a long time
- Nice alternating checkerboard look
- Non-porous surface limits bacteria growth
- Very eco-friendly
- Definitely a fan favorite
- One year manufacturer’s defect warranty.
What I Don’t Like:
- Has a logo on the cutting surface (this is a matter of preference)
- Will have to hone and sharpen your knives more frequently.
How To Select the Perfect End Grain Cutting Board
Many consumers buy boards just based on price with little thought. They fail to fully consider the type of cooking they actually do and other aspects such as safety and their tolerance for routine knife maintenance.
Key Considerations
- Boards vs blocks – Butcher blocks are heavy (around 20 pounds) and intended to stay stable when chopping, deboning and quartering meats. Cutting boards are lighter and easier to move around.
- Type of wood – Soft woods are better for keeping knives sharp. Examples include cherry, Japanese cypress (hinoki), larch, teak and walnut. Harder woods are more board friendly and hygienic. Bamboo, acacia, (some) maple and olive are harder woods. See our detailed overview of the most common woods used.
- Color of wood – Teak and walnut are darker while bamboo, hinoki, larch and maple are very light.
- Budget – Butcher blocks cost substantially more than traditional cutting boards of quality. Hinoki, larch, teak and walnut tend to cost more, while bamboo and (many) maple boards are more affordable.
Note of Caution for New Buyers
There are some products, like Bluetooth speakers and knives, where the leading brands/products have near-perfect reviews. Take steak knives as an example. Steel is a commodity where exact alloys can be specified with great precision. Once sellers have identified what consumers want, they can reproduce it perfectly…every time.
End-grain cutting boards are made out of wood and no two pieces are ever the same. Add in the fact that the construction is very intricate, i.e. binding many small pieces of wood together, and you get a slightly higher defect rate than “normal.”
Even the best offers from the best companies can warp or crack. The rate is more in the range of 3%, versus less than 0.5% for highly standardized products. In reality, this is not a big deal as the overwhelming majority of customers are delighted with their purchase, and the best companies all have generous return and warranty policies.
Plus, we picked out the absolute best, so you don’t have to worry.
Board Care
Upon receipt of your new end grain cutting board, give it a good hand washing and let it dry. Although most are already conditioned to some degree, it is always good to apply a food grade mineral oil to both sides and let it soak overnight.
John Boos Mystery Oil is a tried and true choice. Repeat this every few months or earlier if the board appears dry.
None of these boards are dishwasher safe, nor should they be soaked for prolonged periods of time in water. Doing so can cause warping and / or cracking. A simple hand wash will suffice if preparing ready to eat foods.
If you are preparing foods that carry a high-risk of bacteria (e.g., raw chicken), clean with wood-safe anti-bacterial disinfectants or a white vinegar solution.
See our Care Guide for more details.
Benefits of End Grain Cutting Boards
In summary, there are six main benefits of end grain cutting boards:
- Knife friendly (vertical grains dull knives less)
- Board friendly/durable (vertical grains limit knife marks)
- Bold, iconic looks
- Safer (typically heavier and prevent slippage/knife cuts)
- Premium product with a wide array of features available (rubber feet, juice grooves, reversibility, etc.)
- Available in all types of woods.
While the list of benefits is long, there are a couple of drawbacks, including price and potential cracking (many individual pieces are glued together).
Conclusion
End grain boards are classics made for heavy work in the kitchen. If you cook meats frequently, have expensive knives or just simply like the iconic looks, an end grain board may just be for you.
They are simply the top of the line, and the best ones will last for years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common “special” features?
While these don’t always align with price or quality, the most common special features are handle grips, juice grooves and rubber feet. Also “reversibility,” i.e. being able to use both sides, is a great thing to have.
Is slippage while cutting an issue?
Rarely. Most end grain cutting boards are heavy, and some have rubber feet on the bottom to prevent slippage. Plastic cutting boards are much more likely to slip. That said, always be careful chopping or deboning large cuts of meats as that is when people are most likely to be injured.
How often should I oil my board?
New cutting boards require more frequent care in the beginning until “seasoned.” Many people will oil them daily for the first week. After that and in the first 2-3 months, I try to oil them monthly. Every 3 – 6 months is a good maintenance schedule. Of course, anytime you see dryness, don’t hesitate to grab some board oil.
What is the most common problems associated with end grain cutting boards?
Their intricate construction basically consists of gluing several little pieces of wood together. A few boards will “crack” at the seams. The failure rate for better quality boards is less than 3% – 5%. Warping can also be a problem where the board will not lay flat on a countertop.
What is the most reason for returns?
One very common reason is size. These boards can weigh from 5 to 15 pounds and butcher blocks up to 50 pounds. Sometimes people are not aware of the weight when they order and return them for a smaller, lighter cutting board.
I hate sharpening knives, which type of end-grain cutting board should I buy?
Obviously a softer wood is better. I personally like teak. Cherry, Hinoki (Japanese Cypress), Larch and Walnut would all work well.
I have expensive Japanese knives. Does an end-grain cutting board make sense for me?
Absolutely. Japanese knives have a very fine cutting angle (usually 16 degrees) and are made out of very hard steel that can be brittle. Hence, they need a very soft cutting surface. Teak and Larch would be very good bets for you. Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) is probably the best bet, but those are usually traditional, not end grain, cutting boards.
I hate a scratched up board and don’t mind sharpening my knives, which board should I buy?
The hardest, and therefore most scratch resistant, woods are Acacia, Maple, Bamboo and Olive. The latter is not commonly used in end grain cutting boards.
Can I put these boards in the dishwasher?
Absolutely not! They will warp and lose their immaculate finish.
How hygienic are these?
Any dishwasher safe option is more hygienic than one that is not. The reason wood cutting boards have to be carefully washed is that bacteria can get into indentations from knife scars. Couple that with the fact that wood cutting boards are often moist, and you can have an environment to cultivate germs.
The key is to wash vigorously after each use. I also recommend using a plastic board for raw chicken and the riskiest of fish.
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