Anyone used a granite chopping board?

[Merlin5]

I was thinking of buying one but quite a few people say granite kills knives, completely blunts them. Should I steer clear? I don't really want another wood board. What about glass?

 

[Merlin5]

If you like your knives then you will purchase a decent wooden chopping board anything from £20+ would be a good starting point. If you want to have a glass or stone chopping board then get one of those but be warned, using them to chop anything is horrible and you will spend a lot of time sharpening your knives.

So speaking from personal experience, you should only be considering a wooden board.

Must it be from £20 upwards? There's a few wood butchers blocks, 40 x 30 x 5cm for under that, won't they be ok?

 

[Merlin5]

If you have decent knives, then chop on wood. Glass will be just as bad.

What's the trouble with wooden boards? Are you not oiling them and then finding they're going nasty or something? You need to maintain them, as you would your knives.

I just wanted something to contrast my new worktop which is a beech finish. Plus my new kitchen units are gloss black, so black or dark grey granite would have looked nice.

 

[Merlin5]

I have both a massive wooden board (though not expensive) and a granite board. The granite one was dead cheap too, from Argos of all places: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8423689.htm

Weighs a ton and looks good. I only use it for soft meats like chicken and steak as it wipes clean easier. However what I use for the most is as a rest for pots, pans and baking trays and also for the centre of the table when serving hot things like pies and paella etc.

That's actually the very one I was going to buy. I don't have expensive knives, just a basic serrated bread knife and a couple of other knives.

 

[Merlin5]

No it doesn't need to be.

I recommend you spend a bit more because typically the more expensive ones are thicker/more solidly constructed and therefore won't warp over time (saving you money in the long run)

If you can get a nice one for cheaper and you look after it you'll be fine.

Yeah, my last butchers block wasn't expensive and it did warp as I didn't keep it dry or use oil on it.

I personally much prefer plastic chopping boards. I have a set of 4 colour coded Joseph Joseph ones, really nice to cut on and good for the knives.

They look great too in the enclosure they come with

I might actually consider plastic ones.

 

[Merlin5]

I found the perfect board! Thanks for your replies everyone. rG-tom put me in the right direction in the end. I'm gonna go buy this Joseph Joseph one from John Lewis, £18. Looks great in the photo and good size and depth too.

Brand Joseph Joseph
Dimensions L37.5 x W29.5 x D2.5cm
Material Polypropylene

The enhanced version of Joseph Joseph's popular Cut and Carve; a double sided, multi function chopping board, which now boasts non slip feet and soft grip sides.
Its angled cutting surface is designed to assist in the collection and drainage of liquids or food and has a new improved integral meat grip to assist when carving. The reverse side of the board provides a smooth cutting surface for general food preparation.

 

[Merlin5]

That looks very nice, I usually end up propping my board up with something spare over the lip of the sink when I'm letting meat rest. Where are you getting this from and how much does it cost (might end up on my Christmas list).

The only thing about it is, according to several john lewis reviews, is that it marks badly. The response from john lewis is "The Joseph Joseph Cut & Carve Plus is designed to minimise damage to your knives, so the board takes the impact rather than the knife. I hope this explains why you may have deeper cuts in the board than you were expecting." So I don't know how long it'll last before it looks crap. Might still go for it though.