The product we used:
Parker Asahi Cookin Cut Synthetic Rubber Antibacterial Cutting Board 420x250x13mm
Click here for the product pageA Professional Cutting Board, Now Available For Home Use
The Parker Asahi Cookin' Cut is a cutting board made of synthetic, antibacterial rubber that has all of the qualities that professional chefs love:
- It feels natural, much like a wooden cutting board.
- It's antibacterial, so food prepared on them is always safe for customers to eat.
- It's very durable and doesn't soak up odors like natural wood does.
- It's soft enough to prevent your kitchen knives from dulling.
- It's easy to clean and maintain.
Of course, these are all qualities that us cooking at home enjoy, too. Globalkitchen Japan has offered these fantastic cutting boards in the past, but with this latest release of the Cookin' Cut, it's even easier to buy and fit one into your kitchen. This is the first time that this cutting board is available in 240x210x13mm--perfect for a kitchen with limited counter space. It's also the first time the cream color is available in sizes smaller than 500x250. And the 240x210 is not only compact enough to fit into any kitchen, it's also the most affordable at only ￥6,500. Really, entry into the world of professional cutting boards has never been easier.
Perhaps you're not yet sold on the Cookin' Cut. Even at a mere ￥6,500, the Cookin' Cut is still considerably more expensive than a typical plastic or wooden board. Let's take a closer look at the details and see what the hype is all about.
Natural Feel
The Cookin' Cut is made of rubber, but it is not nearly as soft and "rubbery" as you might expect. Burrfection, in his review of these cutting boards, does a "sound" test on boards from 8mm to 30mm thick. I'll let you be the judge, but to my ears, they all sound very nice and natural. He also doesn't mention the board "gripping" his knives in any way, in constrast to what you might expect from rubber.
One thing to keep in mind: the board can slip a bit while using it (surprising for a rubber board!), but there are solutions for the slipping.
Antibacterial
I'm not an expert, so I don't know if the material of the Cookin' Cut itself kills bacteria, but the board does dry out very quickly, leaving no time for bacteria to make a home on the board.
Durable, Anti-Odor
As we mentioned earlier, the board is surprisingly hard. It's also resistant to cuts from "rolling" and "sweeping" motions. Because it dries out quickly, odors don't have time to seep into the material.
Of course, the material can be stained, but with some easy maintenance (see below) some homes have reported using the same Cookin' Cut for over 35 years, and some professional sushi kitchens have reported using the same boards for over 40 years!
In spite of the stiffness of the material, the rubber still has enough "give" to allow the edge of your kitchen knife to push down into the board. That means your carefully sharpened knives stay sharper for longer.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The Cookin' Cut is very easy to maintain. You can clean it with a rough sponge, you can bleach it, and if the board becomes discolored, you can sand down the board with a special cutting board scraper or simple #100 grit sand paper.
There are a couple of important things to keep in mind.
- Handwash only. The Cookin' Cut isn't dishwasher safe and may warp from the heat.
- Similarly, the board may bend and warp if it is stored upright and at an angle. Either store it flat horizontally or completely straight vertically.
- The board isn't completely heat resistant. As such, don't place hot pots or pans on the Cookin' Cut.
Final Thoughts
If you're ready to take your cut, chopping, and slicing game to the next level, you can't go wrong with the Cookin Cut, especially now that it is so affordable and available in sizes that fit comfortably in any home. See our previous article about the Cookin' Cut to get a closer look at the black (and longer) version, and to learn about how you can DIY a solution to the slipping problem we mentioned earlier.
The product we used:
Parker Asahi Cookin Cut Synthetic Rubber Antibacterial Cutting Board 420x250x13mm
Click here for the product page
