Beauty And Function, Butcher’s Block Chopping 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.

Butcher blocks can be made with the wood grain perpendicular to the top of the block (end grain) or with the grain of the wood parallel to the top of the block (edge grain). Both methods make a durable butcher’s block, although end grain is to be preferred.

Although they are more difficult to make and therefore more expensive, the end grain butchers block is the better block. It will keep cleavers sharper longer than other cutting boards. In addition, the block is very tough and long lasting. Repeated blows by meat cleavers do little to harm these blocks. If the surface becomes chipped or damaged, the block can easily be refinished with little of the overall thickness taken away from the block. This invariably makes the best chopping board.

Butchers 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 butcher block would often crack and meat waste and blood could collect in these cracks to form a breeding ground for bacteria. The bonded with glue 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, butcher blocks are considered sanitary.

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