After purchasing a great chef’s knife, the next kitchen tool that comes to mind is a cutting board. This product offers a flat, robust surface for prepping your ingredients while protecting your plates and counters from getting scratched.
Also, a cutting board doubles well as an excellent trivet when handling hot pans and pots. Plus, it comes in handy when you have a lazy feeling as a plate. This multipurpose, must-have kitchen tool is available in different sizes and material options. Thus, making choosing the right cutting board a bit tricky and overwhelming.
Fortunately, we’ve picked the top 5 best walnut wood cutting boards to help you carve a turkey or lime to garnish your food.
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Reviews of the Top 5 Best Walnut Wood Cutting Board to buy
Top 1 – Virginia Boys Kitchens Extra Large Walnut Wood Cutting Board Chopping and Carving Countertop
Our top choice is Virginia Boys Extra Large Walnut Wood Cutting Board featuring an alluring dark brown shade, which makes it a magnetic home decor piece to opt for without being marred by inefficiency. With such a charming design, this model easily makes a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, couple’s housewarming parties, bridal showers, holidays, weddings, anniversaries, or a best friend’s birthday.
Its rich chocolate hue allows this cutting board to be used as a cook’s presentation piece for tastefully-presenting pizzas, sushi, cheese platters, bread, charcuterie, and more. Further, this unit features porous, soft straight grains of walnut wood, which offers a cutting surface that helps retain your blades sharpness.
That’s not all: this unit features an expertly carved juice groove around the edges to trap runaway liquids, which makes it ideal for chopping vegetables, slicing fruits, carving meats, dicing herbs, and lots more.
On top of that, Virginia Boys Extra Large Walnut Wood Cutting Board comes preseasoned to offers a safe cutting surface and allows users to use straight out of the box. This model is a thick, sturdy block with a reversible design that won’t splinter, crack, or warp. Best of all: it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee to assure customers of satisfaction.
Pros:
- Long-lasting durability
- Knife-friendly cutting surface
- Elegant and versatile design
- 100% money-back guarantee
Cons:
- Best to sand this cutting board before use
Top 2 – John Boos WAL-R01 Walnut Wood Edge Grain Cutting Board
John Boos WAL-R01 Walnut Wood Cutting Board is our runner up and measures 18-inch long, 12-inch wide, and 1.5-inch thick. This made-in-the-USA cutting board is made by skilled craftspeople using sustainably sourced, solid American Black Walnut Wood. Sure enough, this board delivers incredible performance and safe use.
As our top choice, the unit is reversible, which means you can use both flat sides as cutting surfaces. It has also integrated hand grips on both ends to allow unchallenging cleaning, moving, and lifting of this versatile cutting board.
Regularly applying Boos oil and cream handouts an extra protective layer attenuates bacterial interaction time with the cutting surface. Even better, this model is backed by a generous 1-year guarantee manufacturer. Besides, wooden cutting boards are knife-friendly compared to plastic boards that tend to dull knives more quickly.
Pros:
- Safe for fine cutlery
- Durable, reversible design
- Made from solid American Black Walnut Wood
- One year guarantee
Cons:
- Lacks a juice groove design
Top 3 – Round Walnut Wood Cutting Board
Another spot, another cutting board from Virginia Boys; this unit features an appealing design. This model differs from Virginia Boys Extra Large Walnut Wood Cutting Board in terms of shape. This round cutting board comes in a round shape and a rich chocolate hue to complement any kitchen decor.
This board does more than just help prep your food ingredients. It doubles as a serving board to present your tasteful sushi, pizzas, breads, cheese platters, charcuterie, and more. Again, this unit’s cutting surface features porous, soft straight grains of walnut wood to avert blunt knives.
Even better, Round Wood Cutting Board by Virginia Boys ensures a mess-free cutting experience thanks to its expertly-carved juice groove along the edges to catch runaway liquids. Thus, this board is perfect for dicing herbs, chopping vegetables, slicing fruits, carving meats, mincing, and many more.
What’s more? This cutting board comes preseasoned with finishing wax or seasoning oil. Plus, it gets better with every use and offers more control of whatever goes into your board. This model is made from non-endangered Black Walnut Wood, which means this unit won’t crack, warp, or splinter.
Pros:
- Reversible design
- Thick and sturdy to last for years
- Knife-friendly cutting surface
- 100% money-back guarantee
Cons:
- Needs to be sand for a smoother surface
Top 4 – John Boos Block WAL-B12S Walnut Wood Edge Grain Cutting Board
This is a square-shaped cutting board designed for slicing, cutting, and chopping bread, cheese, vegetables, and more. It also doubles as serving boards for tastefully presenting cheese, sushi, Hors d’oeuvres, and cookie assortments.
This model is available in both walnut and maple wood. The walnut version comes in a deeper brown hue, while the maple wood tends to be lighter in color. These cutting boards have four elevated bun feet, which keeps the cutting board off the table and countertops.
Plus, these bun feet make using John Boos Block WAL-B12S Walnut Wood Edge Grain Cutting Board comfortable to use and doubles well as hosting and serving pieces. This cutting board offers a flat and smooth cutting surface for mincing, dicing, slicing, chopping, and more.
The John Boos Block WAL-B12S Walnut Wood Cutting Board sports an edge grain construction and is crafted to meet the culinary professional’s durability and food safety requirements.
Pros:
- Versatile cooking board
- Impressive durability
- Four buns for comfortable use
- Appealing design
Cons:
- Lacks a reversible cutting surface
Top 5 – Reversible Walnut Cutting Board with Grips
Last on our list of the best walnut wood cutting boards is John Boos Reversible Walnut Cutting Board. This unit is crafted from hard black walnut to assure users of long-lasting performance.
This commercial-quality cutting board has a hand grip to allow easier maneuvering and handling. Like most products from John Boos, this model features an edge grain construction.
That’s not all: this model features a reversible design, which means users can cut, chop, and slice on either side of the cutting board. Its natural oil finish offers a smooth cutting surface and a quick cleanup experience.
Pros:
- Edge grain construction
- Reversible cutting board design
- Features hand grips for easy handling
- Quick cleanup
Cons:
- Poor quality control
What should I look for when buying a walnut wood cutting board?
The cutting board tends to influence your cooking in general. It’s hard to picture a kitchen without this product, and it’s just as important as owning the right knife set. To make cutting, slicing, dicing, and chopping easier, you need to choose the right cutting boards.
But there are different options based, which makes choosing the right board a bit tricky, and here are a couple of factors to consider before making a choice.
Design
While it’s great to have highly functional cutting boards, a model that looks and compliments when hung in the kitchen is just as important. Some cutting boards have an alluring design that allows users to use the product as a serving board to serve your friends finger foods.
Cutting boards that offer the best of both worlds are usually made of solid wood. Besides, it looks perfect in a classic or rustic kitchen. If you need a durable and nice cutting, we recommend purchasing the walnut wood cutting board. They are a perfect addition to any kitchen and ideal for cutting cheese, fruits, or vegetables.
Size
Another factor to bear in mind is the cutting board’s size when trying to pin down the right one. Generally, large-sized boards are the go-to. A wide cutting surface allows you to cut both smaller and larger food items and features a drip groove for catching juices to ensure a mess-free cutting experience.
Cleaning
If you hate to spend extra time in the kitchen cleaning up, then it’d be best to consider plastic cutting boards since they are dishwasher safe. Also, some models that are made of wood can be easier to clean with few wipes.
Sanitation
When trying to pin down the right cutting board, the formation of bacteria is one thing to consider. Here is where wooden models take the lead. Unlike plastic models, wood models feature natural antibacterial properties.
While a plastic cutting board is an ideal choice for meats, its porous surface allows juice to penetrate under it. They are also more likely to deteriorate, which means getting rid of the bacterial can be more challenging.
Cost
Based on the price point, the plastic cutting board offers the cheapest price point. High-quality wooden cutting boards are crafted from hard Marple, walnut wood, or any other type of hardwood, usually on the pricier side. If you’re on a budget or looking for an economical choice, then you should opt for the plastic version.
Type of knives
Whatever cutting board you decide to go for, it should be easy on the set of your knives. Therefore, it’s important to stay away from glass models, and some plastic versions can be hard on knives. Wooden cutting boards are a perfect choice to help retain your knives edge.
FAQs
Is black walnut safe for cutting boards?
When it comes to wooden models, purchasing the hardest wooden cutting board might not be the best option. Janka hardness test is used to measure the hardness of the wood. At the peak is Australian Buloke rating 5060, and on the low end is the Balsa rating 70.
A cutting board made of the hardest wood tends to dull your knife’s cutting edge quickly, while the softest wood will absorb liquid and make a good breeding ground for bacteria.
The optimal hardness for cutting boards lies within 900 – 1500 of the Janka range. Using this as a reference point, black walnut rates 1010, making this wooden material an ideal choice for cutting boards.
Best woods for cutting boards?
Maple
Both hard and soft maple are decent choices for cutting surfaces. The former measures 1,450 lbf on the Janka scale and is an industry-standard when it comes to cutting boards. Also, they are more impact- and scratch-resistant than teak and beach. Plus, it won’t go hard on your knives.
Beech
This wood measures 1,300 lbf on the Janka scale and offers a food-safe, closed-grained cutting surface that won’t damage your knives. It offers a superior impact and scratch resistance than other options except for hard maple. Beech has small pores, making them almost as practical as maple at warding off stains, moisture, and bacteria.
Teak
This material boasts a hardness rating of 1,070 lbf, making it hold up better to impacts and scratches. Sadly, teak comes at a high price, considering it’s a tropical closed-grained hardwood. Sadly, it features large pores, which makes it more susceptible to stains, moisture, and bacteria than walnut, beech, or maple.
Walnut
For the close-grained hardwoods, the walnut is the softest and very unlikely to go hard on your knives. However, it’s best to use this cutting board with caution to prevent dents or scratches. This food-safe wood has medium to large pores; thus, offering more resistance to moisture and bacteria than teak.
More so, walnuts do not shrink like beech or maple and only require conditioning a few times in a year. Even better, its rich chocolate-colored hue will complement your kitchen decor and easily mask stains.
Conclusion
Now, it should be easier to make a choice. But if you are still struggling to pin down the right model, then consider the Extra Large Walnut Wood Cutting Board by Virginia Boys. It features an alluring design, sturdy construction and offers a food-safe cutting surface. Also, consider our buying guide section to ensure you make an informed decision.