After reading the last post about Ceramic Knives one of our readers asked why Bamboo Chopping Boards are a good idea in the kitchen. Well Sally, this post is for you!

Although it could be argued depending on the use and culture of a chopping board, we believe there are three key elements that make a good chopping board:

1. Hardness
2. Hygiene
3. Eco-Friendly

Hardness – A chopping board fairly obviously needs to be tough enough that you can cut upon it without damaging the board and most of the common materials (glass, marble, plastic, steel, and wood) will suit this purpose. However, if the surface is too hard it can cause damage to knives and this is why a lot of people avoid using glass, marble and steel chopping boards. It’s definitely not fun chipping your new set of ceramic knives on an old marble chopping board.

Hygiene – A good chopping board should be hygienic enough that chopping meat upon the chopping board does not impact human health. While it clearly rules out toxic materials a few studies have suggested that wooden and grass-based chopping boards (including bamboo) are better at repelling bacteria and germs than materials such as plastic.

Eco-Friendly – While perhaps not so much a benefit in the kitchen we believe in a sustainable planet and want to ensure that future generations are able to look back at our civilisation as the ones who kept the planet alive. Bamboo is a naturally occurring grass which grows very rapidly, which prevents over-harvesting and greatly minimises the impact on our Earth.

So based on the key attributes of being a good chopping board, it’s clear that Bamboo comes out ahead.

Hope this answers your question Sally. Feel free to let us know if you have any others!

As the cooking craze sweeps the nation with My Kitchen Rules, Masterchef, and even The Iron Chef we’re all being bombarded with new methods of kitchen wizardry from the finest culinary masters throughout the land.

One sign of a great chef is their ability to handle a knife, and while watching a cooking video passed on by a friend I was amazed at the chef’s ability to slice and dice so quickly and efficiently. After watching the video I just knew that I needed a new set of ceramic knives for the kitchen as my tarnished stainless steel knives seemed fairly inadequate compared to the knives in the kitchen of a true chef.

While I’m pretty convinced that the ceramic knives make me a better cook, I thought I’d list some fun facts for anyone out there comparing them to a stainless steel set. It’s still handy to have a set of stainless steel knives but since getting my ceramic knives I’ve actually been finding reasons to slice things – fresh lightly salted tomato slices for all!

A few facts about ceramic knives…

Ceramic knives are typically made using zirconia and sharpened using a diamond-dust coated grinding wheel – so these should be a lady’s best friend by association.

Ceramic knives are much harder than stainless steel knives so they will keep their sharpness for much longer but will require special tools to resharpen the knife if it ever does become blunted.

Interestingly, an apple or lettuce sliced using a ceramic knife will brown slower than if cut by a stainless steel knife. When cutting with a metallic knife the ions transfer from the steel knife to the food which speeds up the oxidation process.

Similarly, zirconia is not a metal which is why ceramic knives do not rust.

Using a ceramic knife is healthier as the denser surface of the knife will not catch and breed as much bacteria, or odours as a stainless steel knife.

But importantly, ceramic knives should NOT be used for cutting into hard surfaces such as boned meat or as it can cause unwanted chipping.

Hopefully this has helped a few people decide whether they should stick with stainless steel or grab a set of ceramic knives.

If you’ve got any questions about kitchenware, feel free to send ‘em through to us at sales@avancer.com.au