Ref: St. Petersburg Nutritionist
Want to work faster in your kitchen? Leave your cutting board out on the counter.
The year was 1997 and I had just moved into my sweet little Beach Drive apartment in downtown St. Petersburg. The previous tenant left behind this big butcher block that measured about 1-foot by 2 feet. It was lovely. It was useful. It was damn heavy.
So it became mine and after sanitizing it I began chopping everything on it with great joy. And after each use I cleaned it and stored it away under the sink until…..I dropped it on my big toe.
Ouch! My toe swelled up to the size of a Key lime and I decided from then on to leave the cutting board out on the counter.
What happened next, quite organically, was curious. I noticed I got down to the business of cooking faster since I didn’t have to go through the motions of bringing out the cutting board. I also became more willing to scour the fridge for scraps of leftover onion, carrot, pepper, etc. to add to my tuna salad, soup, stir fry, whatever, because all I had to do was grab a knife and go!
When fruit was on its way to overripe, I was more likely to cut it and eat it because of the cutting board’s ready presence. Breads? Slice and go. Meats? Cover with a thin plastic board and go. Hard boiled eggs? Chop and go. Cheese? Nuts? You get it. Everything that requires knife work (and what doesn’t ) is suddenly at your mercy because of this one trick.
Cutting board specs:
At least 12” by 24”
Wood is preferred material
Stays sanitized by warm soapy water.
Plastic covers for meat cutting
Odors are removed with acid like coffee grounds or lemon.