Material Used in Epicurean Cutting Boards

[Sam Yount]

My wife recently purchased a Epicurean Cutting Board. They seem to be pretty popular. (http://www.epicureancs.com/cutting-boards.php) I have been looking at the material and am thinking about other projects I could build with that material. Is seems to be a fairly hard composite wood product. Does anyone know what the material is? Where can you get it?

[David Shepherd]

Here is a link to a bit of history. The material was first developed for commercial skateboard ramps by a company called TrueRide. The cutting boards were scrap from this. http://www.epicureancs.com/about.php Their website says it is a blend of recycled wood fibers and food safe resin. Judging by the market acceptance of the Epicurian line, my guess is that they are making more money on the cutting boards than the skateparks. I don't know where you can buy this product.

[Prashun Patel]

Trex? I bet it's not significantly different from composite decking material.

[Peter Kelly]

http://www.richlite.com

Same stuff, available in several thicknesses and colours. I don't recommend it for counter tops btw.

[Sam Yount]

Thanks. This looks like the stuff. I'm seeing $370 for a 4x8 sheet of 1/4". Ouch.

Sam

[Mark Bolton]

Trex? I bet it's not significantly different from composite decking material.

It would have to be far more dense than trex to stand up to cutting, or skate, board use. Trex is "fluffy" and far more plastic and air than wood regardless of the percentage of wood content.

I for one cant seem to get my head around these type products but their popularity is of no surprise. I quit using non-stick teflon pans perhaps 15 or more years ago when I began to think about the bits and pieces, and what was being absorbed by my food each time I cooked in one because I was simply too lazy to scrub a pan. They do wear out, and that wear material is going partially down your drain when you wash them but mostly in your cells. Now Teflon pans are in the forefront of health concern. Plastic cutting boards, while they may have some slight benefit with regards to cross contamination and bacterial growth, have the same issues. Every time you use one, whether you like it or not, you are ingesting small amounts of plastic. All the cuts and scratches in a plastic cutting board represent pieces you have more than likely eaten and not excreted. In both cases compounds in these materials are retained in the human body because it has no way to deal with many substances which should have never been there in the first place. We in the US are ten or fifteen miles behind the curve with compounds like BPA, PVC, and so on.

Myself, I have been cooking with cast iron pans, wood cutting boards, stainless steel, ceramic, wood utensils, and the like for my entire life and almost exclusively for the past 15-20 years.

Why in the world, at this stage in our societies well acquired knowledge with regards to foreign compounds in our food and water, would we be allowing our hot or cold food to come in contact with any form of polymers is beyond me. Of course veering off topic here but it does pertain to woodworking, wood spoons/boards/and so on.

Sorry for the rant but it always just strikes me as odd.

[Sam Yount]

https://greencountertopsdirect.com/ Seems like much more reasonable pricing. Any idea if it's the same/similar stuff?

[Chris Friesen]

I'm personally not too worried about basic polypropylene/polyethylene which is what most plastic cutting boards are made of. Also not worried about nylon, which is used in a lot of plastic utensils. None of those three are known to leach anything harmful.

I'm not a big fan of teflon frying pans though, use mostly cast iron and stainless steel.

[Peter Kelly]

https://greencountertopsdirect.com/ Seems like much more reasonable pricing. Any idea if it's the same/similar stuff?

Yes, Paperstone is very similar to Richlite; a really thick piece of high pressure laminate minus the decorative top sheet and melamine overlay. Very durable but the color fades quickly in the sun so I don't recommend it for a counter top.

[Mark Bolton]

I'm personally not too worried about basic polypropylene/polyethylene which is what most plastic cutting boards are made of. Also not worried about nylon, which is used in a lot of plastic utensils. None of those three are known to leach anything harmful.

I'm not a big fan of teflon frying pans though, use mostly cast iron and stainless steel.

Im not concerned with leaching alone or any one thing alone per say. Personally whether we like it or not bits and pieces of all this stuff, these polymers and compounds, wind up in your food, in your gut, your cells. As a chip of plastic goes its really of no concern to me as it will likely pass unscathed. But when cumulative amounts of even very minute particles from all these compounds wind up stuck to the surfaces of your food, then you insert them into a hot oven, pan, or a microwave, they are heated for long periods and things happen which no one in the lab can predict. Right down to the fact that the tip of a plastic spatula repeatedly used in a hot pan gets shorter, pieces are missing, shape is changed, and so on. That material "went" somewhere and I can guarantee you where a good bit of it is Acceptable levels of exposure. Its no different than the beverage industry warning of leaving your drink bottles heating in the sun.

[george wilson]

Stainless steel pans aren't good for you either,I read some time ago.

[Mark Bolton]

Stainless steel pans aren't good for you either,I read some time ago.

Im sure the lower the grade of stainless the more chance you have of exposure to things that make up stainless. Nickel, chrome, etc..