Well it has been a long day; you’re back at home, tired, and certainly hungry. Obviously, you’ll need to do what you do best in the kitchen before you retire. With your vegetables, fruits, meat, and other ingredients at hand, you’re looking forward to a good meal; not so fast! Do you have a cutting or pastry board?
Most kitchen enthusiasts tend to overlook the importance of getting a good pastry board with all its benefits notwithstanding. Whether you’re looking to keep things pristine with some raw meat or trying to second-guess the state of your kitchen, a pastry board ought to be on top of your list. This multipurpose wonder tool can prove to be the difference between an efficient cooking process and a mess in the kitchen.
Lately, there has been a heated debate on which material best suits a pastry board. However, the most important question we ought to ask is how safe the board is in terms of harboring germs and how best it fairs in keeping the knife sharp for longer while staying in optimum condition itself. It should also be strong or thick enough, not only for stability, but to withstand the cutting pressures exerted even by a
meat cleaver. For those using the board for pastries, it should be ideal enough to enable the chef to create good dough with little effort.
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With the growing demand for pastry boards, more brands are now getting into the market and this means more variety in terms of the types and designs available. Some of the common materials used to make pastry boards are wood, plastic, glass, and marble. We’ll get more into this later in the guide, so you’ll know which is best for you.
Other notable considerations to take before you settle on a pastry board include aesthetics, time, and cooking habits. It would only be fair to consider the fact that some kitchens may be too small to allow for a pastry board of a given size to be stored conveniently—you may have a hard enough time storing your
knives. In such cases, it’s advisable to get an average cutting board that can serve multiple functions and with an appealing design to add to the kitchen décor. In regard to cooking habits, consider what you like cooking most. For instance, if you frequently cook meat and poultry, then it’s advisable that you go for boards that are easy to clean with a simple combination of clean water and
dish soap. They shouldn't harbor germs easily to avoid cross-contamination.
Whatever board you go for, sanitation is paramount. It’s advisable to sandpaper the board frequently to smoothen the debris that come about due to the frequent cuts, especially for wood and plastic pastry boards.
Price
You’re looking forward to efficiency in making that dough in the kitchen—but at what cost? Shopping for a good pastry board calls for consideration in terms of price. As much as you may want to go for a cheap pastry board, this can prove costly to you in the long-run due to poor quality.
In regard to quality, there are several factors that affect the price of a pastry board. These include material, design, and size. On material, granite and glass pastry boards usually cost more compared to wood and plastic versions due to their durability and physical appeal, respectively. Similarly, a pastry board with additional features such as feet, grooves, and lips cost more compared to plain versions.
Based on these features therefore, you can expect to find a good pastry board for between $15 for the basic versions and $70 for those with advanced designs and fancier material. This is a far margin, but we’re sure you can see why there’s such a difference now.
Features
When looking for a pastry board, many considerations come into place, especially in regard to its features. Notably, pastry boards come in several variations ranging from cutting boards to pastry variations. However, there are general features that may cut across most of them.
Some of the notable features include:
- Size
- Color
- Design
- Weight
- Feet
- Reverse functions
We will explain how each of these features influences the usability of your pastry board.
Construction and Design
The construction and design you opt for in regard to your pastry board will determine its modus operandi. Different users have varying tastes and cooking habits, and therefore the various designs are meant to cater for these variations. Let's look at a few of these:
- Size: The size of the pastry board you decide to go for is directly proportional to the amount of food being prepared, or in other cases, the size of your kitchen. You don’t want to buy a huge pastry board, only to end up keeping it in storage for lack of space in the kitchen.
- Color: While this feature may not matter much in terms of efficiency, it does add some taste, class, and differentiation when working. Further, the various colors available helps to add to the overall décor of your kitchen when the pastry boards aren’t in use.
- Design: Pastry boards come in different designs. While some are made with droves to help trap juices and other fluids when working, others are simply flat all the way to allow for easy cleaning. Other designs have allowances for handles to help in transportation and storage.
Now, let’s have a word on materials, like we promised:
Wooden cutting boards are mostly preferred by users with frequent cutting needs because they keep the sharpness of your kitchen knife much longer. However, you will need to replace them after some time since they eventually get damaged from the frequent cuts. On the other hand,
plastic pastry boards are also gaining popularity, mostly due to the fact that they are easier to sanitize compared to wooden versions. They also come in different colors for those who may want to own several to differentiate while working.
Marble and
stone boards are mainly used for pastries when rolling out the dough. This is mainly because they have a cold surface that keeps the rolled dough cold.
Performance and Ease of Use
There’s nothing as frustrating as using crude tools in the kitchen; it eventually ends up killing your appetite altogether. As such, pastry boards are made to ease the hassle that is the cooking procedure in various ways depending on the type of cutting board you go for. Notably, most pastry boards feature miniature feet that not only keep the board stable but also prevent it from slipping away while at work. In most cases, these would be made of rubber to ensure a good grip even in wet conditions. Those without feet would, in most cases, be made heavier to keep them in place and withstand the pressure exerted when spreading dough or cutting other cooking ingredients.
Cooking usually involves making various foods at a go. As such, you want to have tools with multifunctional capacities. This explains why most pastry boards are made to be used on both sides, with each side performing its own function. For instance, some are made with one side specifically meant for cutting, clearly with grooves to keep the juices within the board; the other side may be made flat, specifically for making dough. Most importantly, a pastry board should be easy to clean in order to avoid cross-contamination. This explains why a pastry board is clearly dishwasher-safe.
With enough tips on what to look out for in a pastry board, you’re in a better position to look at each model objectively in order to pick out the best. Let us now take a look at the five pastry board models in detail.
Features
Nothing works better than a combination of innovation, design, and technology. Dexas has mastered just that in its bid to revolutionize the industry and make the kitchen a fun place to be. Since it created its first cutting board in Dallas 48 years ago, it hasn’t looked back and is now one of the leading designers and makers of kitchen tools—this includes heat-resistant, silicone items and of course pastry boards. This also makes it one of the leading suppliers of innovative and quality kitchenware to the leading retailers in the world. Its resolve to work with today's trending colors in its products has not only appealed to kitchen enthusiasts, but also lovers of kitchen décor. These weatherproof, durable products are hard to resist for any kitchen warrior worth their salt.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the Dexas Polygranite Pastry Superboard stands out with its faux granite design with a high density, leaving knives sharp even after repeated use. Its construction and superior quality means that this board doesn't splinter, warp, peel, or crack, making it the most ideal board to use with professional knives. Furthermore, it's stain-resistant, lightweight, and non-porous, meaning it will not absorb odor. Entirely made of virgin poly, this board not only complies with FDA regulations but is also dishwasher-safe.
For those who love versatility, you can choose your preferred color and size from the various options available.
There you have it! We believe that we’ve done justice to this review and have given you a better perspective through which you can make the right decision on the best pastry board to go for. Your kitchen yearns for that missing link in the pastry board already. If you’re yet to make up your mind based on the above reviews, you need not worry as you can still check out other pastry board options from the trusted brands we have already reviewed.
