Rubber Cutting Board: Find the Best Board for Your Kitchen
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to start cooking at home more or start eating healthier? If so, we applaud you. The next logical step, of course, is to find the best cutting board to start chopping up those onions, carrots, and all the leafy greens your body loves so much.
The first thing you need to decide on when it comes to cutting boards is the material. Wood cutting boards can be elegantly patterned, and plastic ones are inexpensive and dishwasher-safe. Rubber cutting boards, however, may be your best bet. Keep reading, and we’ll try to convince you. We’ll even throw out some of our favorite rubber cutting boards!
What is a Rubber Cutting Board?
A rubber cutting board is a common kitchen tool made from rubber, a nonporous, elastic material. Rubber can be natural (derived from certain tropical plants) or synthetic (made from various polymers, such as neoprene and styrene-butadiene). Properly cared-for cutting boards provide safe surfaces for food preparation.
Besides chopping, dicing, mincing, or otherwise cutting down foods during the cooking process, you can also use chopping boards to knead dough. There are too many potential uses for rubber cutting boards to list here—let your imagination guide you to Flavortown!
Are rubber cutting boards safe?
Yes. Comparatively speaking, rubber cutting boards are safe. For starters, rubber is nonporous, which means harmful bacteria don’t have any nooks and crannies to hide out in and fester. That also means that knives aren’t going to lose their dullness, which can happen with plastic or marble boards. A sharp knife is safer than a dull one!
Top 5 Rubber Cutting Boards: How We Chose
The five boards that made the cut (get it?) did so based on the following criteria:
- Affordability: Many professional chefs use rubber cutting boards that run several hundred dollars or more. We presumed that you’ll be using your cutting board for pleasure.
- Material: Some retailers try to pass off plastic cutting boards as rubber. Corporate deception is one of the cardinal sins at DGHQ, and we do everything we can to bring you the truth.
- Germ-Fighting Properties: Rubber cutting boards are already cleaner than many other types of cutting boards, but we tried to find ones that also offer antibacterial or antimicrobial properties.
Our Picks
All featured products are chosen at the discretion of the author and DGHQ editors. However, Do Good HQ may make a small affiliate commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1. CapaBunga Rubber Cutting Board
| Material | High-density rubber |
| Price at Publishing | $90–$140 |
| Dimensions | 9” x 12” x 1” or 18” x 12” x 1” |
Some rubber boards don’t have antibacterial properties, but this rubber cutting board from CapaBunga does. You have your choice of small or large, and the material looks remarkably like wood.
Highlights
CapaBunga knows things can get slippery in the kitchen, which is why they added grooves on both sides of its board for easy gripping. We found that especially helpful due to this product’s heft.
Things to Consider
As with many rubber cutting boards, this one is not suitable for the dishwasher. Handwashing can be tedious, but we find it worth it to extend the cutting board’s life.
2. Asahi Rubber SC-103 Cutting Board
| Material | Synthetic rubber |
| Price at Publishing | $80 |
| Dimensions | 23.6” x 11.8” x 0.6” |
If you need a large cutting board, well, you’re in luck. This rubber board from Parker Asahi is nearly two feet long and one foot wide, so you’ll have plenty of room for your vegetables, poultry, cheeses, or whatever else you’re slicing up.
Highlights
We found this cutting board to dry pretty quickly after washing, which was a huge plus. Our knives also loved the board’s surface.
Things to Consider
You’re going to develop some pretty impressive biceps after handling this six-pound board a few times. That wasn’t necessarily a problem for us, but we thought it was worth mentioning.
3. NoTrax Rubber Cutting Board
| Material | Rubber |
| Price at Publishing | $138.75 |
| Dimensions | 9” x 12” x 1” |
Besides staining, a common problem is odor retention. This rubber board from NoTrax, which also uses natural rubber in some of its products, does not seem to have that problem, which was a welcome surprise.
Highlights
The NoTrax rubber cutting board is available in one-inch or half-inch thickness. We find the half-inch board to be just fine, but it’s nice to have the option of an even sturdier product.
Things to Consider
NoTrax touts this product as being American-made, which is a plus for many shoppers. However, we found the price a little steep for the size of the board.
4. Hasegawa Wood Core Soft Rubber Cutting Board
| Certifications | Synthetic rubber, wood core |
| Price at Publishing | $170 |
| Dimensions | 17.3” x 11.4” x 0.8” |
Hasegawa’s rubber cutting board’s outside layer consists of synthetic rubber, but its core is made up of wood, which gives it durability and special protection against warping. The wood also makes it lightweight compared to similarly sized all-rubber cutting boards.
Highlights
Another advantage of this board is its antimicrobial properties. Antimicrobial products protect against many kinds of microorganisms in addition to bacteria, giving it an edge over cutting boards that are simply antibacterial.
Things to Consider
There aren’t any noticeable or major downsides with this cutting board. You might need to clean it a little more diligently due to the tiny squares covering the surface, but we haven’t found maintenance to be too cumbersome.
5. Liflicon Thick Silicone Cutting Board
| Material | Silicone rubber |
| Price at Publishing | $24 |
| Dimensions | 12.6” x 9/1” x 0.2” |
If you’re looking for a cheaper rubber cutting board, we recommend this colorful board from Liflicon. Although silicone is not as durable as natural rubber and some higher-quality synthetic rubbers, we found this one to be perfectly satisfactory.
Highlights
We found Liflicon’s silicone cutting board to be surprisingly stain-resistant. We’re not sure whether that’s due to the material or bright color, but it works. You can also put this one in the dishwasher.
Things to Consider
Compared to the other rubber cutting boards on this list, this one is a bit flimsy. Its lack of thickness makes it lightweight, but we don’t recommend it for larger jobs. After using it for only a short time, we also noticed knife marks. For the price, though, these qualities are not necessarily surprising.
How to Choose the Best Rubber Cutting Board
Everyone has their priorities when choosing a rubber cutting board for their kitchen. As you peruse the internet, you might want to consider the following attributes:
- Frequency of Use: Do you use the kitchen more than any other room in your house? If so, you might want to choose a durable cutting board that will last longer than a cheaper option.
- Knife Qualities: Some rubber cutting boards are better than others at protecting the integrity of knives. If you have high-quality knives you want to keep for a long time, consider making a similar investment in a high-quality cutting board to protect your prized possessions.
- Type of Food: Vegetarians might opt for wood cutting boards because they don’t need to worry about bacteria collecting in tiny nicks and scratches on the board’s surface. Those who regularly work with poultry or meats should strongly consider buying a rubber board, as they are often more sanitary than wood boards.
Whatever you decide, we wish you good times in the kitchen!
Featured image via CapaBunga on Food52
