Warped cutting boards are not only annoying, but also extremely dangerous. Your cutting board should be rock solid during the chopping and slicing; anything else is a recipe for disaster.
If all of your cutting boards keep turning into rockers over and over again, there’s a good chance you’re washing or storing them incorrectly. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to fix: most deformations are caused by heat and / or bending forces, both of which can be avoided with a few simple adjustments to your washing and storage routine. These tips apply to both wooden and plastic boards, and if you do, you’ll never have to deal with another unstable cutting board again.
Avoid washing cutting boards in hot water – including the dishwasher
The best way to prevent warping is to keep your boards away from hot water. Heat makes both plastic and wood significantly more flexible; Placing a cutting board in the sink nice and hot and then allowing it to air dry creates the ideal conditions for warping. Unfortunately, this means that you shouldn’t put the plates in the dishwasher – these extreme temperature fluctuations are bad news, even for supposedly dishwasher-safe plates.
Washing in cold or lukewarm water is a much better choice. If you freak out the idea of using anything other than boiling water to wash cutting boards, it shouldn’t. Nobody’s tap water gets hot enough to really disinfect the dishes – soap does all the germicidal work. As long as you use enough soap, scrub your boards thoroughly, and rinse completely, cold water cleans just as well as hot.
Store your cutting boards flat or on the long side
Heat allows warping, but cutting boards won’t bend without a little effort. It doesn’t take much: Putting a board upright can do it, especially if it’s thin and still warm from washing. But a board cannot flex under its own weight when it lies flat. If you have the space, this is how you should keep yours.
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Even so, most people don’t have enough storage space for a stack of cutting boards – myself included. Instead, storing your boards on the longer side is definitely the way to go. I used to store my boards on the short side against a wall unit that used just so much force that they always came out of the cupboard warped. Turning it over on the long sides immediately made a huge difference – and when I finally stopped using hot water, warped cutting boards were officially a thing of the past.
