Which is better, Hardwood or Bamboo for cutting boards?

Two of the most common non-petroleum based cutting board materials are natural hardwoods and bamboo. American MainStreet Products uses natural hardwoods sourced in Indiana for our durable and attractive boards. For rough or regular use as a cutting board we typically recommend Hickory or Hard Maple and the softer woods such as Red Oak and Cherry for presentation and light cutting use.

We do not use bamboo for several reasons which we will articulate here:

1. Bamboo is not sourced in Indiana and bamboo boards are typically build overseas and imported. American MainStreet Products uses water proof food grade glues to fabricate our boards, but we are not certain what is being used on the imported bamboo boards.
2. Bamboo is a grass, not a hardwood and has far fewer tannins than the hardwood we use for our boards. Tannins are how the tree protects its self from molds, fungus, and bacteria. Tannins can kill any residual biologicals left on the cutting boards.
3. Bamboo is not available in larger pieces and must be glued together in tiny strips (as shown below). This means more glue, glue joints and areas where the board can fail. It also allows for more non-wood to come in contact with your food.
4. There is no hardness advantage to Bamboo over Hard Maple or Hickory. In fact Hickory is significantly harder than bamboo. The Janka Hardness Scale measures how many pounds of force it takes to imbed a 4.4mm steel ball into the wood surface. Bamboo measures between 1200 and 1400 pounds, while Hard Maple is 1450 pounds, and Hickory a staggering 1850 pounds. The reason there is a range on Bamboo is related to the size of the individual pieces that are glued together. 
5.  Refinishing a Hardwood board is easy and as simple as sanding down the surface and reapplying mineral oil. Bamboo, due to it's fibrous and stringy composition, does not allow for sanding and refinishing.

American MainStreet Products is committed to producing and offering the best quality practical hardwood cutting boards for your use.  

American Made with MainStreet Values.