Cutting board with juice groove and drip tray

Everything is bigger in America, they say. That’s a cliché that is not always true, but in this case it fits. At almost eight kilos, calling it a cutting board comes a little short. It can also weigh in as a chopping block for preparing or cutting meat and comes with a circumferential, extra deep, sloped juice rim to drain off fluids. The board is also furnished with a stainless steel drip pan for capturing runoff meat juice and cutting waste (also from vegetables). The cutting board can be used on both sides.

By John Boos & Co. in Effingham, Illinois. The company goes back to 1887. It was originally a smithy which rapidly evolved into a woodworking shop because local butchers became interested in the wooden "anvil", the blacksmith used to absorb the heavy blows of his hammer.

Maple is very tough and extremely hard, but resilient enough to take the punishment of the meat mallet and chef’s knives, without compromising their blades. The wood is kiln dried and the branches and cracks eliminated before it is cut to length and glued into boards. The edges of the cutting boards are rounded off and the wood is sanded smooth.

The cutting boards are delivered wrapped in plastic. Occasionally particles of sawdust are trapped in the protective oil. This is an indication of the handmade origin of the item and not a sign of sloppiness.