A cutting board is found in almost all kitchens, residential and commercial. They are usually stored during non-use, typically in a cabinet or closet, and taken out when needed, although some people like the aesthetics of a cutting board visible in the kitchen.
Cutting boards are used as a surface on which to prepare various types of foods, including fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, etc. A cutting board provides a flat work surface to slice, dice, chop, pare, and otherwise process foods to their desired size, shape and/or consistency. A cutting board protects the surface on which it is placed from damage during this processing. For those cutting boards that include a perimeter groove or channel, such groove or channel helps collect liquids and juices and/or stops those liquids and juices from spilling over the edge of the cutting board. The mobility of a cutting board helps with the disposal of wastes. Wastes that collect on a cutting board are disposed of by carrying the waste containing cutting board to a waste bin and dumping the waste.
Most people wipe off or clean a cutting board between uses for different foods to avoid undesirable effects, such as, for example, altering the taste of the foods. Especially when preparing certain types of raw foods, e.g., fish, beef, pork, and poultry, it is very important to properly clean a cutting board to remove bacteria (e.g. salmonella, listeria, and escherichia coli) and avoid food contamination (cross-contamination) and food-borne diseases. Sometimes it is important to clean a used cutting board to protect people with food allergies. For example, people with Celiac's disease cannot have their food come in contact with other foods or utensils that have gluten which requires a thorough cleaning of a cutting board after use with certain foods. Finally, most commercial kitchens must be compliant with health and safety laws and regulations which typically require proper cleaning of a cutting board before use for another food.
Cutting boards can be rinsed or washed either by hand or by placing them inside a dishwasher for cleaning like most other kitchen utensils. Washing a cutting board, however, adds time to the food preparation process and requires at least some movement in the kitchen from the location where the cutting board is being used to the sink and/or the dishwasher. When hand washing a cutting board, or even when using a dishwasher, time is also lost drying the cutting board. There is also a chance for improper or inadequate cleaning of the cutting board due to the washer's negligence and/or spatial limitations (e.g., the cutting board is larger than the sink and does fit therein for cleaning. In some instances, particularly in a commercial kitchen where a clean cutting board is often needed, multiple cutting boards are purchased and stored to decrease the amount of lost time. In some instances, storage space and counter space is limited. Accordingly, many users do not have the luxury of having multiple cutting boards in their kitchens or the extra counter and/or table surface areas on which to use multiple cutting boards.
In a crowded and/or cramped kitchen such as in many restaurants, delis, motor homes, fishing boats, and ship galleys, maneuvering around the kitchen when using a cutting board may pose difficulties, particularly when multiple people are working in such small spaces.
Some currently available cutting boards are reversible, offering two work surfaces, one on either side of the board.
When a cutting board is used on top of a table, such as in a catering hall buffet line, the server is continually wiping the excess juices away with a towel or cloth and the waste (fat or unwanted parts of the food) needs to be disposed of in a nearby garbage or bin. The table cloth under the cutting board usually gets soiled and dirty, an undesirable appearance at a catering event.
There is a need for an improved cutting board device, one that allows a user to easily and readily dispose of waste without having to carry the cutting board to a waste bin. There is a need for a cutting board device that is easily stored and readily accessible when needed. There is a need for a cutting board device that can be stored alone and/or integrated into an existing countertop and easily exposed and usable when needed. There is a need for a cutting board device that can be easily cleaned when not in use. There is a need for a cutting board device that allows a user to simultaneously prepare foods on one surface of the cutting board device while another adjoining surface is simultaneously being sanitized.