Customer Reviews

Totally Bamboo Congo Parquet Cutting Board

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This is a nice cutting board and was ranked highest by America's test kitchen. It is a managable size but still large enough to prepare most dishes. The board seems easy on my knives but does not mark easily.

My board did seem to warp slightly however, which makes it rock during cutting. I placed a towell underneath it to stablize it, which seems to do the trick.

I have had this cutting board for about a year now and I love it. Unlike other reviewers mine has not warped at all, and after at least twice daily use for the past year it is still like new. The board is very durable and shows very little wear compared to my old John Boos boards. I like to keep my knives extremely sharp and when ever I would use my Shun knives on my other boards they would leave noticeable scratches in the boards, but not with the Totally Bamboo Congo board. Thanks to its end grain construction I cannot hardly even see any wear on it.

On the other hand, I do know a lot of people seem to have had problems with warping and I am not sure as to why, maybe some are just bad batches and I just got lucky and got a good one, however one thing that I have done to prevent warping is the same process I have always done for all my wood or bamboo items. When I first received a wood or bamboo item I oil it with mineral oil all over, front, back, and on all the sides; but the key is to keep oiling it until no more oil will absorb in it. You can tell when it can not absorb any more oil by letting the oil sit on the surface for a hour or so and you will still have a lot of oil on the surface that can not be absorbed then all you have to do is just wipe up the excess oil and it is ready for use.

This is a beautiful cutting board recommended highly by Cooks magazine. Unfortunately, it is warped - convex on one side and concave on the other. I tried two and had the same problem. Too bad since it really looks nice!

This is the second TB Congo I have purchased in the last month. I've thrown out all of my other boards. The board is the perfect size and heft and is downright beautiful. With proper maintenance, I expect a long life from these boards.
My Amazon experience this second time was disappointing.
The board arrived in the bottom of a large box with the protectant air bags on top of the board. Any impacts to the bottom of the box would have damaged the board. I was lucky. Additionally, this board came with one loop of jute twine around it and one TB tag. It was clearly a (barely) "repackaged" return from someone else. My first TB board was entirely wrapped front and back and packaged securely, surrounded with air bags.
I expect and have gotten better from Amazon.

Owned for a year now. This board was highly recommended by Cook's Illustrated, so I bought it. It came slightly warped, which worsened with time. Cracked as well -- even though I oiled it a few times.

This board is not only nice to look at, it has great "knife feel"- i.e. clean, positive cutting action. It cleans easily and I have not experienced any warping issues as reported by others. America's Test Kitchen was correct in his praise.

I'm very happy with the board now that I've had it for two months now. Great size, nice heft. Big enough to do all but the largest cutting jobs and stable enough for a fast mince. My only issue with the board was that I purchased it during an incredibly dry time of the year and washed the board several times within a couple weeks after only one oiling. That was a big mistake as I ended up warping the board and splitting the seam in the middle on each end by about a quarter of an inch. As soon as I saw this I slathered on the mineral oil and let it absorb overnight and the board straightened right back up and the cracks disappeared. The board has been good ever since. So if you pick this beauty of a cutting board up prepare to give it two good oilings* within the first week and once a week afterwards for a month. Then you should be good for 3-6 months before the board needs another oiling depending on use and frequency of washing. Do not expect to use the board "as is" or it will warp and crack, but that is the same case for any wood cutting board. You know those wooden, slide-out cutting boards under your counter top? They look pretty crappy huh? They'd look a hundred times better if you had oiled them. Just sayin'. Also, oil is a win-win-win situation. Not only does it prevent your board from warping but it reduces the effect of drawing a blade across it in terms of the impact on the board and on the knife. I think I've beaten it over your head enough, but one more time for memory's sake: OIL YOUR CUTTING BOARD.

*Only oil the board when it is completely dry. Wait at least 4-6 hours after washing before oiling, otherwise the board will not absorb the oil properly. Remember, water and oil do not mix. This thing really sucks up the oil, too. My first two oilings went through 3 fluid ounces of mineral oil combined. Oh, don't use Johnson & Johnson brand mineral oil or any other cosmetic mineral oil, that crap is scented and will taint any food that touches the board. I tried using that stuff on my beard trimmer once and having my beard smell like flowers wasn't exactly ideal, I can't imagine what it'd taste like.

Oh, need I remind you that it's made of bamboo? +1 conservation points.

Very well pleased.All that Cooks Illustrated said it is.No wonder it took first prize in their ratings.

Based on the Cook's Illustrated recommendation I bought one of Totally Bamboo's smaller end grain bamboo boards (the Zambia). That board has been great for small tasks, but I also needed a larger board for bigger tasks, so I came back and picked up the Congo. It has likewise been a great board, no obvious signs of splitting or warping, light enough to be easy to handle yet solid enough to stay where you put it. I highly recommend it.

I love the soft to the knife touch surface that is easy to wipe off. Just wish it was about 25% bigger.