You need at least a couple of cutting boards: one for raw poultry, meat and fish, and the other for vegetables, herbs and fruit. Better still is a set of colour-coded boards for each type of food. This prevents unwelcome flavours, from onions for example, migrating to other foods.

More importantly, colour-coding encourages food hygiene. The board used for raw chicken should be used only for that, and should be sterilised with boiling water straight after use, even if you intend to put it in the dishwasher.

Materials

Cutting boards are usually made of wood or polyethylene. There are also plastic cutting mats that can be used for lightweight cutting. These tend to be quite flexible, so you can easily funnel chopped food directly from the mat into a bowl or pan. Glass or marble boards are not recommended as the hard surface will blunt your knives.

Hygiene

Experts continue the lengthy debate about whether or not polyethylene is more hygienic than wood. Though the jury is still out, there is universal agreement that the surface of any board, whatever the material, must be clean, dry and undamaged.

Polyethylene boards are non-porous so bacteria can, theoretically, be washed off. They are also dishwasher-proof and the heat from the dishwasher will sanitise them. Polyethylene is therefore the board of choice for raw poultry. However, polyethylene boards with extensive knife scars will harbour bacteria and be difficult to keep scrupulously clean no matter how well they are washed. If yours is looking past its sell-by date, it's time to replace it.

Damp wooden boards allow bacteria to survive for longer. Always thoroughly scrub a wooden board with detergent, rinse with hot water and dry completely before you put it away. Never leave them to soak.

Choosing a board

Wooden boards should be made of close-grained, smooth hardwood such as beech, cherry or maple. The board should be thick enough (about 3cm) to absorb the impact of repeated chopping and to resist warping.

Polyethylene boards often have a slightly roughened surface which stops the food sliding around. Some have a groove round the edge which is useful for catching the juice from chopped fruit.

-