About John Boos & Co.

John Boos & Co. is the oldest industry in South Central Illinois, located in Effingham Illinois, and the company has been in business since 1887. In 1890, a local butcher realized the block could be used for cutting meat, and had one made by John Boos & Co. for this purpose. The word spread to surrounding small towns and cities and by 1911, John Boos was shipping from coast to coast. In 1956, John Boos began to take some of their products to local retail shops and offer the blocks and cutting boards for resale. Merchants would sell these products to consumers for home use. Today, it is common to see John Boos cutting boards in both the commercial kitchen of hotels and restaurants, culinary schools and even cooking shows on television.

The old craftsmen work ethic is still around at John Boos & Co. where premium Hard Rock Maple lumber from surrounding states in the mid-west, mostly from the Northern States, are used in the manufacturing process. Hard Rock Maple is the board of choice among professionals because it's friendly to a knife's edge, has anti-bacterial properties, and the larger boards are skid-free, and stay firm while in use.

John Boos & Co. utilizes 100% of their raw material. The smallest lumber scraps are transformed into sawdust and used as the material of choice to generate electricity and create steam to fuel the boilers. The steam is also used to operate the glue presses and dry kilns. Any saw dust unused by the company is provided to the local agricultural industry. The wood and metal John Boos products are listed with the National Sanitation Foundation, the leader in sanitation agencies for approving equipment to be installed in foodservice and supermarket operations. The products must have approval of various sanitation agencies in order to be accepted by the industry.

John Boos & Co. Cucina products, butcher blocks and cutting boards are being used by celebrity chefs throughout the United States. Celebrity chefs currently using John Boos products are Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai, Paul Kahan, Susan Spicer at Bayona Restaurant in New Orleans, and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feninger at Border Grill in Santa Monica, California. In addition, the country's premier food channel, "The Food Network" features chefs such as Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, who prepare meals every day on John Boos cutting boards. In most cases Boos cutting boards are used on the daily and weekly television programs sponsored for the chefs.

Plastic vs. Wooden Cutting Boards

A research team led by Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D compared plastic and wooden cutting boards. Their research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. They found that disease bacteria were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts.

Although the bacteria that have disappeared from the wood surfaces are found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply and gradually die. The bacteria can only be detected by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface.

The research team has no commercial relationships to any company making cutting boards or other food preparation utensils. They believe, on the basis of their published and to-be-published research, that food can be prepared safely on wooden cutting surfaces and that plastic cutting surfaces present some disadvantages that had been previously overlooked. In conclusion, they believe their research shows evidence that wooden cutting boards are not a hazard to human health, but plastic cutting boards may be.

Product Description

BoosBlock professional cutting boards are FDA-approved and are used by professional chefs throughout the United States. These high quality cutting boards are available in end grain and edge grain construction, and come in more than 39 shapes and sizes. John Boos & Co. is the number one supplier of butcher blocks countertops and cutting boards to restaurants, butchers and even the White House. BoosBlock cutting boards are manufactured by John Boos & Co. based in Effingham, Illinois. Since its inception in 1887, John Boos & Co. strives to provide the highest quality products to the most discriminating consumers.

John Boos Cutting Boards

John Boos cutting boards are preferred worldwide by chefs in some of the finest restaurants. Created to meet the exacting standards of professional chefs around the world, every John Boos cutting board is designed to deliver many years of service. Each board maximizes space so there is ample room to chop mounds of vegetables, or slice extra large cuts of meat and crowd-pleasing poultry. From the White House to your house, these cutting boards are at home in the kitchen.

John Boos Butcher Blocks

John Boos & Co. butcher blocks are designed from select northern hard rock maple that will last for generations. This hardwood butcher blocks are designed with an end-grain work surface that will not dull your knives. The exceptionally durable construction resists nicks and gouges, preventing bacteria from entering the wood. With the penetrating oil finish, even heavy-duty chopping by culinary professionals will not damage the block surface. When you need a serious chopping surface that's long lasting, hygienic and easy on your precious knives, John Boos butcher blocks are the approved choice.

John Boos Cucina Americana

Explore this collection of John Boos kitchen islands, kitchen work tables and amazingly useful rolling carts. You'll love the simple look of rock hard maple combined practical stainless steel in these well crafted Cucina Americana storage units, work carts and tables.

John Boos American Heritage

Choose from a variety of colors, such as barn red or sage, for the base of this John Boos kitchen island in the American Heritage collection. Each of these made-in-the-USA islands has useful shelves and cutting surfaces made with high quality rock hard maple you expect in any Boos cutting board or block.

John Boos Kitchen Carts

The exceptional durability of select hardwood, John Boos maple end-grain kitchen carts are handcrafted in America by artisans skilled in preserving the beauty of fine wood. These butcher block kitchen carts are ideal working height, with a work surface to prepare appetizers, vegetables or fruits, carve roasts, knead dough or roll out pastry dough for desserts. These butcher block carts rolls to you, providing a stable workstation with commercial-grade locking casters. The beauty and thickness of rich-grained maple is an attractive carving and serving block next to a buffet table. Professional chefs prefer the thick construction and lifetime durability of end-grain hard rock maple.

John Boos Cutting Board Maintenance

How do I keep my cutting board sanitized?

Keep your Boos cutting board clean by simply washing it with hot soapy water after each use and dry it with a clean paper towel or let it air dry. If you want to sanitize the board more thoroughly, a diluted mixture of chlorine bleach or vinegar solution consisting of one teaspoon of liquid chlorine bleach in one quart of water or a one to five dilution of vinegar.

Do not soak or submerge the board in water, for this will disrupt the moisture content and cause the rails to split. Wood cutting boards are NOT dishwasher-safe.

How do I maintain and prolong the life of my cutting board?

It is extremely important to give your cutting board a good oiling on all surfaces every 3-4 weeks. Your Boos board shipped from the factory with a Boos block cream finish with beeswax, which protects and prolongs the life of your board. We recommend keeping the board oiled with John Boos Mystery Oil and/or Boos Block Cream with Beeswax.