What’s The Hole in Your Cutting Board For?

A very common kitchen utensil whose essential nature you only realize when it's missing is the cutting board. Its name already spells out its purpose: to reduce a wide variety of foods, be they vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat, fish, or sweet and savory baked goods, into smaller or smaller pieces than their original size. It's also a tool that helps provide a more stable work surface or avoid dirtying other surfaces. Although they come in different shapes and materials (for example, with models specifically designed as trays, including scenic ones for aperitifs), the cutting board's purpose is generally functional for cutting, so it's designed to be convenient and practical. And it's precisely in this context that many might have overlooked a detail that's more versatile than it seems.

How to Use the Hole In Your Cutting Board

The models we're referring to feature a side opening, usually located along the edge of the cutting area. Originally conceived in design centers as an ergonomic handle for lifting the worktop or hanging the utensil, these holes have found a completely unexpected second life on social media and in home kitchens: that of a "funnel" or chute for pouring the diced or sliced ​​food directly into the pot. Although it wasn't the designers' initial intent, the trick works and is truly convenient: it prevents pieces of vegetables or meat from scattering across the worktop or ending up on the stove, channeling the food to a single point. This tends to result in less mess and less waste, as food doesn't end up on the floor, stove, or sink. Just remember to thoroughly clean and sanitize the inside of the hole, too, where juices and small residues tend to gather more easily.

Not All Cutting Boards Come With a Hole

It should be noted, however, that the hole may not appear on cutting boards, including the ones you own: some, in fact, have a surface without holes, while those with handles have a very narrow round slot at the tip of the handle whose sole purpose is to hang the cutting board. The question, therefore, arises spontaneously: is the interpretation, widespread online and on social media, really correct? When in doubt, to quote a Woody Allen film, "as long as it works."