Do You Need a Juice Groove?
A groove helps catch juice from cooked meat and fruit. A flat face makes it easier to gather chopped ingredients. Choose according to the meals you make most.
Juice groove
A groove is handy for juicy foods but has limited capacity. Keep room around the food and a dish nearby for excess juices.
What a juice groove helps with
A juice groove is a recessed channel near the edge of a board. It can catch some liquid from a cooked roast, steak or juicy fruit before that liquid reaches the counter. The amount it holds is limited.
Leave some space around the food and keep a dish nearby for extra juice. You’ll have more room to carve comfortably and catch runoff before it reaches the counter.
When it earns its place
If you regularly carve cooked meat or cut melon, the groove can reduce some mess. It is also useful on a steak board when you want to serve a portion with liquid contained near the edge.
Match the cutting area to the food. A compact steak board can suit one portion, while a large roast needs more space around it. Check the flat area inside the groove as well as the board’s full dimensions.
When a flat face is simpler
Chopping herbs, dicing vegetables and moving them into a bowl can be easier on an uninterrupted surface. Pieces do not settle in a channel as you gather them. Use a bench scraper or the side of the blade to transfer food; avoid dragging the cutting edge across the board.
For bread, sandwiches or dry ingredients, a flat surface may be all you need. Choose the feature you’ll use most often.
A reversible board gives you a choice
A board with a grooved face and flat reverse lets you switch between carving and everyday chopping. Our reversible 16 × 12-inch maple board offers both. Check each model’s photos and details, since reversible designs can differ.
Grooved face · 20″ × 14″
Turning a board over does not make it clean. Keep raw meat, poultry and fish on a separate board from ready-to-eat foods. If the underside touched runoff or a dirty counter, clean it before using it as a working face.
Include the groove in cleanup
Check the groove for food left behind. Brush out dry crumbs only when the board is otherwise clean and uncontaminated; moist residue, grease or contamination needs effective cleaning. If washing is needed, briefly wash and rinse both faces and all edges without soaking or saturating the wood. Towel-dry every side right away, then let both faces air-dry on stable support, away from direct heat.
Sanitize when needed after cleaning, using a suitable food-contact product according to its label. Apply care oil only to clean, fully dry, sound wood; oil and cream cannot sanitize or repair damage. If residue or damage makes the groove hard to clean, assess the board’s condition instead of covering it with oil. See daily cleanup and necessary washing for wooden boards.
