Kitchen Deals -> Kitchen tools

There seems to be little difference between hard wood and plastic cutting boards from a safety standpoint, as long as they are properly washed and sanitized after each use. Personally, I like the feel of solid wood. One piece of advice--buy large cutting boards. Don't bother with these tiny boards that everyone seems to have in his or her kitchen. They are not user friendly. Once you get down to serious cutting or chopping, the small boards are always woefully inadequate and downright maddening!

Choose a dishwasher with sturdy compression springs in the door. Also look for tough, lightweight nylon or graphite racks with cushioned tips that protect glassware and cookware. Weimer recommends choosing a model with a rack design that provides the largest, most flexible interior space and is configured for your belongings, including odd-shaped pieces.

A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one, because you apply to it more pressure and force to cut through foods. It can easily slip out of place as you use it and you can harm yourself. Keep your knives in good working condition by sharpening according to their use and time. There's no specified amount of time, because knives vary as much as their use; although, you can easily determine if they need sharpening by the way they cut/slice foods. If a knife can slice through a tomato and tear the skin, then it needs sharpening. If, on the other hand, the cut is clean and quick without any tears, then it needs not be sharpened.