Wooden cutting boards have been around since the first lumberjack made a slice in a tree stump.
Today cutting boards come in all shapes and sizes and are displayed on kitchen countertops and hung on kitchen walls. Although maple has long been the wood of choice for the boards, bamboo has become a popular option. Collectors often focus on a single shape or animal, and pigs seem to be at the top of the list. Popularity may be explained by the Chinese and Europeans’ belief that the pig was a symbol of wealth that had the power to bring good luck.
Homeowner Margaret Ritchie has fond childhood memories of her Aunt Marmee’s pig cutting board that sat behind the kitchen faucet. Years later at an antiques show Margaret came across a man selling a number of cutting boards. “I bought them all for sentimental reasons,” she says. At home she had the cabinetmaker carve a pig-shaped cutout to fit one of her boards. “That way it sits inside when stored and I don’t have to take one off the wall,” she explains.
