Wood-ology 101 on Cutting Board Wood Shades

march-woodBoardsWooden maple cutting boards made with premium quality hard maple wood makes a great portable cutting work surface or an elegant serving tray.  They also make a beautiful gift for holidays or anniversaries or housewarming!  Here is a little “wood-ology” about the variety in wood color, according to one of our leading Maple Leaf experts.


There are two types of maple wood that are harvested – summer maples and winter maples – when you see a hard maple that has more color that means the wood has been harvested in the summer because the sap in the maple is still in the tree, on a macro level, at the time it was cut.  When you see a board that is more toward the cream or white shades, that tree has been typically harvested during the winter and the sap has been harvested from the tree in all likelihood.


The boards are a natural product and it will vary.  The maple does patina over time and become more honey, especially when treated with butcher block oil.  A wooden cutting board is one of our favorite gift ideas, it’s something special they likely would not buy for themselves!

Check out our expanded article about this topic, Wood-ology 101, in Studio Insights.

Best wishes,

Renee