Quartz is a natural mineral that is known for it’s durability to scratches, impacts and long durability. Although, using quartz as a cutting board for food preparation can be hurtful for your quartz countertop, if you’re cutting food directly on this latter.
Quartz is a natural mineral that is made mainly by quartz crystals. Quartz is located at the 4th position in the hardness scale after Diamonds, Corundum and Topaz. With this being said, you can imagine how strong quartz is. Although the low porosity of quartz countertops, they’re often sealed, to prevent fluids infiltrations that might cause quartz discoloration and yellowing.
Can You Use Quartz As A Cutting Board?
Regarding the high durability of quartz, yes you can use quartz as a cutting board. You can cut food directly on your quartz countertop, or use a quartz piece to cut food on it or use it as a chopping board.
On the other hand, cutting directly on your quartz countertop might damage your countertop protective sealant, making it more vulnerable to get stained and discolored.
According to our experience, cutting directly on quartz can damage your knives. Quartz can damage any type of knives that rank around 7 on the Mohs scale. On the other hand stainless steel can leave minor marks of quartz countertops.
Because of the way it is made, quartz has the highest resistance to cuts and scratches comparing it to other natural materials. A quartz countertop, is made of small pieces of stone held together by a resin matrix. This resin gives a quartz countertop its strength and durability. In any case, you’ll want to make sure you’re not hitting the countertop with too much force, as even super-tough surfaces like quartz can chip if enough force is applied.
Is Quartz Toxic?
Quartz is the most abundant mineral on earth crust. It is made mainly by silica, which is a very stable mineral that shows no radioactivity. Silica, which is the main component of quartz is a non-toxic material having no known adverse health effects from ingestion.
However, cutting on quartz countertop or a quartz piece can releases dangerous silica dust that can damage your lungs if the exposure to the dust is not properly controlled.
Are Quartz Countertops Food Safe?
Quartz countertops are made from a non radioactive minerals, which make it very safe for food. In addition, quartz is a non porous material, which prevents bacteria from precipitating on it, and allow a very easy and fast cleaning.
Can a Knife Scratch Quartz?
Any type of knives that ranks more than 7 on the mohs scale can damage and scratches your quartz countertop. Stainless steel knives rank around 7 on the Mohs scale, so they can slightly scratch your quartz countertop.
Do Quartz Countertops Yellow Over Time?
Yes, quartz can get discolored and turns yellow with time and with improper care and sealing. The infiltration of liquids such as wine and coffee, can cause quartz countertop yellowing, with can be a very hard problem to repair.
To avoid quartz countertop yellowing, you need to proceed a regular cleaning and wipe hard spills right away. Also, maintaining the quality of your sealing and change it regularly once a year can prevent your quartz countertop from turning yellow.
Can You Use Stone as Cutting Board?
Actually, It depends, and a cutting board is still preferable.
Granite and quartz countertops, for example, can withstand knife work in the kitchen without being scratched. However, if you cut acidic foods like citrus fruits, the acid can degrade the countertop’s surface, leaving a noticeable dull spot.
There are numerous reasons why you should avoid cutting directly on stone countertops. One of these reasons is that if enough force is applied to the surface, it can still be damaged. Nothing is perfectly hard, including quartz. As a result, when you hack at our quartz countertop with great force, it can still be damaged.
Another reason is to keep your valuable knives safe from damages. Extremely hard surfaces are one of sharp edges’ worst enemies. By cutting food on hard surfaces such as quartz countertops on a regular basis, your knives will lose their sharp edge.
Another important point is that by slicing food on your quartz stone countertop, you sacrifice the quality of your sealant that prevents liquids from infiltrating inside your countertop, which will require from you to reseal it very often, and it costs.
