What's the difference between Hasegawa cutting boards?

We stock a selection of Hasegawa's industry leading synthetic cutting boards (along with other top quality cutting boards) and one of the most common questions is "which Hasegawa board should I buy?"

This is because the naming and technical specs can be a little confusing due to how similar they are so here's the breakdown of what is what because actually, there's not much difference once you go beyond a "Soft" or "Hard" rated board.

Soft rated boards

FRK

  • "Home use" version of FSR.
  • Difference between the two is that the FRK is available in smaller sizes, if you want a bigger board, simply choose the FSR
  • Designated as "soft" so ideal for sushi, sashimi and general home use - It's a softer surface so take care if using a heavier knife but it will be ok for lighter all-round use at home in comparison to a pro environment
  • Not designed for heavy impact etc - cleavers or heavy chopping

If you want a more general use board, choose FSB or FSR.
Surface: Elastomer with wood core
Colour: Beige
Heat proof to 90°c

FSR

  • Commercial use version of FRK. Basically same board but in larger sizes so they're interchangeable really
  • Designated as "soft" so ideal for sushi, sashimi and in commercial environment you'd have different boards for different ingredients and use
  • Not designed for heavy impact etc - cleavers or heavy chopping

Surface: Elastomer with wood core
Colour: Beige
Heat proof to 90°c

Hard rated boards

FSB

  • Hard board designed for heavier impacts and harder cutting so things like breaking down protein, vegetables etc
  • Same as FPE and FPEL but brown colour

Sufrace : Wood core coated with Polyethylene
Colour: Brown
Heat proof to 90°c

FPEL aka FPE-Lite

  • Hard board designed for heavier impacts and harder cutting so things like breaking down protein, vegetables. Black colour is aimed at chefs who work in front of customers to allow them to prepare and display ingredients while working.
  • Same as FPE and FSB but black colour

Sufrace : Wood core coated with Polyethylene
Colour: Black
Heat proof to 90°c

FPE

  • Hard board designed for heavier impacts and harder cutting so things like breaking down protein, vegetables etc
  • Same as FSB and FPEL but white colour to easier see ingredients

Sufrace : Wood core coated with Polyethylene
Colour: White
Heat proof to 90°c

There you have it, 4 different board ranges but essentially boils down to a choice between "soft" and "hard".

Each Hasegawa board has a wooden core to help with rigidity and keeps its shape while creating a weight saving over solid synthetic materials. The wooden core is sterilised and fully enclosed in the plastic casing of the board and so not exposed.

Care and cleaning

It's better to wash thoroughly by hand but the Hasegawa boards are designed to be dishwasher safe. For full cleaning and usage instructions, you can also download Hasegawa's care sheet (pdf file) here.

For long term care and cleaning, we also recommend a Hasegawa Cutting Board Scraper.

All of Hasegawa's boards meet a variety of international food health and safety standards - view them here.