Butcher block

Traditionally made of hard maple, it was commonly used in butcher shops and meat processing plants but has now become popular in-home use.

[1] Besides maple, popular contemporary woods include teak, birch, or walnut, sometimes in alternating patterns.

A simple variant of the function of a chopping block is made out of a several-inch-thick cross-section of a wide hardwood log.

Increasingly, a version of butcher block is also being used in domestic kitchens as an alternative to stone and laminate countertops.

This has created a new industry in the kitchen design arena and many furniture manufacturers and hardwood flooring companies are getting into the production of butcher blocks and butcher block countertops, in part because the countertops can be constructed from left-over wood that would otherwise be discarded.