Flexible cutting boards or mats: My plastic cutting board looks battle scarred at the end of a meal. It took a fair amount of scrubbing or a run through the dishwasher to bring it back to life. Now I've traded cutting boards in for a thin pliable mat that's easy to wipe off or clean in the dishwasher.
Cutting food on a pliable mat speeds preparation. You just lift the mat and pour your chopped or cut food into a pan, said Heather Lamster of Broadway Panhandler, a New York City cookware store. The mats are on her list of essentials for quick cooking.
SiliconeZone's version features a non-skid finish so the mat doesn't slide when you're chopping. A set of four 11-by-15-inchmats comes in pink, yellow, green and orange so you can devote one color to each perishable food you commonly prepare. The set sells for about $9.99 in housewares stores. You may find more information www.siliconezone.com.