Hasta La Ideas

If I remember correctly, it was JosephJoseph who first came up with the concept of separate, color-coded cutting boards to prevent contamination while cooking multiple ingredients.

Today they sell an updated Folio design that doesn’t have the cutesy file tabs of the original, and which places the cutting boards in “stadium seating” for easier access.

They’ve also got this variant that comes with knife storage and the knives themselves.

What both of those sets require is counter space. Here in America, we have plenty of it. In Japan, kitchens are tiny and counter space is scarce; thus Japanese housewares brand LiberaLista offers these Hang Sheet color-coded cutting boards that are made to be hung above the counter, and also use far less material (perhaps at a UX cost):

I’m not sure I’d enjoy working with such a flimsy cutting surface. If you’re of the same mind, they also sell optional Grip Board bases they can be paired with:

One benefit of using LiberaLista’s thinner cutting surfaces would be cost. Whereas JosephJoseph’s Folio runs $60 for the set ($90 with the knives), the Hang Sheet set–of admittedly just three cutting surfaces–rings in at ¥1,450 (USD $10.68). A single Grip Board goes for ¥1,980 (USD $14.60).

Anyways I thought this was a good, simple example of adapting the same concept to two different cultural (and budgetary) contexts.