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Butcher block, butcher's block is a style of assembled wood (often hard maple, teak, or walnut) used as heavy duty chopping blocks, table tops, and cutting boards. It was commonly used in butcher shops and meat processing plants but has now become popular in home use.
There are two basic styles of butcher block: end grain and edge grain.
Butcher blocks have been used in butcher shops for centuries, and still are in many European countries. Increasingly, though, butcher block is 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.