Why and how to buy yourself a professional knife.
Over the years, I have built up quite a collection of expensive knives. My justification was that I use them every day for close to 10 hours, why not have quality knives. If you run marathons, would you buy $10 sneakers from Payless? No, and the same goes for knives. I understand that the typical person doesn't use their knives at home 10 hours a day. But I do know that quality is important. If you can't slice a tomato without crushing it, then you need a new knife. Another good test is to cut chives. If the chives are crushed and broken, instead of small rings when cut, then you need a new knife. So what should you look for in a knife? First off it should have a full tang. A full tang you say…. What's that? The tang is the metal that runs through the handle of a knife. A full tang means that the knife is made from only one piece of metal so you won't have to worry about the handle breaking off. Next you should check the knifes weight and balance. You want a sturdy knife, but you also don't want a bowling ball. By balance, I mean that you want the blade to be as heavy as the handle. Pick up knifes and feel their weight and balance, find something that you feel comfortable cutting with. The last thing you should look for in a knife is the material that it's made of. For the typical home cook, you will want a knife that is made of high-carbon stainless steel. This metal is very tough, won't stain, and will keep its edge a long time.
I would suggest that you buy knives individually. If you buy a box set you will end up using only 2 or 3 of the knives anyways. A good 8" chef's knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife is really all you need to start with. You can accomplish almost every task in the kitchen effectively with these three knives.
Check out these sites to purchase knives.
http://www.wusthof.com/en/default.asp
If you need any help on any knife related topics, feel free to contact me at Bmoscatering@gmail.com
Another good, all-purpose, regular-schmo-like-me knife that works really well is the Victorinox Santoku. Love it. Great reviews. I wish it had a little more heft to it, but other than that, it's the first knife I grab.
ReplyDeleteSantoku knife styles are one of my favorites. It is a shortened rounded version of a chef's knife. The name santoku refers to its ability to cut meat, fish, and vegetables with ease. san = three, toku = virtues. While I have never used a Victorinox knife, I am sure they are quality.... just think about Swiss Army knives. My favorite santoku knife is Togiharu Cobalt Damascus Santoku.... the design in the blade is formed by folding the metal over and over again to give it the appearance of waves!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the shortened version is also a bit less intimidating than the chef's knife. I quietly bought mine as not to get caught up all the wild praise and celebrity status being bestowed upon the santoku a while back.
ReplyDeleteYours sounds deliciously pricey. [difficult to pronounce = expensive]. It sounds quite sculptural as well. fascinating.