Your kitchen knives are some of the most versatile tools in the kitchen, hands down. Therefore, in my opinion, they are an investment you should make once. When you have quality equipment, it will enable you to competently perform many tasks in the kitchen. In the words of Alton Brown, “Unitaskers, don’t have any place in the kitchen”... We live in a world of food processors, mini-choppers, mandolines, specialty apple and pineapple corers, etc. etc. etc.. While I certain have and love to use the food processor and mini chopper in my kitchen arsenal, I would say there is nothing which gets more use than my knives. In fact, I must admit that when Aileen and I have gone away on vacations and we knew that there would be cooking involved (e.g., several of our European vacations), the knives get packed and we check our luggage (yes, the IT road warrior actually checked a bag) - being without a good knife in a kitchen is like and almost as bad as being caught away from your house without your cell phone. Keep ‘em Sharp Folks - let’s talk shop safety... If you keep your knives sharp and use / treat them with respect, they will treat you the same way, in kind. What does this mean? Well, let me tell you - I consider myself to have strong knife skills and I rarely cut myself in the kitchen (of course I probably just jinxed myself with that statement), however, there have been a number of times that I actually / almost cut myself - and it was generally because someone gave me a dull knife (or even worse - one of those “never needs sharpening” knifes made by that popular knife company “who shall remain nameless”). Be careful - they are sharp after all, but believe me if you use it the right way, a sharp knife if your frient. What does it mean to treat them with respect? Well, here goes...
Firstly, they are knives, but they are Firstly, they are knives, but they are not a lot of things They are a lot of things They are not can openers. They are can openers. They are not pry bars. They are pry bars. They are not spatulas. They are spatulas. They are not cooking spoons. They are cooking spoons. They are not ice picks. You get the idea - they ice picks. You get the idea - they are knives - they are used to slice or chop food.
Keep them sharp - buy and learn to use a knife sharpener (there are tons of youtube videos out there) - I personally have a chef’s choice knife sharpener, but a good kitchen wet stone can be bought and learned to use quickly - if you are not handy - find a kitchen place that sharpens knives. Believe it or not, in my neighborhood in NJ, there is a person with small van that drives around and has their customers and they will sharpen them for you.
Keep your finger tips curled under with your finger nails gently resting on the food you are cutting. Rest the side of the blade of knife (NOT the edge) against your knuckles. YES - I you need to do this with your paring knife too! Don’t do what I call the “Grandma” technique of pinch cutting your veggies over the pot of food using the edge of the knife against your thumb - save that for the old cartoons we saw on TV of someone dicing carrots over the soup pot. Probably nothing could be worse than contaminating your soup after slicing your finger opening.
Use a smooth, circular rocking motion as you chop - again, there are tons of youtube videos out there - give them a look and a try when you are in the kitchen. I bet after a short time it will become like second nature to you.
Clean your knives when you are done with them and DON’T use the dishwasher - most good quality knives have wooden handles and they don’t at all like the hot steamy dishwasher environment. Dry them nicely and put them right away in your knife block.
Get yourself a large, good quality cutting board (I prefer the thick nylon variety - they tend not to harbor bacteria - these CAN go in the dishwasher). Cutting boards should NOT be made of metal or glass (remember treat the knife with respect) - nothing will dull a well honed edge faster than cutting on a hard glass surface. Also, DON’T cut directly on your hard kitchen counter.
Get yourself a knife block to store your knives in - I personally don’t like the idea of storing knives hanging on a magnetic knife holder on the wall (more of a safety thing).
Let’s talk hardware... Arguably, there are 4 knives that are “go to” work horses in the kitchen (I will also contend there is a fifth knife that I keep in my knife block, but I think if you go with the 1st four, you will make out just fine - of course this is my opinion - I would love to hear your opinion as well):
Chef’s Knife - Get yourself a good quality, 9” or 10” chef’s knife - do you need a “forged in fire”, damascus steel knife or one of these knives that are $300 that you see protected under lock and key and put in a timed vault like you might find at Williams and Sonoma or Sur La Table? NO! In fact, check this knife out (oh - and pssssst, by the way - he / she has cousins that are the other types of knives I recommend below): https://lifehacker.com/5390285/victorinox-chefs-knife-performs-like-a-100%252B-knife-for-much-less
Paring Knife - sometimes you need something for doing more intricate work like peeling things, slicing / mincing garlic, etc. That’s where this little guy / gal comes in handy
Serated Bread Slicing Knife - This is something that you are going to want to use when it comes to making things like croutons or slicing that really nice crusty loaf of bread that you want to serve with the Hearty Beef and Barley Soup (sorry - couldn’t resist!!! --> https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-it-gourmet/beef-and-barley-soup/126598327978874/)
Carving / Slicing Knife - When you want to carve that really nice roast chicken / turkey, beef brisket, or tofurkey, this is where this knife comes in handy - generally thinner and perhaps slightly sharper than the Chef’s knife, but can really get into small spaces (like when de-jointing a bird). I prefer mine to have those little notches (or granton) ground on the side of the blade because that help minimize the friction and surface tension that causes things to stick to the side of the blade when carving
Boning / Filet Knife (Optional) - This is the one other knife in my Every Day Carry / Use collection - this knife speaks to itself - perfect to use when boning poultry, beef, or fish.
Well - I guess I got a little verbose and quite a bit technical on my discussion today (but what else would you expect from TheITGourmet).
As Always - Bon AppetIT!!!
Best Regards,
@TheITGourmet
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