Kitchen Knives
By on Apr 08, 2008
By Kathy Flaxman
Skilled home chefs will own a selection of kitchen knives that will produce specific carvings or slices. The professionals lay theirs out each day, wrap them up at night, and take them home in locked toolboxes. Cooks who can cut the mustard enjoy talking and comparing kitchen knives: heft, feel, edge, cost, and style.
Kitchen knives do make the cook's job easier: slicing tomatoes with flair and precision (no mush), chopping the parsley swiftly and cleanly, and mincing the garlic into suitably paper-thin slivers. Cooks cite the pleasure derived from a beautiful, functional kitchen knife and when there's carving taking place, the kitchen knives and accoutrements are part of the show!
Make no mistake about it: knives, good knives, will take a slab out of the budget. Professional chef Michael Rowlands, notes that one kitchen knife can easily cost upwards of $200. "If you are working in a restaurant, you better ask a chef before you borrow his knife," he says. "People use them inappropriately all the time. Cutting a lemon affects the edge of the knife unless
you clean it. A good knife is not for opening a can or prying open a lid. Knives need care and attention."Kitchen knives are basically steel, but that is only the start. They're forged from alloys of steel, carbon, nickel, copper, chrome, and other metals, all chosen to create the right blade for the right function. A high carbon content is a plus, but too much carbon is trouble: it discolours the items it cuts and leaves a black swath on dishcloths and towels. The right kitchen knife will start sharp, maintain its edge, without chipping, and it can be sharpened too. It will suit the job it's purchased for and it can last forever.
The job it's meant for? There are hundreds of types of kitchen knives and each does have a particular function. A carving knife is for the roast, perhaps with a long thin flexible blade. A chef's knife, a popular item, will be heavier and may be curved with a specially designed handle and blade to ensure that you don't get sore knuckles from chopping. Then, there are the rest of the kitchen knives: the paring knife, utility knife, bread knife, and boning knife. Each is indispensable. Cleavers? They are a notch up, used for purposes such as whacking a chicken into pieces.
Handles are critical. There are traditional wood handles, metal handles, and synthetics that are made to replicate wood. Which is better? It all comes down to individual taste. "How a knife feels in the hand is very important," Rowlands points out. "Some people like a heavier knife, some a lighter one. The handle must feel good. You will be using that knife for life and paying a lot for it. You'd better like it!"
Cutting through the rhetoric, how exactly does one choose a kitchen knife? They choose it slowly and carefully. It's a matter of function, taste, and esthetics. A kitchen knife is more personal than an appliance, it's something to hold in your hand and use lovingly and respectfully. Savour the weight, try the heft, and feel the blade. Each knife you own is a time-honoured, profoundly useful tool, and an extension of your own culinary abilities.
En Guard!
Don't scrimp, this is an instance where you really do get what you pay for. You will own and use your kitchen knives for life.
The starting kitchen knife can be a chef's knife for all chopping followed by the bread, paring, carving, and boning knives. There are hundreds. Learn what each kitchen knife's function is and which one suits your style.
Handle with care, store your kitchen knife in a block or on a magnetic strip. Wash by hand after every use and do not drop on the floor, please!
A whetstone or sharpening steel will maintain the edge. Learn to use these and your kitchen knives correctly, without injuring yourself in the process.
