No, it’s not the Sub Zero French door refrigerator with
the custom paneling nor is it the GE Advantium oven or the six burner Wolf
range. It isn’t even the 15 & ½ quart Le Creuset Dutch oven or the All-Clad
copper core 8 quart stockpot. It is the most basic and essential tool in the
kitchen and like the katana was the
very soul of the samurai, the kitchen
knife is the soul of the kitchen.
But with literally hundreds of different kitchen knives
on the market, where do you start deciphering which blade is the right one for
you? Or more importantly, which blade will make the perfect Christmas gift for
your special home cook?
Since I’ve purchased my fair share of kitchen knives,
I’ll try to provide some guidance on procuring that perfect soul of the
kitchen.
The First Choice
The first basic choice you have to make is whether you
desire a stainless blade, high carbon steel or ceramic blade. Stainless steel
obviously doesn’t require as much care and retains its appearance for the life
of the blade. High carbon steel does require a lot more care as it can rust so
immediate washing and drying after use is necessary and it will darken over
time, often in various shades but the major benefit of high carbon steel is
that the blades are easier to sharpen often with a sharper edge than stainless
steel. Commercially available ceramic blades have a hardness approaching that
of diamonds but paradoxically are very brittle. Ceramic blades aren’t meant to
cut very hard foods (ie, frozen) and if you drop them on a hard surface, they
probably will break. I have two Kyocera ceramic knives including their
ultra-hard Kyotop blade but both knives have developed chips in both the
cutting edge and spine despite meticulous care so I wouldn’t recommend these
blades.
The other choice is whether you desire a dual beveled
cutting edge or single beveled edge. A single beveled edge holds its edge a
little longer and is a lot sharper (like a wood plane which can shave off paper
thin slices of wood) but they are specific for right and left hand use and
though I’ve never had to sharpen my single beveled sashimi slicer, they appear
to be a little trickier to sharpen.
My general recommendation for basic home use is a
stainless steel dual beveled blade. The other options tend to be used more by
professional than home chefs.
The All Purpose
Blade
There actually are two all-purpose knives on the market
but since they both function similarly, selecting one over the other is
basically a matter of aesthetics. The first is your basic chef’s knife which is
slightly rounded on both the top or spine of the blade as well as the cutting
edge and usually have a cutting edge between 5 to 9 inches in length.
The other option is the Japanese santoku (three virtues) which also has a slightly rounded cutting
edge but a more severe curvature at the tip end of the spine. However both the
chef’s and santoku blades are adept
at slicing, dicing and mincing. I personally favor the santoku blades but it’s mainly due to aesthetics as I feel they
simply look better.
Slicers
As the name implies, these blades are simply meant for
slicing whether it’s roast beef, pork or poultry or sashimi. Therefore these
are long narrow blades usually in the 9 to 14 inch range. As I mentioned, I
have a single beveled slicer that I use exclusively use for sashimi since raw
fish requires a single blade stroke – no “sawing” allowed – though I also have
a dual beveled slicer used for roasted meats and poultry. Therefore, if your
home cook already has a chef’s knife or santoku
but no slicer, this would be the perfect gift option.
Serrated Blades
Along with an all-purpose blade and a slicer, a serrated
blade is the next knife that’s needed in all kitchens whether it’s simply a
bread knife, a tomato knife or the newer, new-fangled serrated blades on the
market. I’m guilty of all charges as I have a bread knife which is a single
beveled long, thin blade with a scalloped cutting edge, a tomato knife which is
a thin, medium length blade with a micro reversed scalloped cutting edge and
two other multi-purpose serrated blades.
The first multi-purpose serrated blade was created by
Shun cutlery and is shaped like a rounded spatula with a reversed scalloped
cutting edge. Its primary use is for sandwiches with the scalloped edge making
it easier to slice through tomatoes along with slicing bread and the finished
sandwich and the rounded form allowing you to spread jams, jellies, mayonnaise
or other sandwich spreads. Therefore if your significant other makes a lot of
sandwiches, you might want to consider the Shun utility knife.
Shun also makes a Dual Density serrated blade with dual
serrations – small reversed scalloped serrations are incorporated into a larger
reversed scalloped edge. So if you’re considering a bread knife, the Dual
Density blade slices any type of bread but also can be used to “saw” through
frozen foods.
Vegetable Blades
The nakiri or
vegetable knife is a dual beveled thin flat blade with a rectangular shape
that’s primarily used just for slicing and chopping vegetables. While a chef’s
knife or santoku can usually
accomplish the same, a nakiri can
also handle most slicing, dicing and mincing chores. In fact, I went through 4
years of graduate school in the Bay Area with just a carbon steel nakiri that I purchased at Cost Plus for
$12.99 Which I still have and use today). And though I still usually reach for
my santoku for basic kitchen prep
work, I’ll reach for the nakiri if
I’m chopping a lot of vegetables.
Paring Knives
Lastly, every kitchen needs a paring knife or small knife
with a 3 to 4 inch blade. Whether you’re simply removing the tomato core or
slicing around the seed pith of a bell pepper, sometimes a short blade makes
the job a lot easier and safer – imagine trying to remove a tomato core with
the tip of an 8 inch chef’s knife. You’ll probably also remove some finger tips
in the process. The key in purchasing a paring knife isn’t in the details of
the knife itself but in the purchase itself. Most manufacturers bundle knife
sets and they often include a paring knife at little or no extra cost to the
consumer. So look out for these deals… especially during the holidays.
Any one
Manufacturer?
If all you’re looking for is a blade that does the job,
look no further than the Global line of kitchen knives. Very sharp and a breeze
to sharpen, they make easy work of any kitchen prepping task. However if you
also want a beautiful blade, the multiple Shun lines of kitchen cutlery offer
the Damascus appearance where the metal is folded several times creating a wavy
pattern also seen at the edge of a katana.
They aren’t as sharp as Global knives and they take more time to sharpen but
they are beautiful kitchen knives.
So Which Soul do I
Reach for?
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