The Cutting Edge

Tis the season. It has arrived. The frantic shopping-cooking-visiting-partying-drinking season that lasts from Thanksgiving through the New Year. The season where we are urged to buy-to save-to get it here.

Well if we are going to buy, let’s at least purchase the best (which is not always the most expensive). Here is Part I of my Gift Ideas for the Home Cooking Enthusiast.

A Very Good Knife

There are dozens and dozens of brands and an even larger selection of shapes and sizes. Prices run from a few dollars to a few thousand. I will focus on the best all around size: the 8” Chef’s knife.

Forschner Victorinox makes the best of what I’ll call the Chevrolet class of knives. They keep a nice sharp edge and are comfortable to hold. Their knives are well balanced, of moderate weight (although not as heavy as some of the German brands) and run about $30.

Next up the knife food chain are Shun , Wusthof, Global and Henckels. These are the brands usually found in American cooking stores. They cost up to $150. Now, I can hear you screaming, “$150 for a knife??!!” Well, what is wrong with spending that on something you’ll use every day and will last a lifetime? (Besides, what did you spend on your last computer?).

My favorite in this group is Henckels.
 
Why? Because I’ve had mine for over 30 years and they are as good today as when I first bought them. They are the right weight (for me) and hold a sharp edge for a good long time. Also, the spine of  Henckels knives are smooth and do not hurt my hand when I’ve been cutting and chopping for a long time.

The cream of the knife crop, frequently the most expensive---and currently the cutting edge (no pun intended)---are knives made in Japan. I am not including the saber like creations you see in the hands of your local Sushi guy but Western style knives that are sharpened on just one side.

These knives run from $50 to well over $1000. Food world talking heads declare that Japanese knives have better steel than their German counter parts, tend to be a lot lighter, hold their edges longer and are easier to re-sharpen.

“They tend to be designed with a different philosophy: a light, thin, extremely sharp blade that glides through food, rather than the German model with a galumphing heavy blade that elbows its way to the cutting board,” wrote one foodie blogging expert.

Masamoto makes the Rolls Royce of Japanese knives. Their Honyaki Wa-Gyuto knives start at $1100. If you have it, go ahead, go for it, spend it. I frankly think that’s excessive and would not if I could.

I recommend Misono if you are buying Japanese. These knives are scary sharp and stay that way for a very long time. They are light, comfortable and are very nicely balanced, The 8” chefs knife will be about $250.

Other Japanese brands to consider are Masahiro, Mac and Hattori. Korin is a good site for shopping Japanese knives.

Now, beyond all of this, the very best advice I can really offer is to go out and try several. Hold them. Cut with them. Speak to local chefs, foodie friends and ask their opinion. Then buy the one YOU like best.

To quote a fellow blogger, “They’re just knives. They all cut stuff. You spend more than 10 bucks and you’re going to be OK.”

Knife Maintenance

Any sharp knife is better than any dull knife and most people use dull knives. Keep your knife sharp with a steel, one of those long metal sticks with a handle on the end. A ceramic steel is the best choice; I like a MAC. It costs about $50.

Steeling is easier than you might think and it’s not a tragedy if you don’t get the perfect angle. But steeling doesn’t sharpen a knife; it just helps maintain the existing edge, which will eventually fail. A good way to see if your knife needs sharpening is to slice a tomato. If you have trouble breaking the skin, and the steel doesn’t help, it’s time to sharpen.

If you like the idea of busting out some whetstones and grinding a new edge, sharpening isn’t hard to learn and the equipment isn’t very expensive.

Korin sells a tutorial DVD and Chad Ward’s book An Edge in the Kitchen has several illustrated chapters on sharpening. Electric sharpeners such as Chef's Choice work well on German knives but not on Japanese knives.

Me? I take my knives to pros for sharpening. For a typical home cook, taking your knives to a professional sharpener once a year is a good rule of thumb (It is a proven fact that there are more hands and fingers cut because of dull knives than because of sharp ones). Make sharpening a New Year’s resolution.

In Atlanta, I recommend The Blade Smith. Check with your local cooking stores for professional sharpeners in your community.

One last word of advice: Never, Ever put your beautiful knife in the dishwasher. Always wash it by hand with hot water and mild detergent. Dry it immediately and store it on a magnetic strip or in a knife block. Do Not let it knock around in a drawer with your other tools.