Buyers’ guide to kitchen knives

Stylish kitchen knives that cut more than the mustard!

Kit out your kitchen with knives that are both practical and stylish with our comprehensive guide

Possibly the most essential and frequently used piece of equipment in any kitchen, a good knife can determine whether cooking becomes a pleasure or a chore. ‘A knife is one tool that has to perform well in your hands every single day,’ says Jay Patel, owner of The Japanese Knife Company, which supplies some of the most highly esteemed chefs and restaurants in the world. ‘Like a pen, an iron or a vacuum cleaner, if it doesn’t work well, it will cause immediate frustration.’ Purchase the right knife, however, and not only will you find food preparation is easier and quicker, but safer and more enjoyable, too. If it’s looked after properly, a quality knife will last a lifetime.

Buying a knife

Although it’s tempting to rush out and arm yourself with a full set, the majority of work you do in the kitchen will be with one or two knives. Professional chefs may buy a blade for a particular purpose, but when choosing knives for your own kitchen, it’s likely you won’t need a vast array. As Marcia Barrington, tutor of the Divertimenti cookery school’s most popular class, Knife Skills, advises, ‘Begin by buying one or two essential knives, then build your ideal set over a period of time as you find you need other blades for more specific tasks.’

When choosing knives, remember the following: o Buy the best knife you can afford. You get what you pay for and a high-quality knife will last for years. Better to invest in a good knife and sharpener, than a whole block you don’t necessarily need. o ‘A knife is a tool, not art, so choose function over form and buy a blade not a brand,’ says Jay Patel of The Japanese Knife Company. o Hold a knife before buying it, to make sure the handle sits comfortably in your palm and that you’re comfortable with the weight. You don’t have to buy the same brand for every knife – many chefs use a whole variety of different manufacturers. o A well-balanced knife means the handle and blade are almost the same weight, therefore the knife will rock easily. To test, hold it as you would on a board and rock it back and forth to see whether it feels comfortable. Ideally, you have to use your wrist less to achieve a rolling action while cutting. However, unless you’re a professional chef, you’re unlikely to get RSI, so, although it’s nice to have a balanced knife, it’s not absolutely essential.

Choosing your knives

When it comes to knife shape, straight, narrow blades are best for cutting raw or cooked flesh and are not suited to chopping, or cutting fast or with a traditional rolling action. Wider blades with a curved edge are ideal for preparing vegetables (it can rest against your knuckles as you chop) but they are unsuitable for paring or peeling.

A basic set of knives might include two or more of the following: 1. A 15-17cm cook’s knife is essential and the first knife to invest in. Initially, it may seem big, but with practice it will become your knife of choice. ‘This is the knife you’d choose if you were stuck on a desert island,’ says Camilla Schneideman, director of the Divertimenti cookery school. ‘Learn to use it properly and it will be an extension of your own arm’. A good all-round knife with a long, wide, general-purpose blade, it can be used for slicing, dicing, crushing, chopping and mincing. Additionally, you may want a bigger 25cm chef’s knife that will take your weight when cutting things like squash or swede. 2. A paring knife is the most commonly used blade in a domestic kitchen. At 7.5-10cm long, it’s a mini version of the chef’s knife used for slicing and dicing vegetables and delicate pastry cutting. Models with a hooked curve are handy for cutting zest from citrus fruit. 3. A serrated tomato knife is one item that can be cheap and disposable (less than £10). It cuts through tough, shiny tomato skins without squashing the flesh and is also good for segmenting oranges. 4. A filleting knife is thin, flexible and pointed. The blade follows the bones closely, avoiding waste. Use a heavier knife to remove fish heads. 5. A boning knife with a narrow blade and a sharp point is used solely for removing bones. Some have a flexible blade for poultry, while others have a rigid blade for dealing with bigger joints. 6. A carving knife is long and flexible enough to allow meat to be sliced thinly. Some have a point, used to free meat from a joint with a bone; those with a round tip are for boneless joints and known as slicers. 7. A serrated bread knife should be long and rigid so it can cut through a hard crust without squashing the slices. Serrated knives can’t be sharpened in the usual way, so only use on a wooden or polypropylene surface. Never use them for chopping. 8. A pallet knife is long and flexible with a rounded tip for easing cakes out of tins, sliding under pastry or spreading cream or icing.

Sharpening

So you’ve invested in a knife that will make you the next Nigella. Well, unless it’s sharpened correctly your money will be wasted. Ideally, this should be every time you use it – here are your options: o The European method of sharpening is to use a ’steel’. Old- fashioned steels were a cylindrical metal rod with grooves, but modern steels are ceramic or diamond-coated and more effective. It’s essential to maintain the correct angle when using a steel (20 – 30 degrees, depending on the style of knife), otherwise you could end up doing more harm than good. A flat, diamond steel will never blunt and is more abrasive, so works quickly, but take extra care as any mistakes will be more exaggerated. A ceramic steel works less quickly, but removes less metal, so prolongs the life span of a knife. o A mini, pull-through sharpener has a knife guide and ceramic wheels placed at the ideal angle to give a perfect finish, so is a foolproof way of resharpening steel knives. o The traditional way of sharpening a Japanese knife is on a flat, abrasive surface called a whetstone. Combination stones with a variety of abrasive surfaces for honing blades are available relatively cheaply. Some also have a guide to ensure you keep the correct angle when sharpening your knives. o It is possible to get knives professionally sharpened, but make sure they know exactly what they’re doing: a grinder that takes off excessive amounts of metal can do more harm than good.

Need to know

o Stamped blades (the cheapest) are punched out of sheets of steel then sharpened. Rolled, hammered or dropped forged knives are also cut out, but then heated and pressed, which makes the metal denser so it holds its edge for longer. o More expensive layered or laminated knives are made by layering or folding the metal to create a really strong blade. o Generally, the higher the carbon content in the blade, the better it is. However, a high carbon content makes the knife brittle and prone to rust, so other elements are often added. o Good quality ceramic blades are not as brittle as you’d think, but can still chip or break if dropped. The absence of metal means that the purity of flavour is maintained and food doesn’t discolour. o A special technique is required for using and sharpening Japanese single-edged blades. Bear this in mind before buying one.

Storage and care

Leaving knives loose in a drawer is not only dangerous, it lets them bang against each other, blunting or damaging them. o Try a magnetic knife strip on the wall. The knives are easily accessible and nothing comes into contact with the blade. o Use knife guards – plastic or wooden sheaths that slide over the blade. You can buy these separately if they’re not provided. o A wooden knife block will minimise blunting. Eva Solo does blocks with flexible plastic inserts, The Japanese Knife Company has a polypropylene block to prevent damage and Henckels does a block that suspends blades between fibre-optic strands. o If you’re building a collection, a fabric knife roll, like the ones used by professional chefs, is a good idea. o Never put knives in the dishwasher. Heat and chemicals blunt blades, cause pitting in the steel, and can work handles loose.

steak knife gift set

steak knife gift set
Welcome to the home of Sean O’Grady Knife Company! If you are looking for information regarding steak knife gift set, then you have found it. please take the time to browse through our site and let us know if you have any questions of concerns. thank you.

Choosing cutlery

Good quality cutlery comes in three main types, which are stainless steel, sterling silver and silver plated. the best stainless steel cutlery should be 18/10 as this will be hard wearing and retain its lustre. each piece of sterling silver cutlery should be hallmarked and be of at least 92.5% pure silver. Good quality silver plated cutlery should come with a minimum of 20 years guarantee. of course, there are many other materials which are used for the handles of table cutlery and some is more practical whilst others are more decorative.

Knowing your Budget

Choosing the right cutlery for you and your family depends upon many things. the budget you have available will determine which material your cutlery is made from, so with this starting point, you can begin to narrow down what you want and need. for most every day use, a good set of stainless steel cutlery is the most practical solution as it will be hard wearing and dishwasher proof. It is important to choose cutlery that is comfortable to hold in your hands and that is nice to use. It should be of a good weight and feel substantial in your hand, so a bit of shape towards the ends should make it feel nice and make it easy to use.

If your budget allows and you want a very special set of table flatware, sterling silver will set off any table. again, it should be of a good weight and feel nice to hold and use. the pattern on the handles is very much down to personal choice and there are many traditional as well as contemporary patterns to choose from. Remember that sterling silver cutlery is often handed down in families as an heirloom, so choose a good set with this in mind.

How many place Settings?

You will also need to decide what pieces you need for each place setting. for most every day use, a full size knife and fork, dessert spoon, soup spoon, salad knife and fork, teaspoon and two or three serving spoons should suffice. To this you could add a fish knife and fork, steak knife, coffee spoon, grapefruit spoon and cake fork. indeed there will be other pieces that you may think of to add to your collection and if it is your intention to build your collection over time, do take care to choose a pattern which is going to be readily available in the future. this is where the classic designs come into their own, they are always available whereas some of the more modern designs are either limited editions or go out of fashion. also, a pattern which looks very modern and trendy today could look very outdated in a few years time so do choose carefully.

Remember that your cutlery should last for a very long time and will be used virtually every day. Whatever you choose, always buy the best that you can afford as it will last the longest and will retain its quality over the years.

About the Author

Graham Baylis like many others loves fine things, and when it comes to cutlery he’s found a world leader in the manufacture and supply of luxury cutlery, silverware and silver gifts for the home, their list of products including some world famous named brands. for more information on their products and details of their wedding list service, see arthurprice.com/page/index

kitchen knife sharpening

kitchen knife sharpening
Welcome to the home of Sean O’Grady Knife Company! If you are looking for information regarding kitchen knife sharpening, then you have found it. please take the time to browse through our site and let us know if you have any questions of concerns. Thank you.

Effective Knife Sharpening

Sometimes when you have to sharpen a knife, it may be a knife for general use or knife used in the kitchen, you may find that it is very hard work and you can not do it in the right way. there are only one factors that affect to the effectiveness of knife sharpening, it’s about the method of sharpen. This article will suggest on how to sharpen a knife, which could be apply to both knifes for general use or knifes used in the kitchen.

There are 2 common types of whetstone, 1) is the type that has one side coarse and one side smooth surface and 2) the type that has both side coarse surface. however, the both type has no impact on your quality of sharpening. You can do it effectively regardless to the type of whetstone that you use. Some people may think that the quality of sharpen also depends on the quality of the whetstone, but the truth is, it’s not due to the quality of whetstone at all.

Using water or oil will definitely help to get the good output rather than sharpen a knife alone without using them. Water and oil will helping on increasing smoothness when knife rubbed with the whetstone, and this will increase whetstone lifetime also.

How to sharpen

1. Before sharpening process, use water drop on the knife to increase smoothness as mentioned above. Generally, using oil will provide more smoothness than using water, but if you can not find oil, it is still OK to use water instead because the objective is to increase the smoothness when sharpening.

2. Lay down the knife on the stone in 20 degree askew with the stone. Then slide the knife to front direction around 10 times consecutively. Turn over the knife blade and do the same process again. You can repeat these steps as many times as you want until you satisfy that the knife is sharp enough. after you satisfy with the result of sharpness, then now its time to use another side of whetstone, the smoother side (the coarse side used for sharpen the knife, but smooth side used for adjusting the blade looks neat and ready for use). the adjusting processes also as important as the sharpening process, if you want your knife look neat and beautiful. Now turn over the whetstone smooth side up and do the same process as what you do in sharpening method.

Note: during both sharpening and adjusting process, use three of your finger push on the blade to keep it attach to the stone during the process.

3. Pull the knife the same way that as if you try to slice the stone, but be careful about the weight you put on the blade, should be not too heavy or not too light. Other thing that you have to be aware is do not lay the blade to be too parallel to the stone, otherwise, the blade may be scratch on it.

4. after finish, now it’s the time to test the sharpness. You have to test by use the knife to cut on a paper, if the it can cut the paper the you can be sure that you have done a good sharpening, if not, let sharpen it again. after you get the satisfactory result, anoint the blade by oil and keep it in its place, don’t forget to clean the stone too.

About the Author

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