Where every cook should begin…
by Nicole Rocke
Whether you are just cooking for your family, a self proclaimed foodie, or a professional chef there is one task that you must do to begin you culinary exploration… look at your knives. The knife is the most important tool in a kitchen. Not just a knife but a small repertory of good quality knives. A knife is to a chef as a paintbrush is to an artist, without it they cannot flourish.
So when you look at your knives and see dull, bent, thin bladed knives you should discard them and start fresh with quality sharp knives. There are a few points to look for when selecting a knife. First look at the construction of the knife. Can you see that the blade goes all the way through the handle, this called the tang. That makes the knife sturdy and stable. Look at what the handle is made of. Wooden handles can harbor bacteria and cheap plastic can get scratched and look poor in a short period of time. I recommend looking for resin handles or the knife to be forged out of one piece of metal. Finally handle the knife. Hold it in your hand. The knife should have a good weight to it but should not be too heavy you feel as through you would get tired during holiday cooking marathons. Check the balance of the knife too. Place the heel of the baled or the bolster on you outstretched index finger. If the knife levels it self out it has a good balance if it wants to fall it doesn’t. The balance is important because if you have a heavy blade and a light handle you will have to do more work to use the knife and a too heave handle you are more likely to lose control of the blade.
A basic knife selection should consist of:
1 8-10” Chef or French knife
1 7-9” Boning or Fillet knife (does not have to have a full tang)
1 10-12” Slicing blade (if this is a smooth blade also get a serrated one)
1 Paring knife
1 Sharpening Steel
With this selection of knives you will be ready for whatever culinary endeavor you undertake be it Wednesday night’s dinner or a cocktail party for 20 people.
Price should not be a major issue when selecting knives. It should be considered but to get quality you should spend quality. I have heard of people spending $100 on an entire set of knives that were ok but eventually needed to be replaced. I personally have an 8” chef knife that I absolutely adore that cost $135, for one knife. I am a professional, my knives are my lively hood, and a tax write off! A good rule of thumb is to spend the most you can comfortable afford on your knives. Take care of them and your knives will last longer than you will be able to use them.
After you have your knives you need to take care of them so that they will last you a long time. First rule, yes rule, is to never put anything sharper than a butter knife in the dishwasher. The high heat and harsh detergents will discolor and weaken the handle as well as the blade and you will lose your nice sharp edge you just spent good money on.
Second always use that sharpening steel. Almost everyone has one but very few actually use it, and almost no one uses it as they should. As you use a knife the nice sharp edge folds over, this happens microscopically. The steel straightens that edge out and gives you a new knife again. To use the steel I believe the safest way is to stand up, make sure no one is in front of you with the steel in your non- dominant hand and the knife in your dominant hand. Hold the steel down toward the floor at a 45°. Take the heel of the knife and place it on top of the steel at a 20° angle, slide the knife down the length of the steel running the blade along all the way to the tip, so at the tip of the steel the tip of the knife should be leaving. Bring the knife back up to the top under the steel at the same 20° angle and repeat on that side of the blade. Alternate like this until each side has been run 10 to 20 times. When done rinse and dry the knife. Do this every time you use your knife and you will keep your edge nice and sharp. Every couple weeks of regular use take a piece of tin foil and run it along the steel to clean it. This picks up the microscopic metal fragments that have been deposited.
Eventually the edge of the blade will weaken enough that it will break off , again microscopically. At this point you can steel your knife all day and you will never have your nice edge back. Find a store that will sharpen your knives for you. They will grind back the metal to give you a brand new edge. With frequent home use and proper care you may need to do this every one to two years.
Third, never throw all your knives together in a drawer together. They will dull each others blades and nick handles and it is dangerous to dig in there. You can get drawer inserts which line them all up, a knife block for your counter, a magnetic strip to mount on the wall or even one of those wooden dish racks and line all the knives in the slats.
Now that picking good knives and care has been covered that leaves actually using the knives. The reason I have put so much emphasis on sharp knives is because they are actually safer to use. Because so much more force is used to cut with a dull knife you have a better chance of slipping and hurting your self or someone nearby. When a knife is sharp enough very little pressure is needed because the weight of the knife is enough force. Also never be afraid of knives. When you are afraid of them you are unsure of your self and the fumbling around that is to follow you will cut your self. Have respect for the knife not fear. With control and confidence you are on your way to dicing onions like a pro. Make sure you have a good cutting board that is not glass, properly secured either by a rubber mat or a damp rag. Hold the knife near the blade but keeping all your fingers well away from the edge, focus on your product, feet firmly on the floor and begin. That is it respect, not fear and confidence, those are the only knife skills you need.
When kids are cooking you need to make the decision when they are old enough to use the knives. I gave my 11 year old cousin a 5” cook’s utility knife to clean and cut peaches. With a little guidance she was on her way and did fine even with a slippery item like peaches. The funny thing was I actually cut myself that day while dicing tomatoes, go figure. If the kids are old enough to respect the knife then go for it, and they may even surprise you by their ability with the tool.
As my first article I decided to start at the beginning. The beginning for a chef is their knives. My fiancé, who is also a chef, loved the idea and helped me to remember all the finer points that are as ingrained in a chef just as tying shoes is to you.
Thank you and keep cooking!
