August 01, 2005

Blade Runner

One of the first kitchen items you need in tip-top shape is a good knife. Make that a good knife set. Poor quality knives become dull very quickly and are more dangerous than their well-sharpened counterparts. Slicing through a ripe tomato is less perilous if you have a blade that instead of indenting the skin, effortlessly slides through it.

Embarrassingly enough, the radish here is lacking good knives. I know, it's a (sigh) a huge point of sensitivity. I really have no excuse. I can't exactly advocate excellence if I, myself, am using knives of sub-par quality. At the same time, knives isn't something you give as a gift, at least not in my culture. Gifting knives has all kinds of bad omens associated with it. And so it is basically up to me to procure my own set of what is the best in the trade.

There are a few leading knife manufacturers out there that professional chefs will swear by. Knives are very personal, much like pens are, and people who tend to cook a lot, will have very strong opinions. To the extent that they'll smirk and scoff at other knives.

Anthony Bourdain, the famed author of Kitchen Confidential and Executive Chef at Les Halles, is enamored of Global. I've a friend who is a Henckels devotee and regards other brands with suspicion. Personally, I'm a Wusthoff girl through and through. I like that the blade is less curved than that of Henckels. I like the handle feel better in my hand. I'm also an advocate of the Classic line rather than the Grand Prix line that Wusthoff offers. But that’s just me.

So in the very near time, I'm going to be procuring my own starter set of knives. The picture above represents the set I'm going to purchase. Why not an 8-piece set complete with its own professional-looking wooden block? Well, I don't think that I will need all those knives. I have noticed that I really just alternate between the three: the chef's knife, the utility knife, and the paring knife. I also prefer a magnetic strip to the wooden block for hygienic reasons, as wood tends to trap a lot of bacteria in it. Plus, I'm a total sucker for the slick look of metal - I'm a display junkie to boot.

The chef's knife is sharp and powerful tool that should get you through the larger part of cooking. If it's made well, it will be well-balanced, have a comfortable grip, and will allow you to slice and dice with the utmost ease.

The utility knife, the second in size pictured here, is great for peeling, cutting smaller objects, and give a bit more versatility for things a chef's knife would be an overkill.

Finally, the paring knife works well to peel, core, and do just about anything that requires great agility.

I need to do a bit more research on knife care. How to keep my lovely future knives sharp and in mint condition. Do I sharpen them myself or get a professional to do the trick? Do I use a steel in between?

Whatever my solution, I know that these babies will be happy in their home. I'll take good care of them and make sure they live up to their potential.

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