Despite my long experiences in all kinds of professional kitchen, I am not a knife expert. I see those cooking shows on tv, with the cooks whipping through cutting veggies, and sigh, I will never be that efficient!
But, there ARE some things I know about knives, that I feel I should pass on. Not at all original to me, these are well known by cooks and chefs.
RULE ONE: By the best knife you can afford. In my opinion, one good knife is better than a whole set of lousy ones. Tune in tomorrow for how to buy one.
RULE TWO: A Sharp knife is SAFER than a dull one. This is the most counter intuitive think to a beginning cook. People instinctively associate sharpness with getting cut by other things . like sharp edges to glass, sharp corners on furniture, and so on. The difference is, of course, that a knife is designed to cut. A dull knife will cause you to press down in order to cut. This means you cannot count on your knife cutting with the same effort every time. You will never gain the FEEL of a proper knife, and you will be much more likely to get a finger in the way of the knife.
RULE THREE: Clean your knife. Wash, dry, and put your knife away by hand (not in the dishwasher), as soon as you are done cutting. Also wash it when you sharpen it.
As to sharpening, if you want to learn how to do it the way the chefs do, go at it. AS for me, I use a sharpening tool, because I hate honing my knife (I just committed cooking blasphemy)
I have one like this:
https://www.amazon.com/PriorityChef-Sharpener-Straight-Serrated-Sharpening/dp/B00VQK6D3G/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501116204&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=knife+sharpener&psc=1
Now, get cooking!
But, there ARE some things I know about knives, that I feel I should pass on. Not at all original to me, these are well known by cooks and chefs.
RULE ONE: By the best knife you can afford. In my opinion, one good knife is better than a whole set of lousy ones. Tune in tomorrow for how to buy one.
RULE TWO: A Sharp knife is SAFER than a dull one. This is the most counter intuitive think to a beginning cook. People instinctively associate sharpness with getting cut by other things . like sharp edges to glass, sharp corners on furniture, and so on. The difference is, of course, that a knife is designed to cut. A dull knife will cause you to press down in order to cut. This means you cannot count on your knife cutting with the same effort every time. You will never gain the FEEL of a proper knife, and you will be much more likely to get a finger in the way of the knife.
RULE THREE: Clean your knife. Wash, dry, and put your knife away by hand (not in the dishwasher), as soon as you are done cutting. Also wash it when you sharpen it.
As to sharpening, if you want to learn how to do it the way the chefs do, go at it. AS for me, I use a sharpening tool, because I hate honing my knife (I just committed cooking blasphemy)
I have one like this:
https://www.amazon.com/PriorityChef-Sharpener-Straight-Serrated-Sharpening/dp/B00VQK6D3G/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501116204&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=knife+sharpener&psc=1
Now, get cooking!
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