Chef Christopher Koetke, co-founder of
www.ChefTalk.com and a culinary instructor
at Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, has advice on purchasing the best
knives for your cooking needs.
What's the most important tool in the kitchen? Even though chefs
disagree about almost everything, most, if not all would agree that knives
are the most important tool for successfully executing their professional
tasks. Chefs become attached to their knives, much like the professional
musician who knows the intricacies of his or her own instrument. Chefs know
exactly how their knives will perform.
In a world full of unnecessary kitchen gadgets, knives are the one
tool that are crucial to rewarding cooking. High quality knives are expensive
but worth every dollar (not penny). A good knife will last decades and may
even be passed down to the next generation.
Does price really reflect the quality of the knife? Most of the
time this is true. You get what you pay for when you buy a well known knife
from a reputable dealer. Can you spend $100 plus on a great chef knife? You
bet.
But how do you know which knives are the best so you can make an
informed purchase? A quality knife should be solidly constructed--it should
feel solid and heavy for its size. The knife blade should be one piece of
metal that goes from the tip of the knife to the butt or the end of the handle
of the knife. (The metal that runs through the handle is called the
tang.
In many knives the tang is visible and held together by several
rivets. A knife that claims to have a 3/4 or 1/2 tang is an inferior knife
and noticeably less "sturdy".) The knife should also be well balanced so
that the flat part of the blade, just above the handle can actually be balanced
on the side of a finger (Be careful when trying this!).
Balance is important because this is where you will be holding the
knife and thus the knife will be more comfortable to use.
The blade metal should ideally be a combination of carbon steel
and stainless steel, which is called high carbon stainless steel. Used alone,
carbon steel rusts and discolors but is easy to sharpen (This was the metal
traditionally used to make butcher's knives.) .
Pure stainless steel knives do not discolor, but can be difficult
to sharpen --although, once sharp, they hold an edge longer than a pure carbon
steel knife. High carbon stainless steel blades combine the best of the 2
metals. They are fairly easy to sharpen, hold a good edge and will not
discolor.
About the author: Chef Koetke is a co-founder of
www.ChefTalk.com, a web site all about
professional chefs (what they're cooking, where they eat, favorite books,
culinary history, educational articles and much more), written by professional
chefs for anyone interested in food. He is also a culinary instructor at
Kendall College in Evanston, IL. |
