Quality Kitchen Cutlery

The tip ends of kitchen knives vary .  Some are pointed, some cut off with a straight end, some are rounded or with a slant.  The point of the knife is at the opposite end of the handle and typically used for cutting small items or food into thin strips.  It can also be used for making slits in foods, i.e., preparing a pork chop to stuff.  The cutting edge is the bottom of the blade and runs along the length of the blade.  The cutting edge of knives can be serrated or straight.  The serrated edges never need sharpening and the straight edged knives must be kept sharp by regularly using a sharpening steel or sharpener of some type.  The spine of the blade is the side opposite the cutting edge.  It’s usually thicker than the cutting edge so as to add strength to the blade.  It has a smooth, blunt edge to allow gripping with the thumb and forefinger or apply pressure with fingers or palm of hand which adds control to the cutting task.  The bolster, if the knife has one, is a thick piece of metal at the end of the blade and just before the handle.    The bolster along with the tang gives the knife balance and with good balance, it provides better control.  The bolster provides protection from the blade.  If the knife has a bolster, it’s an indication that the knife was formed using the forged process rather than stamped.  The handle of the kitchen knife if the part of the knife that holds the blade.  The tang of the blade extends down in the handle to attach the blade to the handle material.  On a strong kitchen knife, the tang is usually riveted to the handle.  When purchasing a knife, it’s important that the handle fits your hand properly.  It shouldn’t be too big or too small.  Chicago Cutlery and Ginsu offers quality kitchen knives.

The paring knife is a common and useful knife and probably used more often than any other knife in the preparation of food in your kitchen.  It is a small knife usually with a plain edged blade.  The blade is usually      2 1/2 - 4 inches in length and is ideal for peeling vegetables and fruit.  It is also used by some for deveining shrimp, removing seeds from peppers of various sorts, and cutting garnishes.  It’s more or less an all purpose knife for your varied kitchen tasks.

I was highly impressed with the many innovations made in the Swiss Family Robinson movie and display at Disneyworld and the famous tree house.  Man has always had the ability to adapt and make new innovations to make his tasks more simple.  Kitchen gagetry is no exception.  Manufacturers make knives and cutlery, cookware and more for every common task man faces.

I was impressed this morning as I cut up a rather large Indiana cantelope.  I enjoyed the ease of using the famous Chef Knife as a sliced through the thickness of the cantelope and then I used a 4 inch paring knife to dice into small chunks. It would have made the task more difficult to slice and dice this melon with the larger chef’s knife.

The next time you browse through the small appliance department of your favorite Department Store observe the many new gadgets that are displayed and the new innovations that are available to us.  You will find everything from new coffee makers to can openers, toasters, blenders and every sort of gadget imaginable.

If you have observed some new gadget that interests you tell us about it in our comment section below.

Until next Blog—The KitchenKing

Quality knives and Cutlery need to be sharpened to smooth and hone the blades and to keep your knives with a sharp edge.  There is nothing more frustrating to anyone in the kitchen or even devestating to a professional chef than to have a blade that is dull or with jagged tears.  To avoid this, quality knives and cutlery must be sharpened with a whetstone on a regular basis…at least every two or three months.  The very best way to sharpen a knife would be to have it professionally ground or sharpened, however, it is not practical to take your knives each time you want them sharpened to a professional craftsman.  Therefore, tools are available for sharpening your knives and cutlery yourself.  There are various styles of knife sharpeners but to get the best and sharpest edge is to use the whetstone and sharpening steel.  It may seem a little difficult to master the sharpening if using a whetstone and honing steel, or sharpening steel, but with practice you can do it yourself with much success. 

It is recommended that you first start with a whetstone which is made of carbonundum or another abrasive that comes in three densities:  coarse, medium (for all-purpose shrpening) and fine.   The coarse stone is good for sharpening Chef’s knives, while the fine stone is better for slicing knives or boning knives.  The whetstones come in two basic types–oil or water.  The oil whetstone is prepared by lubricating it with a few drops of oil which is smoothed to a light film across the stone.  A water stone will have to be soaked in water for approximately 15 minutes to absorb moisture.   Regardless of the type of stone you use, after it is prepared, be sure to place it on a non-stick surface, such as a tea towel, to steady the stone before you begin the sharpening.  Using the whetstone may leave a few minuscule pieces of jagged metal and therefore following up with the use of the honing steel is needed.

The honing steel, or sharpening steel, is a tool that serves a different purpose from the whetstone but they work in conjunction with the each other.  The honing steel is a steel rod up to one foot long, rounded in cross section with longitudinal ridges or grooves in it and it’s purpose is to smooth out or remove any microscopic nicks or jags in the edge left from using the whetstone and make the blade smooth.

It is recommended that you use your honing steel before each use to remove any tiny burrs and maintain the edge in between sharpening on the whetstone.

Whatever you do, don’t allow the blades of your knives and cutlery to become dull.  Keep them sharp using at least some type of knife sharpener on a regular basis.

Carving knife sets usually consist of a carving knife and a carving fork and are usually sold as a set.  The carving knife is sometimes called a slicer tho generally constructed a little different.  The carving knife has a shorter and wider blade than the slicer which usually has a longer and narrower blade.  The carving knife usually ranges from 8 to 15 inches in length and is used primarily to cut thin slices of meat such as ham, poultry, roasts or other cooked meats.  A carving knife is thinner than a chef’s knife which allows it to cut thin slices.   

The carving fork is a long, two-pronged fork used to hold the meat while carving the meat.  It’s important to use a carving fork while carving meats to keep it from slipping aroung and allowing a more controlled cut with the knife. 

Chef knives are a good all-purpose knife and sometimes referred to as the “Cook’s Knife.”  A chef’s knife can be used for other cutting tasks but is used mainly for chopping, dicing, slicing, and mincing.    The blade of the chef’s knife is curved and allows the cook to rock the knife on the cutting board for a more controlled precise cut.  The length of the chef’s knife can be found with different lengths anywhere from 6 - 12 inches, although 8 inches is the most common.  It is usually recommended using the size that is most comfortable for the cook’s hands.  Larger knives can be more difficult to handle but they can cut more and are versatile.

The great art and science of cooking has been an on-going progression from the earliest discovery.  It offers an ever enticing experience of tasting and experimenting with thousands of different flavors, foods, and seasonings.

Let us consider the volumes and volumes of various recipes from great cooks around the world including our mothers and grandmothers.  These great artists have passed their experiences and experiments on and on thru the generations so that we may experience the tastes and benefit from their knowledge. 

These experiences continue today in the finest cooking schools of France, Italy, and yes, in the USA.  Fine restaurants require their chefs to go thru many rigid hours of training so they may maintain the quality of their fine cooking.

What a vacation to experiment and experience the many tastes and to entice man’s taste buds to the delightful aroma and flavorful delicacies, desserts, and meals.  Doesn’t that make you want to get out in your kitchen and put your knives to work cutting, chopping, and dicing to create a flavorful masterpiece for your family tonight?

No matter what knife you may use in your kitchen knife set, safety must always be practiced.  A good quality knife is very sharp and can be very dangerous if not handled with care.  On the other hand, a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife.  A dull knife requires more  pressure for cutting which can cause the knife to slip.  Therefore, you want to keep your knives sharp at all times.

Always keep the blade and point of the knife angled away from you.  If you ever have to hand a knife to someone, always hand the handle to them.  Never hand a knife with the point or blade toward anyone.   After handling a knife, lay it down in a cleared area with the blade and point away from the body and a safe distance from the edge of your cutting area to avoid the possibility of falling.    If a knife should happen to fall, never try to catch it.  Allow the knife to fall staying alert to the direction it’s falling and step out of the way.    Wait for the knife to come to a complete rest before picking it up.  It’s better to let the knife fall than to try to catch it resulting in a disasterous injury.

It’s important to use the proper size and type of knife for the task.  Always use a cutting board, preferably a wooden cutting board, when cutting , chopping, dicing, mincing, etc., and be sure the cutting board has plenty of space to work while completing the job.   Also,  you want to make sure the cutting board is sitting level and firmly placed so that it doesn’t slip or slide.  Sometimes putting a dampened towel under the cutting board will help prevent slippage.   Never try cutting anything while in your hand.  When cutting, chopping or whatever the task, always cut away from the body when possible. 

Knives should not be stored in a drawer as stated in my previous blog.  If they are stored loosely in a drawer, never reach blindly for a knife; reach deliberately for the handle.  Knives are safest stored in a knife block.

Do not use a knife to stab, pull or lift materials.  Don’t attempt to open a can or bottlewith a knife.   Knives are not made to act as can openers, screw drivers, ice picks, or for prying apart frozen food.  Don’t use a knife to cut string, metal or paper.  This can dull or even damage the blade.

Lastly, never drop knives into a sink filled with sudsy water.  Reaching into the water, you cannot see the blade and you can easily grab the knife by the blade resulting in a severe cut.   Always hold knives by the handles, hand wash them carefully, and dry thoroughly.

Besides kitchen knives, the most common tool for other uses known to man has most probably been the knife.

The first knife known to man was developed by the cave man.  He made the knife from sharpened and ground pieces of flint and quartz and used it primarily for skinning animals and cutting meat.

Throughout history, the knife has served man not only as a tool but also as a weapon.  As a tool the knife is used by many industries with different knives for different tasks.  It is used by Artists in painting pictures. The knife is Sculptors most important tool especially when working in ebony and ivory.  The Doctor’s scalpel is probably his most important tool used at the operating table.

First on the list of weapons used in fighting or in war was the knife.  It was used extensively during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.  Knives were made in the form of daggers which were favorite small weapons.  During America’s pioneer days the Bowie Knife became very popular as both a tool and a weapon.  Even during WWII, when weapons became more complicated, the Commando Knife was very useful in hand to hand fighting.

Today we can find knives in just about every shape or form and built for limitless purposes.

If this article interests you look for more information on our next blog.

The following are additional kitchen knives and their uses that make your food preparation easier.The Utility Knife is a little smaller and lighter than the Chef Knife.  The length of its blade is usually 5-6 inches long.  It works great for cutting and slicing especially on fruit and vegetables such as cantelope and tomatoes. The Cleaver is a tool used for chopping meats.  It very good for cutting thru bones because of its heavy rectangular blade.   This knife has a blade that is usually 10-14 inches long.

The Paring Knife is one that no one should be without in their kitchen.  It has a variety of uses, such as peeling, dicing, trimming and slicing.  It is especially good on small fruit, vegetables, and cheeses.  Its blade is usually 3-4 inches long.

The Torne Knife is for peeling, slicing, timming and dicing small fruit, vegetables and cheeses, but has a shorter blade than the paring knife.  Its blade is usually 2-3 inches long.

The Steak Knife is one usually used primarily at the dining table for cutting steak, chicken or other main courses.  The blade of this knife can be wide or thin or also serrated or smoothe and is about 4-5 inches long.