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I agree with Dag. Using a good knife makes all the difference whether you're chopping a cucumber or dismembering a chicken. Cheap knives don't even come close.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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I love this topic! I'm a Culinary Student at the moment at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. I have their knives which are Henkel and they are amazing and can handle a lot of wear and tear.
Wusthof knives I would say are for the more experienced and knife trained cook. Henkel are definitely a great starting knife. Posts: 15 | Registered: Feb 2008
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quote:I suspect you haven't used a very sharp, well-honed, chef's knife then.
I wanted to expand on this: I didn't know I was using dull knives until my brother in law sharpened my chef knife. I could slice onions with essentially no downward pressure beyond the weight of the knife itself - something I never even thought possible.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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PC: I'm just using Wusthof's terminology, there; they call it a sharpening steel.
Erasmus: both Wusthof and Henckel have cheaper lines and more expensive lines. It looks like some of Henckel's higher end lines are on deeper sales right now, so I'd probably go that way, but I don't see either one as having an advantage in knife quality.
While I adore my Wusthof santoku, most of the knives I get in the future will probably be Shun and some more obscure brands. I like knives with a bit of playfulness to them (unusual shape, either for balance/ergonomics in the case of Shun or due to being from another culture's knife tradition in the case of some other brands).
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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One of the things I left to my ex-husband were my Wusthof knives (in the spirit of niceness, I guess) and I was surprised, amused, and pleased that when he remarried, his new wife brought along her Cutco knives -- and they insisted that I take the Wusthofs.
They are happy with THEIR knives, we are happy with OUR knives, but ours are better. Much.
Win win, I say.
Posts: 628 | Registered: Nov 1999
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I have this Global knife and love it. Great balance, and it seems to be holding its edge very well thus far.
Posts: 4292 | Registered: Jan 2001
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I've been very happy with the heavy Chinese cleaver that I got at a local Asian store. I don't know that it has a brand name, but it's not the first (no name) Chinese cleaver I've gotten, and I've been happy with every one. You have to sharpen it (excuse me, hone) but it is excellent for smashing garlic, chopping, mincing, whacking a butternut squash in two, and all that. It handles differently than a chef's knife, but I really like that when my chopping is done, I can scoop the food onto the flat of the blade and dump it in my pot or salad bowl or whatever.
I also find that the heaviness of the thing reduced hand fatigue, since the cleaver is doing much of the work. I'm just steering it.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Oh Tante - we were seperated at birth... My favourite kitchen knife is a cheap, heavy Chhinese cleaver. It is excellent for everything, except perhaps fiddly delicate things. However once you've chopped garlic with a cleaver, you never go back.
Sadly the chopper is relegated to a 'safe' drawer these days as my wife has little faith in my knife wielding skills. Being out os sight and out of mind, I use the ordinary no-name knives in the knife block on the counter. They're good, and I keep them ++sharp but it's not the same
As for normal knifes, I've always hankered after a set of proper Sabatier knives, but I don't think my cooking warrants the expense.
Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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My dad uses one of those to crack open coconuts when he doesn't want to get out his machete. (Yes, he has a machete.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I like our chinese cleaver too, but mostly for the big chopping (jointing chickens, mincing meat etc).
We have Trident knives, which are Wusthof I think. We have, in order of what we use the most, a chef's knife, a small knife (but not paring), a bread knife and one bigger than the chef's knife. I would like a paring knife.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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If you put the coconut in a hot oven and bake it for a bit, the shell will crack, giving you an in to start wedging/prising it open.
But I usually resort to tying it in a tea towel, sling-like, and swinging it down against the flagstones outside. CRACK! It is a very satisfying CRACK!Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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A hammer works quite well on a coconut. Word of advice: don't put the coconut on a wooden cutting board before whacking it with the hammer.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:I suspect you haven't used a very sharp, well-honed, chef's knife then.
I wanted to expand on this: I didn't know I was using dull knives until my brother in law sharpened my chef knife. I could slice onions with essentially no downward pressure beyond the weight of the knife itself - something I never even thought possible.
Certainly possible. I tend to think the knives I've purchased and sharpened at Excalibur tend to be decent quality, but they're not top-of-the-line. (I'd offer up brand names, but as I've mentioned, they're rather a long ways away right now.)
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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Exactly. I've told him the oven trick, and he's used a hammer when at someone else's house, but he really enjoys taking a machete or at the very least a giant cleaver and WHACKING it open. He gathers everyone around to watch too and we all have fun (in a scared sort of way.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Sterling: I tend to think the knives I've purchased and sharpened at Excalibur tend to be decent quality, but they're not top-of-the-line.
They don't just hone it with a sharpening stone, they actually embed the knife in a stone and pull it out.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: If you put the coconut in a hot oven and bake it for a bit, the shell will crack, giving you an in to start wedging/prising it open.
But that would damage the delicate coconut interior!
I got spoilt - I visited my brother last year when he was on GAP in Vanuatu. I had coconuts fresh from the tree cracked open by the kids with their bush knives (very like chinese cleavers, just longer - and everyone from 4 years old up carries them) - so good.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Wow, I thought this would be a mayfly (althought, I didn't plan on deleting it). I didn't think it would be a two pager.
Posts: 1766 | Registered: Feb 2006
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No, no, no. No ovens or hammers for cracking open coconuts. Take a big heavy knife, and with the blunt side of it, wack the coconut around the equator until it cracks open. My mother in law takes two or three wacks. I'm now down to a half dozen.
As for the cheapo no-name Chinese cleaver... I had one. Back in Canada. I don't have one now. I miss it. We can only get cheap crappo local knives here...
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Don't forget to FIRST open holes through two of the eyes, and drain the milk. A nailset and hammer are good for this. Drink the milk, if you like, or use it in a recipe. This will make the cracking of the husk less... messy.
On-Topic: I am obsessively infatuated with good kitchen knives. And I love the Chinese cleaver, too.
QS wrote: My mother in law takes two or three wacks. I'm now down to a half dozen.
A half dozen mothers in law?
Posts: 431 | Registered: Oct 2003
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The liquid that comes out of a coconut isn't milk, but coconut water. Coconut milk is made by squeezing the meat of the fruit.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by imogen: Welcome to the big leagues, son.
Now, can I interest you in a knife set?
*giggle*
quote:Originally posted by John Van Pelt: Don't forget to FIRST open holes through two of the eyes, and drain the milk. A nailset and hammer are good for this.
Which is why the hammer is doubly efficient. (Dags is right about milk/water though.)
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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You know, we don't bother with nails through the eyes to drain the water. It's easy enough to hear the suddenly hollow sound and hold the coconut over a bowl, then take one more wack, pry it open a bit, and let it drain. It's a lot easier, in my mind, than using a hammer on a coconut.
And I'm glad y'all were so amused. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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So, I went with Calphalon. It seemed like a good starter knife. I drooled over the Henckels, but just could not spend the money on that. This will be a good starter knife for me and let me practice my knifework. I did get the 7" Santoku. I came home and immediately took out an onion. WOW! I have never sliced an onion that thin.
My next question, how long do I have before I need to get a sharpening steel? Can someone point me to a webpage or video that would show how to use one? I would hate to mess up my new knife.
Posts: 1766 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Where do you get a knife professionally sharpened? I've had a Henckels 7" Santoku for a couple of years and I love it. Use it daily, but now I can't get an edge on it with the steel. It is a good knife so I'd rather get it sharpen than buy a new one, but I don't have a clue where to get it done.
Posts: 555 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Apparently I saw this a bit too late, but I also have the Wusthof santoku. After my crappy chef knife broke, a friend of mine lent me her extra (yes, you read that correctly) Wusthof santoku.
I fell in love. I didn't know that was possible with a knife.
Eventually, I found a really good sale and picked up one of my own. Reason being, I just couldn't bear to use a crappy knife ever again.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:Originally posted by SC Carver: Where do you get a knife professionally sharpened? I've had a Henckels 7" Santoku for a couple of years and I love it. Use it daily, but now I can't get an edge on it with the steel. It is a good knife so I'd rather get it sharpen than buy a new one, but I don't have a clue where to get it done.
posted
I just found an old "Oster" electric sharpener (from the 1960's I'd guess). It has two motorized grind wheels placed around a slot for the knife.
Good, bad, or unknown to use.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Remember, despite the name, the steel doesn't sharpen; it hones
I'll reiterate: Honing is a grinding process that removes metal. It is not limited to sharpening, automotive cylinders are also honed (for example). A steel does not hone.
BTW, you should never use a steel on a blade immediately after using it. The edge of the blade is distorted through use, and the edge can actually curl over at the microscopic level. Using a steel in that condition will rip off the edge of the blade.
Instead, allow the edge to rest for a day before you use a steel on it. This allows the metal to return most the of way to its original shape (what they call "memory"), and the steel just positions it the last little bit. Straight razors used to come in sets of 7 so that you could use one razor each day and only strop your razor once a week. That goes for using the steel every time you use your knife. Don't overdo it.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote:BTW, you should never use a steel on a blade immediately after using it. The edge of the blade is distorted through use, and the edge can actually curl over at the microscopic level. Using a steel in that condition will rip off the edge of the blade.
That's why you should do it before using it.
quote:I'll reiterate: Honing is a grinding process that removes metal. It is not limited to sharpening, automotive cylinders are also honed (for example). A steel does not hone.
Whatever the technical use outside the context of knives, what is done with a sharpening steel by a cook immediately before using a knife is commonly referred to as "honing." If you use "honing" in this context, people will know what you mean.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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We can only get cheap crappo local knives here...
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