Out of all of the tools in my kitchen, the most unsung heroes are my knives. I tend to use stainless steel knives manufactured by Henckels, a well-known German brand. The set was about $350, so it was fairly affordable. These knives are not too heavy, however, and can be easily managed unlike some of the thick stainless knives that professional chefs tend to use. Because the stainless steel is somewhat soft, they need to be sharpened a bit more frequently. Keeping your knives sharp is important because it allows you to work more quickly and you are less likely to cut yourself using a sharp knife as opposed to one that is dull. Once early in my marriage when John and I lived in an apartment, I cut myself quite badly on a dull knife to the point that I fainted. John came home from work and took one look at me and said “you know, I don’t expect you to do all of this every night.” Let’s face it, I wasn’t going to stop doing what I was doing, so something had to change. After that, we bought a better set of tools and John started to sharpen them frequently.
In order to maintain the knife’s edge, you need to use a sharpening steel or a whetstone. John bought the one that we use in Italy at a market in Tuscany. He loves bringing home things that we use frequently from the places where we travel. It is really important to sharpen the knife prior to slicing meat or acidic vegetables such as tomatoes or peppers. The acids from those items can corrode the edge of your tools, so be sure to wash and dry your knives fairly quickly after you use them to cut those items. And never use the dishwasher to clean these items, as they must be washed and dried by hand. Over time, handles can get corroded by harsh cleaning agents, and these items were made to last a lifetime. I have never sent my knives to a specialist to be sharpened, although I am aware of businesses that will do this for you. I think this would be challenging in terms of living without my most important tools and it is also fairly expensive too, so the best thing to do is to teach yourself how to sharpen and care for knives.
So how do you use a whetstone? The term “whet” means “to sharpen.” There are different types of sharpening stones. Some require water or oil. Some do not. Some are designed for convenience; others are more traditional. Whetstones, like other sharpening stones, usually feature two sides with separate grit: one coarse, and the other fine. When you sharpen a knife using a whetstone, you are essentially removing metal with each pass of the knife, so using the correct side for the job is a must.
Start by placing damp paper towels under the whetstone to make sure it stays in place – it should be on the coarse side up. Make sure the knife is facing away from you and place the handle end on whetstone at the angle of your blade. Place other hand in the middle of the flat side of the blade, keeping your fingers away from the sharp edge. Draw blade down the stone in a wide manner, holding the blade at a constant angle until the tip of the knife runs off the other edge. Repeat several times, depending on dullness of blade. Switch knife over and repeat the sharpening process in the opposite direction. Turn whetstone over to fine side and repeat process on both sides of knife until blade is sharp.
Types of Knives:
Boning Knife: These knives are made to be slightly flexible, with a rather thin, ½ inch blade. I typically use these for separating chicken parts or removing the skin from fish filets. They can also be used to remove the “silver skin” from pork tenderloin, which is a layer of skin and fat that is best removed.
10 Inch Chef’s Knife: This is our workhorse in the kitchen that is used for virtually everything from cutting a cabbage in half to cleaving chicken. It is also great for carving roasts including meats and poultry. It is the knife I reach for more than any other out of our collection.
Bread Knife: Another tool that gets quite a bit of use is our serrated bread knife that is used to cut fresh bread and primarily bagels for the kids. This is one of those ones that must be used with care as if you aren’t too cautious, you can end up hurting yourself. This is a knife that cannot be sharpened and should be cared for immaculately. I never use this knife to cut acidic items like tomatoes since that will dull the edge. Use it for what it was intended and care for it and it will last forever.
Mezzaluna: I went through a period where I thought owning this style of knife would shorten the time it took to prepare dinners since I figured I could chop onions and other items faster with the double handled tool. I became worried though about someone cutting themselves when I had kids and put it away as I could see my children being curious enough to try it. It is typically used for mincing herbs or garlic, but it can be used for chopping other things such as cheese or meat.
Santoku Knife: I went through a period where I was pretty obsessed with Asian culture and decided I wanted a Japanese knife. This nation has a rich history of blades and the santoku knife first appeared in the mid-40s at the end of World War II. At that time, the Japanese forged a smaller, lighter, more home-cook-friendly knife that became the knife we now know today. I use this knife for any task that requires up and down repetition, such as dicing carrots, or mincing meat. They are also great for slicing meat, seafood, or large blocks of cheese. Finally, because of how they are shaped, I seldom have run into issues with cuts and I don’t get too fatigued either when I use them for any length of time.
Paring Knife: This is a lightweight knife that is typically used to peel citrus, trim artichokes, dice shallots and trim vegetables. It gets used fairly often. Mine is not too expensive and suits me well since it is not too heavy and gets the job accomplished.
Cleaver: Another tool purchased by John on a trip to New York’s Chinatown, our cleaver is kept fairly high up so that no one gets hurt accidentally. It’s extremely heavy and is used primarily for separating chicken – primarily wings and other parts when I make recipes that require boned chicken. I much prefer to do it myself as opposed to buying the parts. It just isn’t the same quality otherwise.
Mandoline: This is an adjustable slicing tool that admittedly, I don’t use very often, but it can come in very handy when you want consistent, beautiful slices of vegetables or fruit in a hurry. It gets used around the holidays every year when I make a traditional gratin of potatoes and very thin slices are needed. It should be washed by hand and be carefully used as it is one of the more “accident” prone items I have and it’s not uncommon to slice off skin in addition to the vegetables!
Let it be said that we are not professional experts. A lot of what we know comes from reading excellent sources of information and frankly from watching YouTube. I am a self-taught cook who reads voraciously and who has spent a lot of time in the kitchens of my family members learning as they did from their relatives. But I can tell you that owning a proper set of knives that are kept sharp at all times will make your life a lot easier and will make for a lot less work in the long run!
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