The Art of Buying a Kitchen Knife
Why is it that when you go to a kitchen shop to buy that little veg knife with a wooden handle that seats really nicely in your hand you know the one I am talking about? The one you have had for 15 years and now has gone with the peels, so like I said why is it so difficult to find one exactly the same? Or you can ask yourself why do we need so many knives? What do they all do? Or are they there just to confuse us?Well, the answer is very simple, every knife serves a purpose, from a small 4”veg/parer to a large 12”carving, they are all useful, and I will try to cover most of them in my notes that I will be sending you.To start with I would like to recommend to any one that goes out to buy a good kitchen knife, to try and hold it first of all, obviously don’t stand there waiving it like a butcher but just hold it in your hand and get the feel of it, if it feels comfortable, not too heavy or too light, may be too long or too wide? But once you have established which knife feels best in your hand, only then start asking about the quality and any technical details you may want to know.Remember even if the knife has a high price on it and someone has even recommended it to you, if it doesn’t feel comfortable in your hand don’t buy it, try another.Knives are very personal so try before you buy.Knives are some of the most important tools in your kitchen, you use and abuse them every day without even thinking about it, but have you thought about sharpening them?Don’t let anyone fool you that knives don’t need sharpening, every good knife needs love and care and you do that by sharpening it little and often, don’t let the blade go blunt - try and maintain it.There are lots of different sharpeners on the market some are better then others and I am sure that some of you have probably tried at some stage to use a sharpening steel and found the whole process completely useless and the knife simply doesn’t get any sharper.It is quite a common experience and you are not the only one out there who finds a sharpening steel tricky to use. I would, however, recommend that you “talk sharpeners” with the shop assistant at the same time as you buy your knives. A good knife needs a good sharpener, and it doesn’t matter how much you paid, it will still need sharpening.Remember a sharp knife in the kitchen is safer then a blunt one.Happy cooking.YossiUpstairs Downstairs Specialist Cookshop(www.globalcookshop.co.uk)