Every well-stocked kitchen should have a set of good knives. There's nothing worse than not having the right tools to work with when you are whipping up those culinary masterpieces! Here are a few tips to keep in mind when selecting a knife.
1. Do not buy knives simply on appearance. Hold the knife in your hand. The handle should feel comfortable and of substantial weight. The knife should be balanced, meaning that the handle should not be significantly heavierthan the blade or vice versa. If you are buying a set of knives, you should hold each knife in the set.
2. Wooden handles vs Carbon Steel. For most home kitchen use you should buy high-carbon stainless steel knives with riveted wooden handles. These knives are very durable and do not rust the way that cabon steel knives do.
3. Forged blades. The best knives have a tapered blade that runs from the tip to the base of the handle. The technical term for this is forged.
4. Brand names. There are a number of reputable knife brands that include the following: Henckels, Wusthof, Sabatier, Hoffritz, International Cutlery, Chief's Choice, and Global.
5. Where to buy. There are many choices of stores who specialize in cutlery as well as department stores, etc. I have found that even the discount stores often carry reputable brand names at reduced cost.
Here's another tip! If you are using a butcher block, or similar type of storage device, slip the knife into the block with the sharp side of the blade pointing up. This will help to preserve the sharp edge. Good luck shopping!
Copyright M. A. Webb, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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