Jan 22 2008
The ABC of Knives Part 2
CHOOSING THERIGHT KNIFE
When choosing a knife, hold it to feel its balance. A well-designed knife has a curve from the bolster to the tip of the blade to allow you to rock the knife as you dice food.
A basic knife set
Paring knives are uniquely shaped blades for intricate tasks requiring precision control. They are primarily used for paring, trimming, coring, and dicing.
Utility knives are a collection of smaller utility blades, as well as serrated tomato and salami knives.
Chef’s knives or Cook’s knives are the workhorses of the kitchen. Perfectly balanced for effortless chopping, mincing, and dicing, this is the knife the professional chef reaches for most often.
Boning knives have a tapered, pointed blade for working closely around bones and joints.
Carving knives have serrated or smooth edges, with the choice of blade length based on the meat you will carve.
Slicers come in variety of styles including narrow, hollow, serrated, long, and regular blades and are used for cutting slices from meat and fish.
Bread knives have a serrated edge that cuts through baguettes and bread without damaging the crust.
Kitchen knives are all-purpose knives for everyday tasks in the kitchen.
Cleavers have a heavier blade designed to cut through bone.
SHARPENING KNIVES
As a knife is used over a period of time the blade develops fine “teeth” and loses its “straightness”. This makes cutting more difficult, and leads to jagged rather than straight cuts. The sharpening steel found in most sets of knives does not actually sharpen the knife, but realigns (straightens) the edge, thus restoring its sharpness. Sharpening steels should be used regularly.
SHARPENING WITH A STEEL
When a knife is used, the edge eventually becomes dull and turns either to the leff or the right side depending on how you hold your knife when cuffing.
Excellent quality knives with high carbon/molybdenum/vanadium alloy have elasticity and can easily be re-aligned by sharpening steel. Do not use diamond-coated steel or a pull-through manual or electric sharpening device just to maintain the edge. These devices will destroy your turned edge if used regularly. They are meant to be used occasionally to sharpen the knife, but not for regular maintenance.
THE CORRECT PROCESS
Place the knife blade against the tip of the sharpening steel at an angle of approximately 20 degrees.
Pull the knife down and across the steel, describing a slight arc. Repeat this action on the back of the steel to sharpen the other side of the blade.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 five to ten times, alternating the left and right side of the blade. It is very important to maintain the angle of 20 degrees and to run the full length of the cuffing edge along the steel from the hilt to the tip of the knife. The speed at which you do this is irrelevant.
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