A chef’s knife is the workhorse of the kitchen. You'll find yourself using it for 75-80 percent of your prep time (yes, it’s that good). It'll cut chunks, slices, strips, or a dice of any size.
When Buying, Look For:
- A quality manufacturer like Wusthof, Henckels, Messermeister, Victorinox, or F. Dick.
- Good material like high carbon stainless steel.
- A forged knife -- the metal is treated to enhance its hardness, density, and flexibility. Avoid stamped knives, which are “stamped” out from flat metal; not as good but often cheaper.
Find the Right Fit
At the store, hold it and try it on a cutting board as you would at home. The knife should be balanced near the center. It should be neither blade- nor handle-heavy.
Blade sizes usually start at six inches, but if used correctly, the longer and heavier 10-inch chef’s knife can conquer any cutting job. Don’t be intimidated by the big blade. Using a smaller knife to cut large items will make you exert more effort -- thus, there’s more chance of a slipup.
Honing vs. Sharpening
There are two important ways to keep your knife in shape: sharpening and honing. Most people confuse the two terms.
- Sharpening -- It’s a grinding process that produces a new, sharper cutting edge. By removing a minute amount of steel from the knife's edge, a new bevel is created on each side of the blade. Frequency: Once a year.
- Honing -- It aligns the edge of the blade and removes microscopic particles from the knife’s edge. It’s done with a steel (a device that looks like a short metal rod). Frequency: Every day.
Put that knife to use with one of these recipes
-- Alonna Friedman
Jul 15, 2010
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