forchoppingandslicing.It should
alwaysbesharp,notonlyforease
of use,butalsoforsafetyreasons.- Theheel,at therearof theblade,
is theheaviestpartof a largeknife
andis usedwithmaximumforce
to cleavethroughhard,tough
foods(thick-skinned pumpkins
cometo mind). - Thebolsteris a thickbandof
steelbetweentheheelandhandle.
It helpsbalancetheknifeand
preventstheuser’shandfrom
slippingacrosstheblade. - Thetangis thepartof theblade
thatextendsintothehandle.It
providesbalance,distributingthe
weightevenlythroughtheknife,
thusmakingit easierto use.Full
tangblades,whichgoalltheway
to thebutt,areconsideredthebest
becauseof addedbalanceand
longevity;kniveswith½ or¾ tangs
cancrackdueto increased stress
towardstheheel. - Hollowrivetsholdthetangto
theblade.Theyshould be flush
withthehandle. - Thehandleis thegrippingsurface;
it is importantthatit feels
comfortablein yourhand. - Thebuttis theend of the
knifehandle.
SHARPISBEST
Regardlesswhatyouthink,a sharp
knifeis a safeknife.Accidents
happenwhenusinga bluntknife,as
youhaveto applysomuchmore
forceto theknifeto slicethrough
food– youalsoapplythatsameforce
to yourhand or fingers if the knife
slips.
Therearetwowaysto “sharpen”
knives:sharpenandhoning.
- Honingis basicallystraightening,
or pushing, the knife’s edge back to
itsoriginaltruealignment.Thisis
doneusingthe“honingsteel”that
comesas partof yourknifeset.
Honingdoesn’tactuallysharpen
theknife,butit willseemsharper
becausethebladeis nowbackin
itsproperposition.Striketheknife
againstthesteelwithshort,sharp
strokesto smoothandstraighten
theblade.Alwaysusea steelthatis
at leastas longas thebladeyouare
sharpening– ensureyoubuya steel
thatis as longas yourlargestknife.- Sharpeningis grindingoffbits
of thebladeto makea new
sharpedge.Thisis usuallydone
usinga whetstoneor an electric
knifesharpener.
A simplewayto tellif a knifeis sharp
is to cuta tomato:a sharpknifewill
cuteasilythroughitstoughskinand
softfleshwithoutsquashing it.
STOREFORKEEPS
Storingknivessafelyandto preserve
thebladeis important.Options
includea knifeblock,sheathorfabric
roll.Butweprefera magneticknife
holderinstalledonthekitchenwall - theydon’tincreasethechanceof
bluntingkniveslikeknifeblocksdo
andcomein a rangeof lengths.
TYPESOFKNIVES
1 CleaverThislargerectangular
knifeis usedforsplitting(cleaving)
meatfrombone.A cleavershould
beusedwitha swift,shortstroke
to cutcleanlythrough the meat,
poultryor seafood.
2 CarvingknifeWithitslong,
smoothblade,a carvingknifeis
designedfortakingslicesoffa roast
in onecontinuousaction.A carving
knifecanhaveeithera pointedor
roundedtip.Theformeris usedfor
carvingmeatsarounda bone,andthe
latterforlarge,bonelesspiecesof
meat such as ham or roast beef.
3 Chef’sknifeThisall-purpose
knifehasa longbroadbladethat
curvesupwardsto a point.Thecurve
of thebladeallowsfora moreprecise
cut,astheknifecanberockedacross
thechoppingsurface.Thebroad,
heavybaseof thebladecanbeused
in placeof a cleaverto chopbone.
4 UtilityknifeMidwaybetween
a paringanda chef’sknife,itsblade
is 10-18cmin length.It is usefulfor
choppingfoodssuchasceleryand
onions,andjulienningcarrots.
5 ParingknifeWitha smallblade
(5-9cm),thisknifeis madefor
close,intricateworksuchaspeeling,
trimmingandcoring.It is thebest
oneto usewhenworkingwith
smallingredientssuch as garlic,
gingerandchilli.
6 SerratedknifeA long,sturdy
serratedknifeis a must-haveforany
kitchen.A serratedbladeis designed
forcuttingingredientsthatarehard
ontheoutsideandsoftontheinside,
likebreadandtomatoes.Commonly
usedforcuttingbread,a good
serratedknifecutsthrougha heavy
crustwithoutcompressingtheloaf.
7 BoningknifeTypicallya short,
curvedknifewitha rigidblade,
thisknifeis designedforcutting
throughmeatandjoints and up
againstthebone.
8 FilletingknifeA thinflexible
blademakesdirectingthisknifeeasy
whenslicingthinly.It is mainlyused
forfish,asthebladecanbeguided
closelyalongtheskinsoyouremove
thepreciseamountneeded.
9 KitchenscissorsAlsoknownas
kitchenshears,thesesturdyscissors
areanall-purposeutensilfor
foodpreparation.Theyaremost
commonlyusedto cuta whole
chickenintopieces,orto cutoutthe
backbone of a quail or small chicken.AWW FOOD•ISSUE FORTY NINE 7
Test Kitchen Secrets