86 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
✓ Serrated knife: Also known as a bread knife, the serrated knife is about
8 to 10 inches long and is great for cutting through bread and thick rinds
of fruits such as watermelon and pineapple.
✓ Utility knife: Smaller than a chef’s knife and slightly bigger than a paring
knife, this knife is used for all the foods in between. For example, a utility
knife is great for cutting grapefruit and eggplant.
Any of the above knives are great for cutting and trimming meat, poultry,
seafood, and fish as well.
The quality of the knife is just as important as what type it is, so buy what
you can afford. Cheaper knives normally have plastic handles and the blades
are thin and not able to be sharpened. More-expensive knives have thicker
blades made from high-carbon stainless steel and can be sharpened when
they gets dull. The part of the blade that runs through the handle is called
the tang. Pick knives that let you see the tang run through the entire length
of the handle, because knives with a full tang last longer. Knives range from
$7 to over $150 each. Protect your investment by washing in soapy water and
drying thoroughly before storing. Don’t put your knives in the dishwasher,
especially if they have wooden handles.
Keeping your knives sharp is important. Dull knives cause more cuts then
sharp ones because when a knife isn’t sharp, most people apply more pressure
to cut through the food. This excessive pressure can cause more damage if
you cut yourself. Food prep also is much quicker when sharp knives are used
because sharp knives do all the work. Most areas of the country have knife
sharpening services, and the cost is generally around $3 a knife. You can also
learn to sharpen them yourself. Most knives need to be sharpened at least
every six months.
Although it’s not a knife, a pair of kitchen shears, or scissors, deserves a
place in your knife block. You may want to have one pair designated for food
for snipping the stems from herbs, and another pair for opening packages.
Cutting boards
The job of a cutting board is to protect your countertops and to provide a
slight cushion for your knife to keep the blade from dulling. Although it may
look nice, don’t use a glass cutting board. This is the worst on your knives,
and when the blade meets the surface of the glass, it slips. Wood and
polyurethane boards are the best options. There is some controversy over
which cutting board holds bacteria, and the answer is neither, as long as they
are cleaned and sterilized well. The advantage to the polyurethane board is
that it’s dishwasher safe. A wood cutting board needs to be hand-washed and
air dried. You may want to have one or more of each on hand. If you’re
worried about food safety with raw meats, use a polyurethane board so that
you can stick in the dishwasher.
