Monday
May242010
Kitchen Knives
Monday, May 24, 2010 at 12:10PM As the building of my “dream kitchen” will take place in a few weeks I’ve been blogging here about culinary things. To my delight, readers have enjoyed the postings a lot, so I figured I’d continue to share what I know about such matters. As I was a professional chef for 9 years, I’ve also got some restaurant stories that might be fun.
While pots and pans are a big deal, there is nothing in a Chef’s world that is more important to him or her than his or her professional knives.
At mid-level restaurants the owner supplies a set of knives that are swapped out with a newly-sharpened set by a knife service about once a week. Back in my day these knives were typically high-carbon (easy to sharpen) steel with riveted wooden handles. These days they are more typically made from a stainless steel alloy with a one-piece plastic handle. The modern knives are more sanitary and the steel alloy doesn’t leave a dark mark on lemons and other high-acid food in the way a high-carbon blade will. The Fibrox Chef Knife from Forschner is popular (about $25 from Amazon.com).
However, most serious cooks don’t use “house knives.” They own their own and transport their beloved blades home every night in a tool box or knife roll. To work quickly and safely a Chef needs to have an instinctive feel for the blade, and a familiar blade is best. Also, one keeps one’s own knives sharpest. There is nothing more dangerous in a professional kitchen than a dull knife that does not cut where you expect it to.
While I realize that many home cooks are proud of the big block of multiple knives that sits impressively on the counter, most Chefs joke about them. All you really need is one good Chef’s knife. You can use that for everything, and professionals favor knives with large blades. Large blades exert more leverage and also permit smoother thin slices.
If a professional Chef has more than one knife, the other knives are speciality knives for specific tasks: a serrated knife is best for cutting bread, a flexible boning knife saves time if you often bone poultry or fish, a paring knife is nice to have for small work. Oriental cooking benefits from specialty sushi or vegetable knives (a knife called a Santoku is becoming a popular replacement for the Chef’s knife among crossover cooks; Rachel Ray loves hers).
But none of these are “necessary” and Chefs think the “home block” of 24 knives that some places sell are foolish.
When I was an Apprentice I used a set of three Swiss Forschner blades that lasted me thirty years. Finally, they were sharpened down below the temper line and couldn't hold a good edge, so I replaced them with a set of Wustof Classic blades from Germany.
However, in recent years two new styles of knives have become popular among the “foodie” set and you will often see them in high-end kitchens or on the Food Network. These are two Japanese brands called “Global” and “Shun.”
Professional Chefs clearly favor Global knives. They have a blade and handle made from one piece of a high tech stainless steel called CROMOVA. The steel is so tough that a Global knife can be sharpened to a very thin edge like a straight razor. Putting that fine an edge on a European knife would result in a blade that would chip and shatter, but a Global will not. In fact, the steel on a Global knife is so strong you can’t sharpen it using a conventional sharpening steel or stone. You have to use a rod of special ceramic and a diamond stone.
Shun knives are simply beautiful. Instead of a high-tech approach, the Shun engineers craft the blades in the style of the ancient Samurai swords. They laminate layers of mottled softer steel around a core of hard steel, resulting in a tough knife that can also take a razor edge. It’s classic Damascus Steel, and when fitted to Parkkawood handles, these knives are works of art. They do require a lot of care. The softer steel on the outside of the blade scratches easily.
As I wanted a “low hassle” kitchen design, I decided to give away my Wustof knives and switch to Global blades. The new knives are already delivered, but I’m holding off using them until the new kitchen is installed. Here is a photo of the Global Chef’s Knife with its sharpening rod alongside the comparable Wustof knife.
While pots and pans are a big deal, there is nothing in a Chef’s world that is more important to him or her than his or her professional knives.
At mid-level restaurants the owner supplies a set of knives that are swapped out with a newly-sharpened set by a knife service about once a week. Back in my day these knives were typically high-carbon (easy to sharpen) steel with riveted wooden handles. These days they are more typically made from a stainless steel alloy with a one-piece plastic handle. The modern knives are more sanitary and the steel alloy doesn’t leave a dark mark on lemons and other high-acid food in the way a high-carbon blade will. The Fibrox Chef Knife from Forschner is popular (about $25 from Amazon.com).
However, most serious cooks don’t use “house knives.” They own their own and transport their beloved blades home every night in a tool box or knife roll. To work quickly and safely a Chef needs to have an instinctive feel for the blade, and a familiar blade is best. Also, one keeps one’s own knives sharpest. There is nothing more dangerous in a professional kitchen than a dull knife that does not cut where you expect it to.
While I realize that many home cooks are proud of the big block of multiple knives that sits impressively on the counter, most Chefs joke about them. All you really need is one good Chef’s knife. You can use that for everything, and professionals favor knives with large blades. Large blades exert more leverage and also permit smoother thin slices.
If a professional Chef has more than one knife, the other knives are speciality knives for specific tasks: a serrated knife is best for cutting bread, a flexible boning knife saves time if you often bone poultry or fish, a paring knife is nice to have for small work. Oriental cooking benefits from specialty sushi or vegetable knives (a knife called a Santoku is becoming a popular replacement for the Chef’s knife among crossover cooks; Rachel Ray loves hers).
But none of these are “necessary” and Chefs think the “home block” of 24 knives that some places sell are foolish.
When I was an Apprentice I used a set of three Swiss Forschner blades that lasted me thirty years. Finally, they were sharpened down below the temper line and couldn't hold a good edge, so I replaced them with a set of Wustof Classic blades from Germany.
However, in recent years two new styles of knives have become popular among the “foodie” set and you will often see them in high-end kitchens or on the Food Network. These are two Japanese brands called “Global” and “Shun.”
Professional Chefs clearly favor Global knives. They have a blade and handle made from one piece of a high tech stainless steel called CROMOVA. The steel is so tough that a Global knife can be sharpened to a very thin edge like a straight razor. Putting that fine an edge on a European knife would result in a blade that would chip and shatter, but a Global will not. In fact, the steel on a Global knife is so strong you can’t sharpen it using a conventional sharpening steel or stone. You have to use a rod of special ceramic and a diamond stone.
Shun knives are simply beautiful. Instead of a high-tech approach, the Shun engineers craft the blades in the style of the ancient Samurai swords. They laminate layers of mottled softer steel around a core of hard steel, resulting in a tough knife that can also take a razor edge. It’s classic Damascus Steel, and when fitted to Parkkawood handles, these knives are works of art. They do require a lot of care. The softer steel on the outside of the blade scratches easily.
As I wanted a “low hassle” kitchen design, I decided to give away my Wustof knives and switch to Global blades. The new knives are already delivered, but I’m holding off using them until the new kitchen is installed. Here is a photo of the Global Chef’s Knife with its sharpening rod alongside the comparable Wustof knife.
I can’t wait for the new kitchen....I want to play with my toys!
Reader Comments