Calling all the kitchen knives aficionado

[Blaine]

It would be a crime to have a Stradivarius sit on a shelf. A supreme instrument cries out for a maestro. A Ferrari should not be tooled down the Vegas strip by an orthodontist with hair plugs picking up strippers and still having to pay 1.5 the normal rate.

Meh. As long as a person loves a great thing, I don't care who possesses it. Who should be driving that Ferrari? George Clooney? Jay Leno? Fuck that. Let that balding stripper lover have his dream car. Fuck it. You only live once.

The ones that bum me out are the ones who buy something amazing and lock it away and never use for fear of reducing its value. Screw them.

[DemiNymph]

I'm taking notes! Now I hope I could find some of these at my department store. Thankfully most of the forementioned are Japanese, I should have a good chance to score some.

So, I should just get the 4 basic knives... what about chopping boards? Plastic, or wood? If wood, is there anything that I should look out for?

[TerraPrime]

I'm taking notes! Now I hope I could find some of these at my department store. Thankfully most of the forementioned are Japanese, I should have a good chance to score some.

So, I should just get the 4 basic knives... what about chopping boards? Plastic, or wood? If wood, is there anything that I should look out for?

Plastic v Wood is pretty much an either-or. Neither one of them are superior in germ-deterrence, provided that they are both properly cleaned and cared for. Wood chopping boards tend to weather usage better, since unless you gouge your wood, they can "heal" better and accumulate less scratch marks over time. Plastic boards inevitably look grungy and ugly. In my experience, anyway.

I think for most home cooks, a chef's knife and a paring knife is really all you'll need. And one knife for maybe carving whole turkey/beef roast during table-side service. I have done all the cooking I need to do at home with just one good santoku (I like the more compact design of the santoku over the larger chef's knife) and one good utility knife.

[MercenaryChef]

wooden boards are superior.

for one, they are kinder to the edge of your knife than a plastic board. and as noted they do not amass the scratches and injuries as a plastic board does.

[davos]

Someday I will get a really good set of knives. They are the single most important tools in the kitchen. I do a lot of from scratching cooking. I use my knives extensively just about every day so the investment would be worth it. Frankly though I'm reasonably happy with the knives that I have so I'm not in a rush to make a switch. We got a good deal on a set of knives made by Avalon. I think its Anolon anyway, I'm not in the kitchen right now to check. I know its not one of the top names. The break knife is ok, for a bread knife. The paring knive is decent. There's a shorter serrated knife. Not sure what its intended purpose is and frankly if it hadn't come with the set I wouldn't use it. I've found it handy on occasion, though, certainly more often than I expected. There's also a 6 inch knife that's nice and is handy to have if both my wife and I are doing prep work at the same time. Thing about the set though is I simply love the 10 inch chef's knife though. It feels good in my hand, well balanced and carries a really nice edge. I've used a lot of knives in my life and frankly haven't yet found one I like better. Perhaps the one weakness is that it doesn't hold its edge quite as long as I would like. I was taught how to properly use a sharpening stone by my father when I was a young man and take care of my own knives. If I didn't have that skill I would be sending my knives out to be professionally sharpened. In that case I would be wanting something that would hold an edge a lot longer.

[Waldo Frey]

Should have two cutting boards, one for the ready to eat such as veggie, cheese, etc and one for the meats. Do not put the wood board in the dishwasher because the hot temperature would wrap the surface eventually.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

My wife doesn't like meat on wooden cutting boards. She claims it's unsanitary. If the board is well washed is that really an issue?

[Former Lord of Winterfell]

1,000% agreed. My in-laws have a set of Ikea knives that has literally made me cry in frustration as I've tried to dice fingerling potatoes. I went through every knife in the set and couldn't find one that cut easily or straight. I think I ended up using Darling's pocket knife, if I remember correctly. Thank goodness he keeps a sharp knife at all times.

Go to Williams Sonoma and ask to see their knives, ask for a demonstration and if you can try one that appeals to you.

The minute I cut an apple with one of my Wusthof knives, I was in love.

Chats, when I was a kid, my brother's Christmas present to me was always whatever game he wanted the most. So how about getting them some good kitchen knives as a Christmas present?

[Waldo Frey]

My wife doesn't like meat on wooden cutting boards. She claims it's unsanitary. If the board is well washed is that really an issue?

This is a good discussion topic. Check it out.

My take is this: When you cut stuffs on the board, there will always some residues from the board itself attach to the food you just finish cutting. Would you prefer wood or plastic, sir, or it really doesn't matter?

[Jaxom 1974]

wooden boards are superior.

for one, they are kinder to the edge of your knife than a plastic board. and as noted they do not amass the scratches and injuries as a plastic board does.

My wife doesn't like meat on wooden cutting boards. She claims it's unsanitary. If the board is well washed is that really an issue?

Alton Brown makes a good point, along the lines of - if the scientists can't get the germs out of the wood to count them, how many are going to get out of the wood and onto your food?

But basically, if you want quality, MC has the right of it. Wood is a superior cutting surface. If you're a "weekend warrior" type of home cook who doesn't want to worry about the clean up as much, platic is just fine. For basic sanitary purposes, if you really want to get into that hardcore, you still need to have your seperate boards for fruits/veggies, poultry, meats...

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Jaxom,

I prefer wood. My wife gets upset when I cut meat on our wood cutting board.

[Former Lord of Winterfell]

FLoW, if I knew they would take care of a knife set, I would buy one for them, happily. But I know that if I bought them a Wusthof (or other good brand) knife

, it would end up in the dishwasher, first thing. It would also be used for cutting plastic wrap, cardboard, or whatever else needed a box cutter or pair of scissors.

That's why the IKEA knives are in such bad shape.

Well, you can't do much about the dishwesher thing, but that won't completely ruin them for cutting anyway. Better than darling's pocketknife, right? Make it a two-stage operation. First, buy them the good Costco shears so they get used to cutting mundane things with those. The next year, get them a couple of decent knives.

You've got to use some strategery here....

[Lord of Oop North]

The supposed sanitary positives of plastic cutting boards are absolutely meaningless in a home environment. Absolutely no one will wash their board at a hot enough temperature for there to be any meaningful difference between plastic and wood. When I worked in a kitchen during my high school years, we'd literally set the taps at 'immolate' for washing dishes. That's the kind of temperature that you actually need to sanitize things properly.

[TerraPrime]

I prefer wood.

Me too.

(Note: TN, is this what you're talking about my skill in making straight man feel dirty?)

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

TP,

*deep sigh*

*eye roll*

*laughs*

Good grief. :)

[Jaxom 1974]

Jaxom,

I prefer wood. My wife gets upset when I cut meat on our wood cutting board.

I think the joke's already been brought out...

But the cutting board solution, Scot, is simply a second board for cutting meat...

The supposed sanitary positives of plastic cutting boards are absolutely meaningless in a home environment. Absolutely no one will wash their board at a hot enough temperature for there to be any meaningful difference between plastic and wood. When I worked in a kitchen during my high school years, we'd literally set the taps at 'immolate' for washing dishes. That's the kind of temperature that you actually need to sanitize things properly.

That's really oversimplifying things there, Limecat. Are you wrong, not really, but most good dishwashers in the home will get, at least, plastic boards cleans and sanitized. However, don't forget that there is no such thing, especially in the modern home, as "100% sanitized". The best course of action still remains multiple boards for multiple items. Color code 'em if you need to. For home use, it'll be more than enough, provided the home cook is following basic food safety practices at the same time.

[DemiNymph]

Jesus, now you guys are saying I need two boards. Ok, I'll just get one wood for meats and one plastic for vegs and fruits.

[Bronn Stone]

For three million years your ancestors picked stuff up off the ground and ate it. And you are worried about hyper-sanitizing your cutting boards????

An immune system is like a muscle. You need to exercise it!

Our ancestors usually died at 35. Too much exercise can kill.

[Waldo Frey]

Three million years ago, super germs didn't exist as now.

[Jaxom 1974]

Jesus, now you guys are saying I need two boards. Ok, I'll just get one wood for meats and one plastic for vegs and fruits.

You don't need two boards. If you have any hang ups about cross contamination, then you might want two boards...maybe three... :P