Knife Skills

Today we are going to have a chat about the most important cooking tool you have in your kitchen....I mean, really, this tool can make or break your culinary adventures, slow things down or speed things up.....

I'm guessing you gather from this blog title that I'm talking about your knives. I know this is a nutrition/cooking blog, but I always get so many questions about this from family and friends and have heard endless lectures on the subject from Chefs I've worked with that I think it's worth blogging about : )

The best investment you can make in your cooking skills and in your kitchen is having a good knife (or two).  Now practically speaking, most of you (myself included) probably have an arsenal of mismatched knives that include a set you either received as a gift and/or "hand-me-down" knives from a family member or friend.  Chances are, you probably only use one or two of them on a daily basis.  Am I right?

The truth is, all a well-equipped cook really needs (in mint condition anyway) are a good "Chef's knife", a pairing knife, and a honing steel (shown from top to bottom below).  A chef's knife is what you will use to chop, dice, mince, julienne, and cut through and around intimidating pieces of stubbornly large produce such as butternut squash, pumpkins and the like.  A good pairing knife can be used to carve and make smaller, more precise cuts and shapes.  It's short length and light weight will give you more control and precision.  As for the honing steel, well, we'll get to that in a minute.

As you can see, mine are a mismatch of Wusthof and Mercer, but both knives are great quality and are REALLY sharp.  Those are are probably the 2 most important factors to consider when it comes to these two knives:

QUALITY - consider your chef's knife and pairing knife to be an investment that will last 25+ years (for the everyday home cook).  As far as the brand goes, there's a lot to choose from. Most of my research and conversations in culinary school or with other chefs has pointed to Wusthof (made in Germany) and Shun (made in Japan) as the gold standards of quality cutlery.  Henckels aren't bad either. Mercer is a restaurant supply brand that came in my chef''s kit at school and so far has proven to be good quality.

Any of the above mentioned brands are going to be great quality knives, but when choosing the right chef's knife you also must consider the knife feels in your hand with regards to the length, weight, and handle.  Obviously we could talk about this for days, but hopefully this information will give you a starting point.  For me personally, I have a tiny hand and small body frame, so a 6'' chef's knife is just right for me and the Wusthof Classic felt most comfortable in my hand because of the light weight and rounded blade. However, most people do just fine with a 8'' knife, which is the standard length for a chef's knife (pairing knives are usually 3'').

Now I know the above mentioned brands are pricey, but remember that you don't have to buy an entire set. Start out purchasing a good chef's knife - Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table always have specials where the honing steel is included, and sometimes a starter kit -which is typically a chef's, paring, and utility knife.  Bonus: Sur la Table is ALWAYS having some type of cutlery special, so sign up for the e-mails and there's a good chance you can get a good chef's knife with a steel for about $70.

CARE:  for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to lay out a few rules here:
   1. USE YOUR HONING STEEL. Every. Time. You. Use. Your. Knife. See, I told you I would get to it.  A common misconception about honing steels is that they are used to sharpen your knives. Which is why most people don't use them that often.  The purpose of a steel is actually to keep your knife sharp.  You see, your knife is made up of layers of metal or steel that, with each and every use, become sloppy and misaligned.  When you use a honing steel, it brings those layers back into alignment, resulting in a knife that stays sharp.  I can't tell you what a difference it makes when you use the steel before, during and after each use.  Keep it right next to your cutting board when you are cooking and wash it right along with your knife after each use. How do you use it? Good question.  See the link below and watch the video at the bottom of the page:
 Using a Steel
 So we know that a honing steel keeps your knife sharp, so how often should you sharpen it? Well, keep in mind that every time you sharpen your knife, whether it be with an electric sharpener or whether you get it professionally sharpened, it will take metal off the edge of your blade.  This results in the blade becoming narrower and narrower each time, and eventually you will be left with a skeleton of the knife you originally purchased. If you diligently use your steel correctly, you'll likely need to have your knife professionally sharpened once every year. I take mine to the nearest kitchen store (Sur la Table in Dallas), and it costs about $15.

   2. NEVER clean your knife in the dishwasher. Ever.  I see so many people do this and I cringe. Think dull, water-stained spotted knives. Not good! When you are done using your knife. you should immediately wash it in warm water and soap.  Use a soft sponge to clean it - try to avoid any scouring pads with metal as they can scratch your blade.  As soon as you wash it, dry it off thoroughly.  Allowing it to air-dry -  or placing it in a knife block while wet -  can result in water stains.

Bonus:

• Besides a chef's and pairing knife, the next most important knife to consider investing in is a good utility knife for cutting/trimming raw meat. I say this because nothing will take the edge off your knife faster than meat.  Seriously, my chef's knife could barely slice through butter when I finished the 6-week meat fabrication class at Le Cordon Bleu. SO DULL.  Which is why I started reserving meat cutting and trimming for my utility knife alone.  And yes, I do use my honing steel on the utility knife before, during, and after any culinary adventure that involves raw meat!

        Utility knife:

PRACTICE
Makes perfect.  No joke - the first 6 weeks of culinary school the only thing we did in our lab was cut things.  And chop. And mince, carve, what have you. Homework assignments included buying 10 pounds of various vegetables and practicing different cuts at home.  We spent A LOT of time on this.  And I definitely felt I was developing carpal tunnel syndrome at one point.  But you don't have to go to culinary school to learn the basics of essential knife cuts.  Epicurious has some great tutorials: Knife Skills Or take a basic beginner's class.  For all my Texas friends, Central Market has a WONDERFUL knife skills class where you spend 3 hours learning about knives, various cuts, and preparing a delicious meal with the fruit of your labor.  For everyone else, Sur La Table has a great one as well - so check them out and sign up (makes a great gift too)!

And because you have stuck with me through this ridiculously long post, here's a recipe as your reward (and it will help you practice your skills)!

Honey-Kissed Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 tsp each of coarse-ground salt and pepper
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 T honey
• An assortment of root vegetables equivalent to 6 cups of 1'' cut veggies.  For this particular day, I chose the following: 2 medium butternut squash, 3 turnips, 3 large carrots.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 415.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

3. Mix salt, pepper, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

4. Prep veggies 

Slice the ends off the turnips to get a flat base, then remove the ends around the sides with your knife by making curved cuts from top to bottom with the base of the turnip on your cutting board.

Cut your turnips into 1'' disks, then 1'' sticks, then 1'' cubes.

 Remove the ends of the butternut squash like you did the turnip, but be sure to have a sharp knife, firm grip, and a cutting board that stay's put (with a wet paper towel or grip underneath). Then cut the squash in half width-wise.

 Use your knife to carefully remove the skin from around the squash with the base of the vegetable flat on the board.

Cut the top half of your squash into disks, then sticks, then cubes like above.  The bottom half of your squash will need to be sliced in half length wise so you can remove the seeds. From there, just cut into 1'' sticks and 1'' cubes!

As for the carrots, well, I'll let you figure that one out :)

5. Place veggies on baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil (about 1 T). Sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper and cinnamon mixture.  Drizzle 1 T honey over veggies, and toss them all to make sure they are evenly coated. Spread out evenly on baking sheets, and don't over-crowd the sheets as this can result in steaming your veggies and not roasting them (which will deprive you of that lovely caramel coating that develops on the outside of veggies when they are roasted).

6. Roast for about 30 minutes or until caramelized and tender when pierced with a fork.  To make sure they cook and caramelize evenly, I recommend tossing them every 10 minutes of roasting and rotating the sheets on the levels of your oven if you use more than one pan. Don' t they smell wonderful???

7. Enjoy the delectable caramely-roasted goodness of the little jewel-toned gems of your labor : ) 

Here's to good knives and practice, practice, practice!
Whitney