Knife Tips

Many people have asked Sophie about buying a good kitchen knife, what should they look for? how big a knife should they get?, does quality make a difference? and so on.

We have talked to our friends at Chefshop and House of Knives to give you the inside track on this most important tool.

A good knife will last you a lifetime and will cost you some money so choose carefully.

In terms of size a bigger knife is more versatile than a small one, a general purpose cooks knife is usually an 20 cm (8 inch) or 25 cm (10 inch) blade, that may seem like a large heavy tool but a 25 cm blade will do everything from finely chopping parsley (rocking on the tip) to cutting a pumpkin, a long blade requires fewer strokes when mincing and chopping, and gives you room to lever with both hands if needed. While not having as pronounced a curve as a 20 cm blade the 25 cm is still designed to cut in a rocking motion and can be used for coarse or fine cutting, mincing and dicing.

Look for a good curve on the blade so it will rock from the tip and a reasonably deep blade to allow room for your knuckles. When viewed from the tip end, the knife will widen towards the handle and should be wedge shaped, the wedge serves to open out the cut.

Ideally choose a forged knife, one piece from the tip of the blade to end of the handle, made from stain resistant metal. So how much will a precision too like this set you back? For a basic 8 inch forged cooks knife that will give you many years of service you will probably need to spend between $80 and $100 dollars, For a top of the range German knife, superbly balanced with a 25cm blade, seamless handle and a lifetime guarantee - upwards of $250.When selecting a knife try several on for size, weight and balance, handle them as much as possible, choose one that feels comfortable in your hand – like trying on shoes.

Your new knife will be sharp when you get it, keep the edge keen with a steel every time you use it, it should only need to be professionally ground every 12 months or so. A blunt knife is a dangerous tool, it’s more likely to slip than a sharp blade and the force needed to wield a blunt knife will cause more damage to the unfortunate cook!There are several ways to use a steel, the simplest being to place the tip of the steel firmly against a chopping board, holding the steel vertically position the heel of your knife against the steel at a 20° angle and firmly draw it across the steel and downwards. Alternate doing about 3 stokes on each side of the blade then check for sharpness. Your steel needs to be longer than your longest knife.Never ever ever ever leave knives lying in the sink, and if you drop one, don’t try to catch it, let it fall and jump out of the way!!!Don’t cut onto stainless steel, as that will blunt your knife. And keep your hands and knife handle clean during use so your grip is secure.

A knife block, wall magnet or edge guard will protect the blade from chipping and blunting, which can occur if it is clanking around in the utensil drawer.

You may also want to consider a cooks knife as an engagement, wedding or leaving home gift. It will be used by the recipient every day for years and years- you can have names, dates, even a line of poetry engraved on the blade- so much more exciting than a set of towels! 

Other useful tools for chopping and slicing are:  food processor – a big expense but the best thing since sliced bread in our opinion. Stick whiz:  cheaper option, great for chopping, nuts, garlic, onions, all that sort of thing as well as doing many of the things a processor does - rubbing butter into flour for pastry… Mandolin: an ancient tool, held at a 90° angle from the bench, vegetables and fruit are sliced along a blade set into the frame of the mandolin. We have a very old wooden one that Sophie still uses but modern ones are very light weight with interchangeable blades to create a variety of slicing effects.