Sunday, November 9, 2008

Essential: A good kitchen knife

importance of good knifeI usually find my blog readers fall into two camps: those who love to cook and those who love to watch other people cook. If you find yourself in the later category, and are eager to start cooking, perhaps what you need is a good knife.

I was reminded of this while watching an interview with Mollie Katzen, author of the Moosewood Cookbook series, on MSN's Practical Guide to Healthier Living. A good knife, Katzen believes can transform our attitude towards cooking. When we find the right one, we literally pick up our knife and look for veggies to cut up.

For me, I knew I had found 'the one' after cooking with my friend Zena at her home in San Francisco. I was on chop duty, which is when I discovered the Wusthof Santoku knife. I loved the way it felt in my hand. It was durable, lightweight and fun to use. I purchased one later that week and five years later, I am still chopping away. I rarely use another knife.

Do you have a knife you can't put down? What made you know it was 'the one?' I'd love to hear from you.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perfect timing post. I am in the market for a new knife. Thanks!

TNL said...

I am still looking, :(
Most of my knives suck at the moment even though I paid through the nose for them.

Will Meyer said...

I have a rectangular ("chef's"? butcher?) knife from Ikea (their Ikea 365+ brand) that is perfect for all but the most minute tasks. It has a fantastic weight and a quality blade that makes quick work of veggies and meat alike. My block set full of thin knives are tough to control, especially when I'm cutting through a dense vegetable or trying to make a really thin slice, but this one works every time. And it's cheap.

(But it's not showing up on their website... do they not have it anymore??)

Integrative Nutrition