Kitchen knives
Kitchen knives are one of the most important kitchen tools you can buy and block knife storage is the best way to store your good knives. Having a knife block will keep your knives sharper so you won’t have to sharpen them as often. I had an oak block knife set most of the time but now it’s not “green” to use woods like that. Now you can get a bamboo block knife set like this one and be green at the same time. Bamboo is very modern and you can even get bamboo furniture and bamboo flooring so a bamboo kitchen block will fit right in.
Wenger 7-pc. Knife Block Set
The bamboo knife block set on the left contains a good mix of knives. It comes with a Chef Knife, Boning Knife, Bread Knife, Paring Knife,Scalloped Edge Multi-purpose Knife, Sharpening Steel and the Bamboo block.
A good knife block set is going to cost you more than you’re going to want to pay but if you don’t spend the money to buy some good knives I can guarantee you’ll regret it. A sharp knife will cut through a roast as easily as a butter knife goes through warm butter. No sawing, no hacking, nothing but a neat slice. Sharp knifes are a must.
Now you can buy cheaper knives but you’ll have to sharpen them a couple of times each time you use them. Don’t worry they’re easy to sharpen with a good knife sharpener. Of course what makes them easy to sharpen is what makes them need sharpening very often. It’s a softer and cheaper steel. Among your many kitchen accessories should be a knife sharpener.
One of the things I always thought was kind of classy was having a separate steak knife set. No, not steak knives with serrated edges either, real steak knives that have a very sharp blade so you can cut your steak instead of saw it. I happen to like steak knives with wooden handles but you can get almost any style and color handles you want. I enjoy using a good steak knife when I run across one. Lol, steak knives also make handy paring knives.
Chicago Cutlery 4-pc. Walnut Signature Steak Knife Set
 Introducing the latest from Chicago Cutlery, designed for professional performance in the home kitchen. This 4-pc. Steak Knife Set will be a welcome addition to your table whenever you serve a juicy New York Strip, tri-tip roast or any thicker cuts of meat that require a little extra precision for slicing. Great to have on hand for grilling season. Each knife is handcrafted with a high-carbon 420 stainless steel blade, ergonomic, contoured walnut handle, full tang (where the blade extends from the tip of the knife to the end of the handle) and triple compression brass rivets. Exclusive Taper Grind edge ensures maximum precision and extra sharp cutting. |
I don’t have a formal set of knives, what I have is what I’ve picked up one at a time, over the years. One of the handiest, and sharpest knives I use in the kitchen is a small fillet knife I got at the sporting goods store. I also have a couple of full sized fillet knives. I use the smaller one as a paring knife and the larger ones for trimming fat away from the meat.
Another thing you need is a good chef knife. Having a good chefs knife can make kitchen chores like chopping or dicing go a lot faster. Chefs knives have a curved blade just for that purpose. No, the chefs knife isn’t the last knife you need.
Emerilware from Wusthof 3-pc. Paring Knife Set
You should also have a couple of good paring knives. Like I said above, a steak knife makes a handy paring knife but that’s not what it’s designed to be. A paring knife has a blade that’s not quite as wide. This narrowness makes it easier to peel fruits and vegetables. In general I find that one knife will turn out to be my favorite and I’ll use it for almost everything. Usually larger than a paring knife and more along the lines of a good steak knife or boning knife.
Buying knives isn’t like buying gas, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. You don’t need a $224.00 peeler or a gourmet set for $800.00. Expect to spend less than $100.00 to have a good set of very serviceable kitchen knives. Don’t buy serrated edges tho as they do stay sharp but they are very hard to do any kind of trimming with and it’s more like using a saw. Fillet knives work much better as long as you buy the wide bladed fillet knives.
If your like me you don’t do dishes as often as you should so I’d recommend getting a couple of each knives or for sure the paring knives. Another thing to watch with knives is not to cut up chicken and then cut up some other meat or vegetables. Wash the knife first or use a different knife. I use one knife for each class or type of food when cooking a meal.
If you buy good knives like you should, never, ever put them in the dishwasher. It will dull them faster than trying to cut rocks. Dishwasher liquid has microscopic particles in it to kind of sand blast the crud off of things in the dishwasher.