The Knives Are Out

A good knife is integral to any kitchen, whether it be residential or commercial. It has to be multipurpose . It has to chop dice, slice, mince, debone, fillet and cleave. It should be the one go to device that cooks cannot live without. It should also be sturdy and long lasting That's what makes a good knife.

This was the subject of the great Florence Fabricant's article in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. She explores the new breed of knives coming out in an extensive piece that will definitely persuade home cooks on their buying decisions.Right now Japan leads the country and world in good knife manufacturing. The Japanese create a cutter that is more durable than what other countries including the US and France, are creating. Their blades are carbon steel and have an edge better than the stainless steel variety. There is one drawback is that the blades do turn grey with time. However this patina doesn't seem to bother both home and professional chefs.

Japanese blades are also better in construction too. Nothing really changes in the translation. The blades are still thick, sharpened on both sides and have a visible tang. A tang is the part of the blade where it connects to the handles with rivets. Traditional Japanese knives have rounded or octagonal handles with no visible tangs. They only have one side sharpened (which results in a thinner cut) and are only for right handed people. This caters to a limited audience considering home chefs want a more versatile blade that can do anything. Some cooks want a Damascus steel blade which is made by folding the steel into itself as it's forged . This was how centuries of swords were made and reached it's height during the Crusades.

Knives are an important part of any kitchen arsenal. It seems that the versatile Japanese blades are the ones that people want and why not? Busy cooks want a knife that can handle anything, from dicing to chopping, from slicing to chopping.