An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a Pro

339 Pages·2008·7 MB·English

by  Chad Ward

AN
EDGE
IN THE KITCHEN
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
TO KITCHEN KNIVES
How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp,
and Use Them Like a Pro
CHAD WARD
WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY
Bryan Regan
FOR MY WIFE, LISA,
who, for reasons known only to her,
puts up with this nonsense.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Part One: CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON
1 SO YOU WANNA BUY A KNIFE
COMMON KNIFE MYTHS
FEEL, STEEL, AND ANOTHER WORD THAT DEFINES
CUTTING ABILITY (AND IN A PERFECT WORLD WOULD
RHYME WITH THE FIRST TWO)
NOW YOU KNOW
2 TYPES OF KNIVES AND THEIR USES
THE BIG ONE: THE CHEF’S KNIFE
THREE VIRTUES AND A COW SWORD: THE SANTOKU AND
GYUTO
THE LITTLE ONES: PARING KNIVES
SLICE OF LIFE: SLICERS AND BREAD KNIVES
CLOSE TO THE BONE: BONING AND FILLET KNIVES
“UTILITY” KNIVES
HELLO MR. CLEAVER: CHINESE CLEAVERS AND VEGETABLE
KNIVES
SHEAR MADNESS: KITCHEN SHEARS
POTTERY GONE WILD: CERAMICS
3 A KNIFE FOR EVERY BUDGET
STARTER KITCHEN: FROM $25 TO $100
BUDGET GOURMET: FROM $100 TO $200
THE BIG UPGRADE
GET FUNKY
4 THE OTHER HALF OF THE EQUATION: CUTTING BOARDS
AND STORAGE
CUTTING BOARD BASICS
WOOD VERSUS PLASTIC
CUTTING BOARD SANITATION
KNIFE STORAGE AND TRANSPORT
Part Two: CUT LOOSE
5 ESSENTIAL KNIFE SKILLS
WHY BOTHER?
KNIFE SAFETY AND ETIQUETTE
STABILIZE AND ORGANIZE
CLAW YOUR WAY TO THE TOP
PINCH ME
LOOK WHERE YOU’RE GOING
ROCK OUT!
PUSH/PULL
KNIFE SKILLS WORKOUTS
Part Three: STAY SHARP
6 THE ART AND SCIENCE OF MAINTAINING YOUR KNIVES
THE SAD TRUTH ABOUT KITCHEN KNIVES
EDGE BASICS
THE WHOLE TOOTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH:
MICROSERRATIONS
WHY EDGES WEAR
7 MAINTENANCE
STEELING YOUR KNIFE
TYPES OF STEELS
8 SHARPENING FUNDAMENTALS
THE BURR
THE ANGLES
I FIND YOU ABRASIVE
CONSISTENCY
9 YOUR FIRST EDGE (I’M SO PROUD)
GET READY
HERE WE GO: STEP-BY-STEP BASIC SHARPENING
10 HIGH-OCTANE EDGES
THIN IS IN
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
THE COMPOUND SOLUTION
SHARPENING A COMPOUND BEVEL
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR KNIFE IS SHARP
11 ADVANCED SHARPENING TECHNIQUES
STROPPING
HANDLING SERRATED KNIVES
TRADITIONAL JAPANESE CHISEL-GROUND EDGES
WATERSTONE/SANDPAPER TECHNIQUE
ROUNDING THE SPINE
12 OVERVIEW OF SHARPENING SYSTEMS
BENCHSTONES AND WATERSTONES
EDGE GUIDES
ROD AND CLAMP SYSTEMS
V-SYSTEMS AND CROCK STICKS
PULL-THROUGH SYSTEMS
ELECTRIC SHARPENERS
PROFESSIONAL KNIFE SHARPENING
CONCLUSION
RESOURCES
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
About the Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
Notes
INTRODUCTION
write a book about kitchen knives? Because kitchen knives
Why
changed the world. Because they are the oldest and most
important tool known to humankind. As Michael Symons wrote
in A History of Cooks and Cooking, “The use of knives does not depend on
culture, it is culture.” If you include our prehuman ancestors, we have
been using kitchen knives for about two and a half million years. That’s
a million years before fire became fashionable, just to put things into
perspective. From those first crude stone edges to the sleek ultramodern
hardware lining the walls of your local kitchen emporium, knives allow
us to perform the most basic human task—preparing and sharing food.
Two and a half million years ago, Homo habilis (“handy man”) first
started chipping crude stone tools, including cutting edges. These tools
played a significant role in the massive evolutionary changes that
quickly followed. The ability to butcher and share scavenged meat,
much richer in calories and nutrients than a strictly plant-based diet, led
to rapid brain development, interdependent communal living, and
improved communication skills. By the time the recognizably human
Homo erectus hit the scene, they came equipped with big brains,
advanced tools, and the small teeth that indicate a diet based on
preprocessed (that is, cut-up) food. Puts your chef’s knife in a new light,
doesn’t it?