Kitchen Garden Forum

Catherine wrote: It always drives me mad that when we go away to holiday cottages there is never a sharp knife.

O.M.G.

You've just given me a dreadful flash-back, myself and a group of cyclists used to do weekends away and I was one of three co-opted chef for the weekend. I used to take my own knives which were quickly blunted by the other 'chefs'.

I'm hanging my nose over a Japanese Nakiri, will it be too thin for stuff like cabbage ? I'll buy a traditional one and treat the handle before I use it. What do you think Alan ? Or any other Nakiri user ?

Richard
A very sharp nakiri is perfect for all vegetables. It would cut cabbage any way you like, from halving, quartering, chopping or shaving paper-thin. I used mine on this to julienne carrots, beetroot etc.



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I do appreciate a sharp knife but I'm not precious about it. We have a range of Stellar knives which the other half keeps sharp as he's better at sharpening than I am, could this be the answer?

I also have a holiday cottage and one lady wrote in the visitor book what a pleasure it was to come to a cottage with sharp knives!

MW

Catherine wrote: It always drives me mad that when we go away to holiday cottages there is never a sharp knife.

Yes, and that the drinking glasses are never big enough. When I have a cold drink I want a pint!

I have pints, half pints, small tumblers and wine glasses... anything else?

MW

Wicky we take our own wine glasses too. Motherwoman Glad to hear that you have everything you need to have in a lovely holiday cottage. There are many cottages not up to that standard. We have never been to the Isle of Wight on holiday. Please will you PM me with your cottage details.

We're another pair who always used to take a sharp knife with us when using a rented holiday cottage. My husband is a keen cook so keeps our knives sharp. I have one favourite sharp small knife I use for almost everything. I also couldn't do without my Victorinox potato peeler. Over the years they have periodically disappeared with the potato peelings into the compost heap and are still usable when they eventually reappear a year or so later ! We've now got about three of them lurking in the kitchen cutlery drawer.

We have a couple of those permanently sharp knives - the ones they demonstrate by cutting a groove in metal and I bought them so the answer to the original question is ... in my case yes!

glallotments wrote:We have a couple of those permanently sharp knives -

Are they ceramic ? I have often wondered about those and a search on the internet shows them to be excellent if you accept they are very brittle. If you damage the blade I think you have to send them away.

Yes ?

I cannot bear blunt knives either...they are neither use nor ornament. Mine aren't fancy posh chef's knives, just the Kitchen Devil range, which are good enough for my needs. I bought their sharpener too which does the job.

Having said that, I keep them out of sight in a drawer....not the done thing, I know....but I hate knives, they give me the shivers.

Ricard with an H wrote:

glallotments wrote:We have a couple of those permanently sharp knives -

Are they ceramic ? I have often wondered about those and a search on the internet shows them to be excellent if you accept they are very brittle. If you damage the blade I think you have to send them away.

Yes ?

No not ceramic but stainless steel. You do have to send it away if it loses it's sharpness or gets damaged. It's this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Brand-Worlds-Sharpest-Knife/dp/B0016MOO9Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kh_1 but I got mine at a supermarket demo. I got three of these knives, two paring knives, a filet knife and some other bits and pieces for £25 which seemed like a bargain but I was the only one watching the demo who bought them. I was a bit worried that I had been a fool at that but they are good.

This looks very much the Kitchen Devil knife I have had for years and has never need sharpening yet. Superb for anything that needs slicing thinly. Probably much cheaper too.
My other kitchen knives are all Sabatier.
Beryl.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Devils- ... hen+devils

Another sharp knife fan here, we have several different Sabatiers. I try to give them a quick file sharpen evry time I use them, but it doesn't always happen! Using a newly sharpened knife is a real pleasure, like any well maintained tools.
Oh, and I am female, Richard!

pongeroon wrote: Using a newly sharpened knife is a real pleasure, like any well maintained tools.
Oh, and I am female, Richard!

I'm sorry, and i'm the least sexist bloke you'll ever meet.

I already elaborated that i've as much experience with blokes who don't appreciate or care for a sharp knife though at the time most of them were either living with their mums or they were so hopeless they couldn't boil an egg. One of these blokes once phoned me after buying a chicken, he wondered why no instructions were included.

But more to the point, the two ladies i've spend my life with to-date are happy to blunt my sharp knives and equally happy to use them.

Can we draw a line in the sand about the term, "Sharp" ?

My view is that if a knife won't slice a tomato or a pepper then it isn't sharp, it might not be blunt but it's dull and as already pointed out likely to be dangerous.

Clearly we don't have to spend a lot to get sharp knives, I just realised we had an everlasting-sharp cheepo in our motorhome. It'll slice bread and it'll slice tomato though it hasn't been banging about in the cutlery draw. I immediately made a cardboard sheath for it and when it's not in that i'm hoping it'll be stuck to the magnetic holder on the wall.

It's also clear that spending good money on quality knives is an investment, the knives I have don't have the latest kudos of Damascus, Robert Welsh, Sabatier and etc-etc because Kitchen Devils brand is more associated with throw-away knives. The ones I have are indestructible quality tools made to last a lifetime and hold an edge but not if used to cut ceramic plates or steel baking things for the oven.

Do any of you use a mandolin ?

Yes Richard I have a mandolin but only used it to grate beetroot for chutney. I now have a Tefal electric one that does it all slice shred grate etc. so much easier, less mess and no grated knucklel. I wouldn't go back to it.

Beryl.