A knife set? No way!
Because I once made this mistake myself, I think I can safely tell you: buying a knife set? Don’t. ‘What?’, you may be thinking now… ‘And you keep telling us that you either need a Japanese chef’s knife or a European one, that a Chinese cleaver might actually be a great purchase, and that you should also ideally cut your tomatoes with a tomato knife?! What on earth is the point?!’
Erm, yes, that’s true too, that’s what we do as well – we tell you which knives we think are best for certain tasks. But that doesn’t mean these different knives are often sold in/as one set. As we also often point out: it’s highly personal which knife feels good in your hands and what you enjoy cutting with. The experts at food site Bon Appétit agree. And a set is therefore often not very customized…
Better one knife in hand than ten in the cupboard
Because there are almost always knives among them that aren’t perfect for you, and that’s simply a terrible waste of money. I often use the boning knife from my set; the bread knife with its huge serrations is downright dangerous. The honing steel comes in handy now and then, but the paring knife doesn’t feel good in my hand. And so, for every knife that does get used, there’s one gathering dust in the cupboard. Because what are you supposed to do with a boning knife if you’re a vegetarian?
Ask for help
What should you do instead? Go to a shop where they know what they’re talking about, ask whether they can go through some options with you, and make sure you get to feel how the knife sits in your hand. You need a chef’s knife, that’s for sure. A bread knife is also genuinely useful. A tomato knife, yes, but mine cost next to nothing and I’m very happy with it. Some experts say that, as a beginner, the only things you need are one large and one small knife. Personally, I’m a little too greedy for that, and after twenty years of cooking my needs have expanded, but the basic idea is sound. If you have few knives, you’ll probably get better at making full use of their potential.
Peace and cleanliness
Besides, in my opinion, a knife block is also a bit grimy, because you can never clean it properly deep inside. (Then again, I’m also the woman who finds the yellow dishcloth absolutely revolting.) You shouldn’t just toss your good knife loose in the drawer either, so ideally you should hang a handy, sturdy magnetic strip on the wall in a safe place. And once you have a small collection that you’ve calmly built up one knife at a time, it’s also wonderfully easy to keep track of. Good luck!
Read also:
- 3 ways to use the other side of your knife
- This is what you need to sharpen your knife properly
- Thai knives at bargain prices
