I’ve never understood why people prefer a food chopper to a nice chef’s knife. If you know how to properly hold a knife (which, by the way, does not include putting your index finger along the knife’s back), you can chop an onion or any other vegetable just as fast – if not faster – than the food chopper. Plus, there’s something quite satisfying about running a knife over a wooden cutting board…the sound, the motion – it just feels good.
I was going to go on & on about knife skills, technique, etc., but then I found a website that does it all for me – and has great pictures too.
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| How to Use A Chef’s Knife By Danilo Alfaro, About.com Guide |
Once you get good at using a chef’s knife (my personal fav is a Santoku knife), there’s no turning back. Add a nice wooden cutting board and your days as a “food chopper” are history! How to hold a knife is critical!
Do you ever go to Epicurious.com? They have a whole section on technique videos that includes a Knife Skills category. It’s a lot easier to figure out once you see the cuts in motion.
Of course, you’ll have to sit through a 15 second ad in front of each video. I like to keep a book near my computer for times like those (works for watching things on Hulu too!).
I have been to epicurious.com but it’s not one of my regular stops – for no good reason other than I have a couple I always go to out of habit. I need to re-visit…. Thanks!
I love my Santoku by Henkels I believe. It cuts like a dream. And I agree about the chopper. A knife is just so much better!
I have 5″ and 7″ Santoku knives – love them both, but I tend to use the 5″ one more. So versatile!
We’ve been looking for a few new good knives. Thanks for the recommendations!
Heather – none of my Santoku knives were very expensive. So, don’t feel like you have to go all out to get a good one! Have fun knife shopping!
Liza, where did you buy your knives?
I bought 1 at Bed Bath & Beyond, I ordered one from a catalog at work (I earned points for it), and I got two from a points promotion Bloom grocery store was running. LOL! Not much help….
I bought a 5″ and 7″ this weekend at BBB. Thanks for the tip, I’m loving them. Not sure how I lived without them for so long. Ironically we made fresh salsa and fresh guacamole yesterday for quesadillas!
Glad you like them! I, too, thought, “How did I ever cook without these knives,” after buying them. Totally worth the money.
Enjoy!