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When we are invited to dinner with friends, they often ask me what I think of their kitchen equipment. Then they proudly show me their triple drawer slides with rotating pot lid holder. Or their steam cooker programmable in seven languages. Or their galactic mix-cook baking machine, whose chips have ten times the computing power of those computers with which humans once flew to the moon.
I say then only: "Knife out!"
Of course, no double-handed flat-bottomed chef will become a Michelin Cuisinier just because he bought a Kamagata-Usuba hand-forged full-moon 192-piece Damascus steel for the price of a used small car. With this, Japanese cooking professionals quickly cut each carrot into Arare-Giri (5 mm cubes). Dumbled: The Super Sword from the Far East has been rusting in the drawer for months, because it has a much too small handle for an average Central European hand. How sharp it is, one notices in this country rather on the finger wound - Usubas are honed as vegetable specialists unilaterally. Inexperienced people like to slip off.
So what does an ambitious hobby cooker really need in addition to the usually existing small vegetable streaker, the wavy bread knife and the three times a year unpacked meat trimmer cutlery? To be honest: I almost always only need two more knives:
Chroma P-18 chef's knife
The term "chief knife" for this genus is not so wrong: it's the boss of my little blade collection. When I'm invited somewhere to cheerfully cook together, it's always this utility knife that I wrap in a kitchen towel and put in my backpack. Universal chef's knives in sizes around the 20-centimeter cutting edge are like sand on the sea, and I know that many a self-baker with the very specially shaped handle my chroma has problems: It was actually forged from a single piece of Japanese Pure 301 steel. If you need a warmer grip material made of wood or plastic, you will not be happy with the Chroma. Because it feels like it has grown into my hand, I cut everything that gets on my board in everyday life. Injured and accurate.
At the factory it has an Asian V-cut, which is pulled a little tighter with its 15 ° angle than with western chef's knives, which does not make sharpening much easier. But it must be tightened much less often, because its enormous hardness (who says that: 57 ± 1 HRC Rockwell) ensures long edge retention. My Chroma has forgiven me despite this hardness, which makes it quite susceptible to breakage, even some spotty Bodenfälle (necessarily pull the foot quickly!). You just should not just pry the kitchen balcony door that fell into the lock.
What's this? A professional kitchen knife forged from one piece of superhard Japan steel for all occasions from goulash to beefsteak tomato.
Who needs it? Anyone who wants to cut faster, safer and more accurately without getting poor or stuffing the drawer with many special blades.
What does this cost? Reasonable chef's knives are available from 80 Euro, the Chroma P-18 for about 100 Euro.
Price query time:
18.06.2019, 09:35 clock
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Chroma P-18 universal chef's knife 20 cm
Manufacturer:
CHROMA Cutlery
Price:
EUR 104,00
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Fiskars filleting knife
Thin bacon slices of the piece, salmon steaks, roast beef or turkey slices - I can cut all that with the chef's knife. But whenever bones, bones or connective tissue of all kinds to be removed from fish and meat come into play, I pick my long, thin filleting knife from the magnet holder on the kitchen wall. Because when parrying, when removing pieces of meat from the bone and of course when fish filleting I come with no other knife meaningful to the goal.
The Fiskars is quite new in my kitchen. I had bought it when my old (Friedrich Dick) had lost so much metal from the butcher's needs through years of re-sharpening that it looked more like a meat fork. I'm even happier with the Fiskars, because it is extremely sharp and pleasantly elastic for its purchase price, without feeling wobbly. The other day, when my bread slicer had given up its ghost, I was even able to slice the beef filet into wafer thin carpaccio with the Fiskars.
What's this? A very long, narrow and extremely sharp knife with an elastic, thin blade
Who needs it? By no means vegans or vegetarians, but from the Pescarian to the omnivore anyone who wants to process meat and fish in their own kitchen sometimes in whole or in large pieces.
What does this cost? Filleting knives, even if bought in the butchery store, are a rather cheap joke - the Fiskars is available from around 18 euros.
Price query time:
18.06.2019, 09:38 clock
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Fiskars filleting knife, total length: 32 cm, quality steel / plastic, functional form, 1014200
Manufacturer:
Fiskars
Price:
EUR 15,99
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Product information is purely editorial and independent. The so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the dealer when buying. More information here.
Graef Diamond Knife Sharpener CC 120 DE
When it comes to blade sharpening, one immediately has the image of the barber in his head as he pulls the razor over the leather. Or the fat cook with the sharpening steel, which he casually pulls from the wrist along the knife. Or the freak who delves meditatively into burr removal for hours with oil grindstones of different grain sizes. It all went to my head after a few years. Because apart from the grindstone rituals, even some professional chefs mess up his swords with almost all normal sharpening devices. Even after a few years I had the typical sanding dents behind the handle despite all the caution. The blade was not straight anymore, my knife had to be a professional sander.
And exactly one of these service providers made the devastating error for him and recommended me the Greaf "Chef's Choice" with the three rotating diamond dust discs. Since then I do it myself: every few days I pull the used knives five times through the medium-coarse and the fine double glazing - and thus keep them permanently on the level of sharpness of the professional sander without any great loss of metal. And straight.
I first had to adjust the typical Asian grinding angle (15 °) on the coarse double disc to the 20 ° that is standard in this country and also in this machine. Afterwards, you can make a lively and tireless call.
However, I must not hide a considerable disadvantage of the Graef: Since it has gotten around in the circle of friends, how sharp the knife with it, they bring me every other visit a few of their stump with: "Could you maybe just ...?"
What's this? A professional, electric knife sharpener with enormous sharpening effect for continuous use.
Who needs it? Anyone who finds room in the kitchen and does not feel like doing a wet-grinding ritual lasting several hours every other day.
What does this cost? With just under 140 euros a hefty investment, but makes the blade-receipt quickly paid.
Price query time:
18.06.2019, 09:44 clock
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DISPLAY
Graef Diamond Knife Sharpener CC 120 DE, white-black
Manufacturer:
Gebr. Graef
Price:
EUR 135.89
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Product information is purely editorial and independent. The so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the dealer when buying. More information here.