Cherry Saturday, August 24, 2019

~ Jenny

Today is Knife Day.

One of the things I did in revamping my kitchen was to buy four good knives, which was probably one more than I needed.  My daughter suggested CutCo knives which are pricey (to say the least) so I bought a paring knife and a chef’s knife, figuring those were all I’d need.  Then I realized I needed a good bread knife and Epicurious suggested Mison and I bit and bought their bread knife, which is great and about half the price of CutCo (although still pricey).  Later I went back and added a Sanku which I also love but which is probably so close to the chef’s knife that it wasn’t necessary.  And of course I still have a full panoply of cheap knives which I use to open boxes and bags and do general utility stuff, pitching them as they break or dull because really, CutCo and Mison have me covered.  Broke, but covered.  

A good kitchen knife is a wonderful thing.  Happy Knife Day!

36 thoughts on “Cherry Saturday, August 24, 2019”

  1. Cutco knives are really good. A former student sold me three knives maybe 15 years ago. I use them daily. (Cutco gets college kids to sell directly to their families, friends, neighbors, and, yes, teachers.)

    I research Britain up to, and especially, the 12th century. Knives were often used to physically demonstrate sealing a house purchase. Former owner hands over knife — you now own the house. Other kitchen implements were used, too.

    I kinda like tokens — when I give someone a purse, I put a penny in it.

  2. We have some Cutco steak knives which are good and have rounded tips making them look much less violent than the usual. My husband is in love with Global knives. I refuse to give up our Green River knives, in part because of the feeling of being part of history.

  3. I’ve got crummy knives, but they sharpen all right and work for at least one meal prep between sharpenings. I use a little hand held sharpener.

    There’s a YouTube channel called Jun’s Kitchen that I love. He’s got a couple videos about sharpening kitchen knives the proper way with whetstones that are oddly soothing to watch. And he’s an amazing cook, with an audience of three cats.

  4. Ooh. I use one large Arcos knife and one Arcos paring knife and that’s it for good-ish knives. Bread knife is a generic one. But for a peeler, I won’t compromise, I use an Oxo with a thick grip.

    I was inspired by Yan Can Cook show when I was younger. He used that ONE giant-to-me cleaver style blade for EVERYTHING. I wanted to be that good! I’m not, but I can pretend.

  5. I’m still using the (cheap) set of Kitchen Devils a friend gave me when I first set up house in 1980. The thing is, they haven’t worn out, so I couldn’t justify replacing them. I’ve got a good sharpener.

    Today’s more Fork Day: I spent a couple of hours harvesting my potato crop with my nice new stainless steel border fork. I’m now vegging in the garden, enjoying the blue skies and sunshine (from a cool, shady corner) and avoiding the holiday traffic and crowds. Might go and check out the balloon festival in the park tomorrow. Although I may see them sailing overhead, depending on the wind direction.

  6. I love my Victorinox knives. They aren’t super expensive but they sharpen like a dream and the Fibrox handles are comfortable even when my hands are sore (I have tendon problems in my hands).

  7. I have a set of Farberware multi-colored decorative knives on a magnetic strip. Instead of a big block, they came with sheathes, which are stowed in the back of a drawer. I went googling for them so I could link to how pretty they are – apparently, they were limited edition. There are other similar sets, but my set is no longer on the net.

    Also on magnetic strips are four pairs of scissors, and the dotter has me cutting most things with the biggest pair. Making a salad? Cut up the lettuce, celery, cucumber, carrots, etc. with scissors. Adding chicken to the salad? Scissors. Cleaning the scissors? White vinegar.

    I have half a dozen (or more) cutting boards, plastic, wood or bamboo. Some are called bread boards or cheese boards. They’re very handy, whether I’m using those Farberware knives for cutting or just transporting a hot bowl from microwave to table.

    I’d have a work knife, but the Department of Corrections forbids guns and knives near inmates.

      1. Similar to mine! Very pretty. I must display mine, rather than hide the art in a block. They sharpen very nicely, and give me daily pleasure, too.

  8. On our kitchen counter is a wooden knife block with everything from steak knives, paring knives, a butcher knife and one lethal looking carving knife. This sucker has a blade about 18″ long and a rounded tip, is Swiss made and is one of my husbands knives from when he was a chef (retired). When he uses it he also cleans it and puts it away. I very rarely touch it. On one side of the knife block he drilled and attached a magnetic piece where he can slap a cleaver, another thing I don’t get involved with.

  9. I have several Shun knives – chef and a utility, which I love because the Asian blades are thinner and to me sharper. But the one I love the best is a Kramer Zwilling chef’s knife. My daughter and son-in-law fell in love with it and bought one for themselves. All of them my husband keeps sharp with a whetstone. I do not really cook but I love to prep so sharp knives are important.

  10. The Amazon Treasure Truck informed me this morning that it was Waffle Day. Very surprised to come here and find that you hadn’t gone with that one today. 😊

    1. Did it also inform you that it’s Vesuvius Day? I’m making a maple syrple volcano to erupt on a waffle, which I will eat with a knife.

    2. We do a lot of food. But I love my knives. Also I’m writing about knives in Nita, so . . .
      But you can definitely celebrate Waffle Day. I’m going for stir fry tonight, lots of chopping, but I have no problems with you freelancing.

  11. I have a 3″ boning knife that we were given decades ago. It is my absolute favorite knife. It is not hallmarked so I do not know what brand it is but it is wonderful for all kinds of small jobs like hulling strawberries.

  12. My stepdaughter sold Cutco briefly during college and my favorite steak knives are from there. One year for Christmas one of my friends who is also a foodie and likes to cook (he moved three years ago, and man I miss his Thanksgiving dinner) gave me a really good large chef’s knife. Best gift ever. He also gave me a metal dibble for the garden a different year, which I got absurdly excited about.

  13. I love my Cutco knives! Lately we’ve been into the Kyocera knives. They sell them at the Japanese market by my BFFs that I go to because it’s like being back in Japan! Also, I got a peeler with Hello Kitty all over it!
    My Cutco scissors are my favorite!

  14. Hi, I’m Carol, and I’m a knife addict. Like Gary, I have a magnetic wall strip for mine, so they’re handy and lovely to look at. Mostly Global and Shun, but my fave is a chef’s knife I purchased at the Tsukiji Fish Market when I was in Tokyo a few years ago. Not only is it a great knife, but a fabulous souvenir of a splendid trip.

    1. I bought the most wonderful magnetic knife racks. I ended up with four of them. My old one was a block of wood with four magnetic strips that worked just fine, but these are actually racks with hooks so the do double duty on the edges of my open shelves.

    2. I have no idea who made my favorite knife. My Dad gave it to me when I moved into my first apartment. I think a chef who used to work in a hotel my grandfather managed bought it for my Mother at a restaurant supply house. It is carbon steel, beautifully balanced and keeps an edge for a long time. It was the larger of the 2 chef’s knives that my Mom had, which is why she let me have it. I have a Sabatier boning knife and a Henckels slicer,but it is the no name chef’s knife from the forties that really makes my kitchen sing.

  15. I love a good knife. My steak knives are Laguiole, my carving knife and utility knife are Sabatier, my bread knife is Hoffritz, and my mini Santoku is from Japantown in San Francisco. It gets wicked sharp.

    Today is hot AF but I still got major work done on this screenplay. The writing part is all done, all that’s left is doing the indents for character names and dialogue blocks, and doing the cover page. Want to get it properly registered before I start the new job that I have, finally, landed.

  16. I have my Coltellerie Berti knives, which I love, and a handforged mezzaluna blade. I love working with kitchen things that are both highly functional and spectacularly pretty and feel good to use.

  17. Remember that Cutco has lifetime replacement and has a sharpening service. You have to mail them back, but they come home like new. Last time my kitchen shears came back literally new- they replaced mine as they felt couldn’t sharpen, clean them up properly!

    1. That’s what happened with Mollie. Her stepmother gave her the knives her mother had had, and she sent in the whole set and got them back cleaned and sharpened with two brand new ones. All she had to pay was the postage.

  18. I’ve got a cheap bread knife and a lovely solid German one. I enjoy using the German one so much, I swear the bread tastes better.

    And we’ve got a bunch of Victorinox vege knives and a random assortment of bigger knives. They all need sharpening.

  19. My oldest gave me a magnetic strip for my knives for winter holiday last year. I love it. I have all my cheap knives I got 20 years ago, and the lovely wooden handled steak knives I found behind the kitchen counter when I remodeled on it.

    It really is my favorite thing. Too bad I don’t have nice knives to display there!

  20. On the magnetic rack is my favorite bread knife for slicing and dicing onions, celery and softer veggies. Also bread, of course. So versatile, that knive. A foodie let me in on the secret of all it can do. Def an overachiever knive.

  21. I wish I’d seen this sooner. For affordable and on the level of many knives hundreds of dollars more, I recommend (as do the actual knife fiends/experts) Tojiro. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojirodpseries.html They’re affordable and beautiful and hold an edge. I do have a thing for Japanese knives, though.

    But if you’re writing about knives, the site above is great, and you can learn a lot from the comments.

    This is my favourite knife maker, though. I have one of them and it’s all love. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/takeda-knives.html

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