Kitchen Tips #1: All About Knives

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​This is the first in a series of Kitchen Tips posts about equipment.
​I’ll tell you about pieces I love & use all the time and about the items that I found less useful & let go when I downsized last year.

​Good knives are the most important tool in the kitchen. A great knife makes your work easier, more accurate and faster.
Terrible knives can make it almost impossible to get anything done.
​If I have to cook at someone else’s home or in a synagogue kitchen, I always bring my own knives.

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My Favorite Knives 
I like a big knife for almost every task.
Years ago, when I was suffering with Carpal Tunnel problems, I just couldn’t wield the heavy knives with wood handles that I had for years.

At a wine festival, I met a vendor selling RADA knives. These knives are super light, the blades are super thin, and they are crazy inexpensive.

​And for me, one of the best features of their line is that all knives come with either black integrated resin handles or permanently cast aluminum handles, which means I can have two sets of the same knives that I can tell apart easily - important in a kosher kitchen. 
Even more specifically perfect for me – my dairy cookware is black and my meat cookware is stainless, so I already use the black and silver color scheme for most of my utensils.

The biggest RADA knife is an 8½ blade French Chef knife; the silver handled knife weighs about 6½ ounces, the black handled one weighs even less. At the low low price of $23.40, the French Chef is their most expensive knife! They do sell sets, but the other thing I love about RADA is that they sell every knife individually, so I have just what I need and no extra knives that I don’t want.

Rada knives are available through independent resellers or on their website.  I don't have a relationship with RADA, other than customer, so there is no financial incentive for me here. I just love these knives!

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Storing Your Knives
​In my giant New Jersey kitchen, I kept my knives in wooden blocks on the counter. Now, in my downtown Cincinnati apartment, counter space is more limited; I keep them in separate drawers by themselves, so I don’t need any kind of rack or holder.

​My brother and son like this storage solution that uses flexible plastic rods to hold the knives without forcing them into specific slots, which works no matter what sizes you have. ​

My sister loves her clear knife holder, which separates the knives at the top with a slotted rubber gasket. It also holds any sizes you have and lets you see which is which.

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 Which Knives do You Need?
​These are the knives I chose in addition to the large French Chef knife:

• Cook’s Knife - my husband likes this shape
• Cook’s Utility - a smaller version of the Cook's, which honestly, I don't use very often
• Carver/Boner - great for removing skin from fish
• 10-inch Bread knife - big enough for the largest loaves
• Regular Parer - for small jobs, like removing strawberry tops

I also have 2 hand-made paring knives I bought in Toledo, Spain which is famous for its knife makers. They were a little pricey, but I love them because they remind me of that trip.
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Although it’s not a knife, another important piece is a pair of kitchen shears which, unlike regular scissors, are designed to come apart for thorough cleaning. I sometimes use these to cut a chicken apart; but mostly I used them to snip herbs or other small items.

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Keeping Your Knives Sharp
There are two aspects to keeping your knives sharp – honing and sharpening.

Although not visible to your naked eye, the V-shaped edge of a straight knife is lined with tiny teeth. Regular use pushes them out of alignment. Using a steel to hone your knife realigns the teeth, maintaining a sharp cutting edge. You should hone your favorite knife at least once a week unless, like me, you use it for everything and frequently. I hone my knife almost every time I use it. During a busy day of lots of chopping, I may even hone it halfway through.

Eventually the tiny teeth wear away, leaving the knife dull. At this point, you need to grind an entirely new edge which actually removes some metal and re-establishes the V-shape.

​Many professional chefs with expensive knives use a sharpening stone to do this themselves. I use an electric sharpener that was a gift for my first wedding anniversary, 32 years ago. Some hardware stores also sharpen knives. In any case, how often you need to sharpen depends on how much use your knives get. I do it every 3 months or so; you may need to sharpen less frequently, but try to do it at least twice a year.

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Cleaning Your Knives
I use a wet kitchen cloth to wipe off my cutting board and knife while I’m working. When it’s time to wash, don’t use an abrasive cleaner on your knife blade. Always dry it immediately and put it away. Don’t leave a knife in your dish drainer when it can get damaged, break something else, or be a cut hazard.