Reader Question: Essential Cutlery

By Jen

When Leah, fellow (Style) Lush writer and of A Girl and A Boy fame, wrote in, asking for recommendations on a set of knives for her wedding gift registry, I immediately jumped at the chance to answer her question. I can help! I have opinions on knives! Shiny, shiny knives!

She writes:

Hi Food Lushers! I'm finally (FINALLY) having a wedding, and even though my groom and I aren't exactly "just starting out" such that we're counting on guests to buy us dish towels and pillow cases and a matching soapdish/toothbrush cup set, people are nevertheless asking us to register for things we need. One thing we actually *do* need is a set of nice knives.

Could you point me toward some good knives or knife sets (butcher, paring, bread, slicer, etc.; block not necessary) that will do a fine job--and maybe make us feel like grownups instead of broke college kids--without breaking the bank (that belongs to some kind and generous wedding guest)?

Had I been posed the question a decade ago, I wouldn’t have had the first clue what to tell her. Heck, I was still in college, and I’m pretty sure I never really had a need for a decent kitchen knife, what with all the pre-packaged and frozen foods I subsisted on in my early twenties. Ya just tear open the box. No chopping or slicing necessary.

Enter my then-boyfriend/now-husband who was a real-live chef. He knew how to do things like dice an onion! And chiffonade basil! And butcher a chicken! (Warning: the last link is not for the squeamish.) He kept his set of knives -- by Cutco, I believe -- in a leather-bound case. Fancy!

When we got married, almost six years ago, I was just starting to become interested in cooking, and like every good engaged couple, we registered for all kinds of kitchen goodies, including a basic set of kitchen knives and a block. We chose J.A. Henckels, the German maker of fine cutlery my husband had been coveting for many, many years.

So, here’s the thing. I’m not an expert. I’ve not played around with lots of different brands of knives to be able to say J.A. Henckels is the best. But, having used our knives to prep vegetables versus my mom’s hodge-podge set of knives likely bought in a discount department store, there really is no comparison. You can’t put a value on a decent kitchen knife, and here’s why.

I’ve learned a lot about food preparation from my husband. He’s a very patient instructor, having shown me how to properly (and finely) dice an onion at least a dozen different times. The main thing I’ve taken away from his tutorials is to “let the knife do the work.” There’s really no need to strain yourself when dicing an onion so long as your knife is sharp and of solid design and construction.

There seems to be two schools of thoughts when it comes to accidents in the kitchen -- equipment error, or user error. Having nearly sliced off my knuckle on a no-name brand mandoline, I’m fairly certain both the equipment AND the user are to blame for my bloodshed. I’ve never once cut myself with our J.A. Henckels’ knives. Is it the equipment, or my (ha!) years of training? Who can really say.

What I can say is, whatever brand you decide is right for your budget (Chicago Cutlery, Ginsu, Wusthof), choose cutlery you will really use. I’ve highlighted the three knives from our collection we use the most, all from the Professional “S” series: the 8-inch stainless steel chef’s knife (right), the 7-inch Santoku-style (center), and the 8-inch carving knife (left).

We use the chef’s knife for all sorts of preparation, including dicing and slicing vegetables and butchering meat. The carving knife, which gets a regular sharpening on the steel that came with our set, is used primarily for slicing cooked meats. My husband isn’t really a fan of the Santoku (which we registered for independently of a set), but I use it all the time for shredding lettuces and herbs. (I think my husband doesn’t like it because it can’t be sharpened on a steel, and it’s gotten a little dull over the years.)

The one knife we don’t own, but I would recommend getting, is a long serrated knife for slicing bread. We have a short one that also came with our set, but it’s really too small.

Additionally, we also received a set of eight steak knives (also by J.A. Henckels) that not only are great for meat, but I pull one out when I want to slice off a few hunks of cheese for my two-year-old. Works better than our designated cheese slicer!

I’m curious what everyone else recommends when it comes to knives -- is there a brand or style you love?

Comments

[kakaty]

I agree with those 3 knives...really the only 3 you need in your kitchen. I prefer Wusthof for a brand but go pick them up and see what feels good in your hand. If you can only afford one get the 8-inch chefs knife. But perhaps more important is getting the knife sharpened. We found an old craftsman who comes to our farmer's market and we take our knives to him 3x a year. Even the best knife sucks if it's dull.

While you're getting knives, get a nice big Boos cutting board, too!

Finally, my life in the kitchen changed when I took a "knife skills" class. I am so much faster at cutting/chopping and save a ton of money by doing some simple butchering at home

[agirlandaboy]

Yay! Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed: not a guide to the "best knives" according to knife industry people but a personal recommendation from someone I trust who says "These are good. You should have them." Thanks so much, Jen!

[Stephanie]

The only other style of knives I'd add are a long serrated bread knife, and a small serrated knife for cutting some squishy things, like tomatoes. But, because they are serrated the quality of the blade doesn't matter as much and you really don't need to buy the fancy-brand version. (In fact, if you already have a serrated knife, I wouldn't bother to upgrade.)

You definitely should choose one of the higher-end brands for the three basic knives, though, but which brand and style is totally a personal preference. The best advice I've gotten? Go to a quality kitchen store (William-Sonoma, Sur La Table) and talk to the knife person there. They will let you hold the different styles and practice cutting with them.

I also personally like having a paring knife around, but it's not necessary if you are comfortable using the big knife for smaller things.

[Stephanie]

One other thing... register for a honing steel that is the same brand as your knives. I think it has something to do with the metal composition being exactly the same, or something like that. Anyway, my husband is actually the knife expert in our household, and both of my comments are based on what I've learned from him. (Although he would find no need for the paring knife and small serrated knife, but I'm uncomfortable using the larger knives for really small items.)

[Ginger]

Wusthof & Henkels are what grace our kitchen--I believe the Henkels are the 8 inch chef's knife & the steak knives and the Wusthof is the Santoku, but either way they're both amazing. I think the biggest thing you can do is go to a store and actually feel them in your hand (and also, each brand has several series within the brand, that have different handles/weightings/price points, so you'll want to see which is which). Hence why we have some brand difference at our house, because of the way the knives felt in our hands.
I'd also, personally, recommend a really good paring knife. That was a bit of a revelation for me, that a good paring knife can make small prep so much easier.

[Courtney]

I agree - just get individual knives rather than a set. We just got married and we registered for Shun knives and I LOVE them! They are beautiful and sooo sharp and they really make such a difference. check them out :-)

[lauren]

I took a Central Market knife skills class. Really you need some chefs knife or santoko you don't have to have both a bread knife and a paring knife. I have wustof and I love them. I also love shun.

[Elizabeth]

I have all Henckels knives and I love them. Love love love.
One thing I also would recommend is this magical thing, which is the bomb diggity for sharpening knives...
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Diamond-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00005QEZS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1299091012&sr=8-10

[Sharon]

I am a housewares dork. I used to work for a department store's housewares department many moons ago, and I agree with the Henkckels love. They may be pricey, but it is SO worth the expense in the long run. I bought my fancy knives 12 years ago, and they're still in fabulous (and sharp!) condition. I understand budgets, though, but if you can make it work, I highly recommend Henckles. Like others have said, try them out in the store first, as you might find another brand fits you better.

[Darcey]

I'm also a huge fan of Henckels knives, so when my sister was moving into her first place for college, I volunteered to give her my knife set that I went to college with so I had an excuse to build a new, nice, adult chef set.

So that year for Christmas, my mom started me with the 8" chefs knife and the 4" paring knife - the two I use most often.

Outside of those (plus a serrated knife and some steak knives), get a good pair of kitchen scissors - Henckels yet again.