Knives

How many cooking knives do you own?  Are they sharp?  In good shape?  Do they feel good in your hand?  Which are your favorite?

I am now happily able to respond that they are all my favorites!  I have 5 cooking knives.  And I truly use them all.  Part of what has helped to keep the number small is the cost of these knives.  They are serious, professional knives, which means they should last a really long time.  Considering how much I cook, I think that a solid set of knives is a worthy investment.

I own an 8 inch "chef's knive", a 7 inch Santuko knife, a 4 inch serrated knife, a 4 inch straight knife, and an 8 inch bread knife.  I can cook absolutely anything I want to with this basic set of cutlery.  I can chop watermelon and mince garlic; I can dice tomatoes and potatoes; I can shave chocolate and cut up apples. 

If you feel like you might have too many knives, and you aren't even sure where to start, start over!  Take all the knives out of their usual space and store them somewhere else that is safe and accesible.  When you need a particular knife, go over to the "new" place and fetch it, and then keep it in the usual spot once you are done.  At the end of two weeks, see what you have there!  Don't just go get a new knife because the one you would otherwise use is dirty.  If your knives and dull and you need to sharpen them after you fetch them from the "new" spot, this could be a good incentive to only drag out the unsharpened one if you really need it.

Happy cutting, and happy culling!