Friday, February 08, 2008

FOOD: Ceramic Knives Worth the Money

Yesterday (well actually today, but the clock just struck twelve) I had to use a stainless steel paring knife to core and slice up my daily apple. It was like hacking apart a cord of wood with a piece of fishing line.

I normally use a ceramic knife to do the job. It does the job with aplomb, something I didn't realize when I failed to get the dishwasher loaded and turned on before the meal started. The ceramic knife was in the dishwasher and hadn't been cleaned yet. So I pulled out the paring knife and went to work.

The normally simple task with the ceramic knife took me twice as long. I had to be exceeding careful, since I wasn't used to exerting that much pressure to cut things. Twice, I pushed hard enough to lose control of the blade.

It was a reminder at how thoroughly the ceramic knife I bought at Golda's Kitchen had taken over the culinary work here in the Castle of Confusion. It's a 4-inch long ebony blade that set me back $120 on sale. And it's been worth every penny. It's razor sharp, as sharp today as when I got it. It's normally a rinse and wipe off cleaning implement, but I got sticky sauce on the handle, and that's plain plastic.

The knife has a lightweight feel, but is well balanced. And I use it to cut EVERYTHING. Minimal pressure is required. And because it's ceramic, you can cut lettuce without staining it or leaving behind a steely taste. You can cut green onions, rinse it through some hot water and then immediately slice up an apple WITHOUT transferring any tastes. Like I said, worth every penny.

But it IS sharp. First day I had it, I was skinning the top part of a cucumber. I have no idea how people can eat a cucumber rind, but enough of you do it that I AM considered the odd one. That said, I held the cucumber pointed towards myself and peeled towards me. This is, of course, wrong. But it's the way I did it for the better part of 40 years.

The problem was that this wasn't a little plastic-handled paring knife with a two-inch blade. This blade had a small handle on it, intended for a slicing down method. The edge of the blade came at my own thumb with very little resistance from the cucumber. It sliced into my thumb. And the blade was so sharp, I didn't even notice it!!!!

I did eventually notice the blood dripping from the half-inch cut and effected immediate repairs, but I never sliced a cucumber like that again. Now, I lop off the desired amount, put it on a cutting board and shave down the sides until there is no green showing. Like I am supposed to.

Good knives are expensive. Good steel ones are into triple figures. I'd say ceramic knives run about twice the price of an equivalent quality steel knife and are on par price-wise with high-end cutlery. If you are an adult, with no clumsy kids around to test the validity of my cucumber story, then really consider a ceramic knife. No sharpening ever again. One knife can do just about ANY cutting work short of what a hack saw would have to do.

And you know, it's just plain sexy to look at.

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