Last updated 06.14.23 — True confession: I have never owned a chef knife set. All those perfectly matched blades, all from the same knife maker and the same line—their uniformity seems excessive. And they often encourage you to buy knives you don’t need, without offering you the variety that might be more useful. On the other
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Last updated 11.20.21 — It’s a logical question, isn’t it? If you’re shopping in the kitchen knife ocean, trying to figure out what the best chef knives just might be. What do the pros use? Would Bobby use a Shun chef knife? Lord knows, when I was a kid, eons ago, and I was first taking up
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Or, one man’s story of seduction and betrayal by Calphalon knives. Once upon a time, on a whim, I bought a Calphalon santoku (see above) at BB&B. For a long time, it lay in a cupboard as some kind of backup knife to be used for experiments in honing or sharpening or anything else kitchenistic that
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Bladesmithing. Have you ever wondered what what it would be like to hand forge a knife from just a bar of steel? Wonder no more and join my journey. . . Just a few weeks back I had the gumption to take a two-day bladesmithing course from Joe Szilaski, an ABS Master Smith, who lives just an
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Banana bread has been in my blood ever since I used to woof down loaves cooked up by my older sis when we were in high school. She would get banana bread urges in the AM hours while the rest of the house was fast asleep. But, come breakfast-time — there would be a half-eaten loaf sitting
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This past October I had the pleasure (along with my 11-year-old daughter) of visiting Solingen, Germany in order to take a tour of the Wusthof factory located there since 1814. (Well, not in the exact same place, of course.) Solingen is not only home base for Wusthof, but one of the knifemaking capitals of the world—nicknamed the
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Here are some of the latest deals on high-quality kitchen knives. We’re talking name-brand blades that will get sharp, and stay sharp, for a serious amount of time. As long as you treat them right, of course (see my Top Ten Tips). They should feel great in your hand and make you want to have fun in
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A carving knife is a thing of beauty, even if it’s used only a couple times a year. When you need a long, thin, and most important of all, sharp blade to do your slicing, nothing else will do. (Above: Wusthof Classic 2-Piece Hollow-Ground Carving Set.) If you’re in the market for a carving knife (or your
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Do you have a chocolate lover in your family you’d love to make a dessert for? And you’d like to avoid the old standard chocolate cake mix—plus, you don’t have oodles of time to bake and then frost it? Chocolate mousse is the answer! At least it worked for us when coming up with a birthday surprise
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Learning how to cut a pineapple is one of the great joys of kitchen knifedom. You weld your samurai-like blade to separate the spiny crown and prickly skin from the sweet, juicy fruit, and you feel exhilarated. But you must use a sharp knife. Otherwise it’s pure torture! For a quick and easy primer, watch my video
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