Kitchen Knives
Sliced, chopped - this could be what happens to your fingers if you’re not using the correct knife for a particular task. To avoid these unfortunate mishaps you need a couple of good knives, and you need to use them correctly.
In preparation of killer salad ingredients, you are going to need a paring knife, a parer has a blade which is typically about 4″ long and is the key to making small cuts, shaping, coring and dicing. This little beauty is made from high-carbon-chromium-vanadium with a full tang* and a molded, triple riveted handle. A good quality paring knife like this will last a lifetime.
*The tang is the portion of the steel that extends in to the handle. In most cases, you will see the tang running through the center of the handle. A full tang is good, it means the metal in the handle is the same piece as the metal in the blade.
To use this, or any other knife safely, is easy as long as you follow a few basic rules, always cut slowly and cut away from your body. Your hands should be dry and the surface you are chopping on should be non-slip.
Hold the knife firmly with the hand you write with, this is your dominant hand. The fingers of the other hand should be slightly curled under. Cutting in this manner should ensure you never cut your fingers.
Cut through the item using a rocking motion, ideally the knife should never leave the surface you are cutting on, instead move your hand, the one with the curled under fingers, along as the knife cuts the food.
Another knife which will be useful for preparing killer salad ingredients, is a larger Classic Utility Knife.
Again, try to get a good quality utility knife, I alway try to to buy the best I can afford at the time, it’s usually less expensive in the long run, as you don’t have to keep replacing the item, which is often the case when you go for a cheap option.
Ok, this one isn’t a knife, but it does a job than a knife could do so damn well I thought it would be worth mentioning. A Peeler is a really useful tool, they can peel most fruit and vegetables, and they do it quickly and safely.
Peelers remove the layers of flesh from vegetables and firm fruits, such as apples, by peeling off thin narrow shavings. A swivel peeler enables a more effective peeling, because the blade can follow the contour of the vegetable or fruit, allowing thinner shavings to be removed.
Of course, there are many more tools and gadgets that will make like easier in the kitchen, but having a couple of good kitchen knives will make preparing killer salad ingredients a breeze.
