Maxwell's Silver Knife

The first most useful and important tools in the kitchen are your hands, as long as they’re clean. The second most important tool, without question, is the knife. No tool is as much of a multi-tasker as a good knife, and seldom is a dish made without it. Even if all you eat is microwave dinners, you need something to open up the box, don’t you? The sharper and better knife that you have, the easier and quicker prep work will go. That’s not to say that buying the most expensive knife on the market will turn you into Morimoto. It just means that if you splurge a little on a good quality chef’s knife, take care of it, and spend some time learning how to use it well, your meals will be better, I promise.

If you want to buy a good chef’s knife, and every cook who wants to be worth his salt should have at least one good one, you will probably have to spend a bit more money than you think is necessary. Here are the rules you should follow when picking out quality cutlery:

1. The most expensive knife isn’t necessarily the best.
2. The cheapest knife isn’t necessarily he best.
3. If it’s not comfortable in your hand, it’s not a good knife for you.
4. Try out a knife before you buy it.
5. If you don’t take care of your knife, it will turn on you.

And take care of it you must. A dull knife is much more dangerous in the kitchen than a sharp one, because with a dull knife, you have to push harder to cut. The harder you push, the easier it is to slip and cut of a finger. Not fun.

I’ve tried several of the more expensive and well-known brands, and for my money, the best knife out there for me is a Global chef’s knife. 8 inches is a good size. It fits perfectly in my hand, and requires almost no effort to cut through nearly anything you need to cut. When trying it out at the kitchen store, I barely pushed down on a carrot, and that was all the force it took to cut it in half. Awesome. As an added bonus, Global knives look awesome.

Now, I don’t own one of these beauties yet. But I do want one. On an unrelated note, my birthday is November 5.

Needless to say, there aren’t too many people in India willing to fork over 100 USD (about 5000 rupees here) just for a knife. Take Shammi. He uses a flat, sharpened piece of stainless steel attached to a wooden handle. I’m not sure if you can even call it a knife. It’s about 10 inches long and costs 35 rupees (about 75 cents in the states). With this prison shank, Shammi is able to expertly produce any Indian dish you can think of. Why? Well, for one reason, he’s had a lot of practice with it. But mostly, there’s just not a lot of precision cutting required here. Mostly, all that needs to be done is dice onions and garlic, disassemble a head of cauliflower, or shred cabbage. Oh, and when he brings in the chicken for my once-weekly non-veg meal, the kitchen turns into a scene out of Psycho. It ain’t pretty.

I have also used this same poor excuse for a knife for the past 3 months, and strangely enough, I’m getting used to it too. I can still cut an onion and dice garlic, and it gets the job done. It’s not perfect, but my meals are still delicious. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: a person can get used to anything.

So does that mean I’ve rethought buying my $100 Global knife when I get back? Not a chance. Two reasons. First, if definitely does do the job faster and better. Second, it’s sexy as hell. ‘Nuff said.