Welcome to Hotline Rewind, the weekly collection the place we collect up your questions from the week (and pepper in some from the Hotline archives) a few particular culinary matter. Let’s reduce to it: As we speak we’re speaking about knives. Being assured on the slicing board can shave hours off your weekly meal prepping, so we answered all your chopping, slicing, mincing, and sharpening questions beneath.
What’s one of the best methodology for chopping an onion with out crying?
We cry once we reduce onions as a result of the onion is making an attempt to guard itself from predators (aka us). When an onion’s cells are bruised or torn, it releases a fuel stuffed with lachrymator compounds that make us cry.
Tons of hacks have been developed to keep away from this, like carrying goggles or lighting a candle. Annoyingly, the one assured strategy to scale back crying is an excellent sharp knife. A pointy knife will bruise and crush fewer cells with every slice, and thus the onion will launch much less self-protective fuel.
How typically ought to I sharpen my knives?
A boring knife is definitely much more harmful than a pointy one, so being on high of your sharpening is essential. How typically you’ll need to try this varies significantly relying in your utilization. For residence cooks, I’d say as soon as each six to eight months needs to be ample. Individuals who prepare dinner for a residing might have to sharpen as typically as as soon as each three weeks. Although truthfully, I have a tendency to make use of my knives till they start to not do their jobs as effectively, then I escape my whetstone.
What knives ought to I purchase, if I’m ranging from scratch?
We imagine residence cooks ought to subscribe to knife minimalism. There’s no motive so that you can have a knife block with a dozen specialty knives. All you want is an 8” to 10” chef’s knife, a serrated knife for issues like bread and tomatoes, and possibly a pairing knife for extra finicky duties.
What’s the distinction between dicing and chopping?
When a recipe requires a cube, you ought to be slicing in a uniform, ideally rectangular, form that’s between ¼” and ½”. Chopping is a far more broad time period that often requires bigger, much less even items, typically utilized in issues like soups or smoothies the place you’ll finally be mixing your elements.
Greatest strategy to sharpen knives?
Ideally you’d study to make use of a whetstone, although this can be a troublesome ability to grasp and dangers ruining your knife. A counter high sharpener like our Store’s one from Zwilling is an effective way to maintain your self secure and your knives sharp, with minimal effort.
What’s essentially the most sturdy, sanitary slicing board?
It might shock you, however when well-maintained wooden is the best choice. Wooden is light-weight, extremely forgiving to your knife’s edge, and simply hand washed.
Wooden is porous, which is its greatest con when in comparison with issues like plastic. When water and different liquids seep into a cloth, it will probably create a breeding floor for micro organism. Nevertheless, oiling your board each few weeks helps to maintain it hydrated, prevents splintering, and creates a slight hydrophobic layer that reduces the wooden’s porousness.
Does a honing rod sharpen my knife?
Whenever you sharpen a knife, you’re actively eradicating tiny bits of steel to resume a blade’s edge. Honing rods push your knife’s edge again to the middle by realigning its microscopic tooth, stopping it turning into uneven or “rolled”. In different phrases, each issues are vital for knife well being, however operating your blade alongside a honing rod is not going to really sharpen your knife.
Have a lingering query about tips on how to enhance your knife expertise? Ask away on our Hotline or drop us a line at 1 (877)-52-HOTLINE.
