Kitchen Knife Review

The Best Cheese Slicer

2011-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

Slicing cheese has got to be one of the most hap hazard and frustrating things to do with a kitchen knife! No sooner have you got out a lovely fresh block of from age from the fridge than you are exerting all your weight onto a kitchen knife trying to cut off a chunk for your sandwich, or even just to eat then and there.

Given how easy they make it in the super markets and stores with their cheese wires, there has to be a better solution of slicing cheese at home.

Thankfully, there is the Bakertowne Thick & Thin Cheese Slicer which has to be one of the best cheese slicers we have ever come across.

Thick and Thin Cheese Slices

One of the great attractions with this cheese slicer is that you can cut think or thick chunks with it, and you don’t have to swap anything over or reconfigure your cheese cutter; you just get on and do it.

There are plenty of different occasions for when you might want to cut cheese, and there is no hard and fast rule in life to say when you would want thin or thick slices, and thankfully this Bakertowne slicer is a real help with this in the kitchen.

The best cheese slicers out there use wire, and this product is no exception, featuring two separate cutting wires that are permanently attached, meaning you can literally slice your cheese in seconds.

If you are a big fan of sliced cheese (the fresh kind, not the slices out of the packet), and you do not yet have a wire based slicer, you need to take a long hard look at your kitchen utensils, and get yourself something as good as this Bakertowne cheese slicer!

The Best Chefs Knife

2011-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

It may as a surprise to many readers out there to see that one of the best chef’s knives at the moment is not a kitchen knife from Global, Shun or Wusthof, but in fact Victorinox.

We have been keeping an eye on the Fibrox range of kitchen knives from this famous Swiss forger for quite some time now. The way they have risen up the bestseller charts on places like Amazon is nothing short of meteoric. It is for this reason that we must declare this Vitorinox Fibrox Chef’s knife as one of the best chef knife around at the moment.

What makes it the best Chef Knife?

It certainly, thankfully, is not the most expensive kitchen knife on the market. In fact, the price tag pales in comparison to that of the likes of Global or Shun, but this os one of the great attracting features of this kitchen knife; it is because it is so affordable and yet so capable a knife that opens it up for purchase to so many more people than the really high end knife forgers.

Victorinox have, of course, been making knives and blades for longer than either of us have been alive, and probably our parents, too. They obviously know what they are doing with knife blades, and the Fibrox knife range is no exception. The blade is forged out of a high carbon stainless steel, and it is hand finished in Switzerland, not just churned out of a factory line.

The Best Chef’s Knives keep their edge

What is also quite interesting about this chef’s knife is that it has been specially tempered during the forging process, which has led to a knife edge/blade that can easily be resharpened over and over again, without worrying about blunting the knife or not being able to get it sharp again.

There is nothing more frustrating than having a good kitchen knife that can no longer be sharpened properly, so you end up trying to sharpen it up every day or so just so you can make dinner properly with it. This isn’t much fun at all, but thankful this Victorinox Fibrox knife helps you avoid that.

Get the best chef knife now!

These chef’s knives from the Victorinox Fibrox range are topping the charts at Amazon at the moment, where they are so much less expensive than the RRP and comparable high street stores.

If you want to get this knife, then Amazon is the only place to do it to get yourself a real bargain!

The Best Asian Knives

2011-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Asian kitchen knives have become more and more well known through the World, and so much so now that it is not uncommon to find Asian or Japanese themed knives in many kitchens over here in the US.

The Santoku kitchen knife is by far one of the most famous Japanese kitchen knives. Briefly, it could be described as the Japanese equivalent of what we know in the West as a chef’s knife, only they have a few subtle differences to them.

Santoku kitchen knives are traditionally scalloped, which means there are small grooves carved out of the knife sides. This is primarily done so that fish or vegetables (or meat) do not stick to the side of the knife blade when sliced thinly. This stems from the customs and cuisines commonly found over in Japan, and down to the fact that a lot of Japanese and Asian dishes require really thin slicing, dicing and chopping of fish and vegetables.

This is the best Santoku Knife

At the moment, this Granton Edge Santoku knife from Victorinox is easily one of the best Japanese kitchen knives on the market.

It features high carbon, stainless steel blade which has been hand finished in Switzerland by people who have been making kitchen knives for a long long time. The blade is really high quality and proper finished, meaning that you can sharpen it over and over again without blunting the edge.

The handle on this is also very well designed, and has been built with your hand and wrist in mind, so the ergonomics help minimize the tension exited on you wrist.

If you are looking for a great Asian kitchen knife, then you need look no further than this Victorinox Santoku kitchen knife!

The Best Knife Blocks

2011-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Knife blocks and knife storage in general is a hotly debated area; is it better to go for the traditional knife block, stick them straight in the drawer (definitely not this one!), use a magnetic knife rack perhaps? Or in the case of this Totally Bamboo product, store your kitchen knives in a dedicated in-drawer knife block?

Well, it turns out that in-drawer knife storage is becoming more and more popular, and this Totally Bamboo 15 Slot Knife Block is a great addition to the kitchen.

In-drawer Knife Storage

The benefit of in-drawer knife storage is that it removes the traditional knife block from your kitchen counters, and it means you do not have to attach anything to the wall just to store your kitchen knives.

This method of slotting your knives directly into a drawer does, of course, mean that you need to keep pretty much an entire kitchen drawer dedicated to you knives. Whilst this is not the end of the world, we absolutely understand that not everyone has this ability, so may prefer the traditional knife block.

It is worth noting here that you should really avoid storing kitchen knives loose in the drawer as they tend to bash against other kitchen utensils which will gradually cause the blade to blunt and dull over time.

The Simply Bamboo In Drawer Knife Block

This in-drawer knife storage block from Totally Bamboo is the top of the chart when it comes to storing your kitchen knives in a drawer. It is eco friendly and made of particularly tough bamboo (did you know that bamboo is up to sixteen percent harder than the maple wood?), looks great and is naturally anti bacterial, meaning your knives should stay clean after being stored away.

This knife block is responsibly grown, as well It is sustainably harvested bamboo, meaning that the equivalent amount of bamboo plant is re planted for each knife rack. Great news for you and Pandas, which is always a bonus.

If after a few years this knife storage block starts to fade, then there is also some Totally Bamboo Revitalizing Oil that can really help restore the gloss and sheen to this great kitchen knife block.

The Best Can Opener

2011-10-16T00:00:00+00:00

Can opening is not the most exciting of activities in the kitchen, this much is true.

However, it is one kitchen activity that can lead to a real mess and injuries if not handled properly. Fortunately, can opening technology has come a long way since the days of the flimsy metal can openers that hurt your thumbs, required the can to go off on all sorts of different angles and need manual intervention to finally get the lid off.

The Best Tin Opener from OXO SteeL

By far the most popular can (or tin) opener on the market is the SteeL Can Opener by OXO, who you may recognize from their hugely successful Good Grips range.

This can opener is really a breeze to use, it has been ergonomically designed so that you can keep the can firmly on the kitchen counter and rotate the soft-rubber coated knob to easily cut around the top of the tin to give you a perfectly opened tin of whatever!

OXO have well established their reputation for making kitchen utensils that are easy to use, attractive to look at and perhaps best of all do not break the bank.

So if you are struggling to open tins and cans on a daily basis, then we strongly advise you take a look at this OXO SteeL can opener!

The Best Knife Block Sets

2011-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

A lot of us choose to buy our kitchen knives ‘pre blocked’, if you will. This means that instead of buying individual kitchen knives, or even a small set of perhaps three kitchen knives, you buy the whole nine yards of kitchen cutting power. Whilst personally I think this takes some of the fun out of collecting your kitchen tools, there is definitely some cost saving benefit in it.

This Ginsu kitchen knife block set is a great example of how you can save money on your set of kitchen knives and still end up with a great quality product.

The Ginsu Kitchen Knife Set

Ginsu is a kitchen knife manufacturer that does not feature here on Kitchen Knife Review nearly as often as it probably should. We have historically focussed on some of the more internationally known brands, and we are guilty in that we have allowed Ginsu knives to slip by the way side.

Anyway, if you are looking to buy an all inclusive kitchen knife set then this Ginsu block is well worth your attention. It features 14 (that’s right, 14!) individual kitchen knives. This means it includes pretty much every time of kitchen knife you are ever going to need.

Traditionally, consensus here is that is better to spend your money on fewer high quality kitchen knives as opposed to spending the same amount of money on more lower quality ones. Now, we still stand by this assertion, but that in no way means that these kitchen knives from Ginsu are poor quality!

The blades are all full tang and triple riveted for extra strength. These knives also come with a limited lifetime warranty, which is testament to Ginsu’s commitment to these kitchen knives. They are, as you can tell from the picture above, very attractive kitchen knives and will give you plenty of satisfaction when chopping and slicing away in the kitchen!

Buying the best kitchen knife set

If you are in fact interested in buying a new kitchen knife set, block included, then we really would recommend this set from Ginsu - it offers a great balance between price and quality which should keep you going for years to come.

The Best Magnetic Knife Strips

2011-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

Knife storage, knife storage, knife storage. Where do we begin?!

There are so many different kitchen knife storage options in the world, and it is definitely one of the overly gimmicked niches in the kitchen in recent years (the plastic cartoon characters that you slide your knives through is a particular example that jumps to mind).

Kitchen Knife Storage Options

There are plenty of options when it comes to storing your kitchen knives. Largely, they fall in to the following categories:

Kitchen knife blocks which sit on top of your kitchen counter
Magnetic knife strips, as demonstrated by this MUI model, which you screw into your wall
In drawer kitchen knife racks, blocks or trays, which are gaining popularity
Storing them loosely in a drawer, which is definitely NOT recommended

Regardless of which of these camps you may happen to fall into, it is hard to deny the space saving, worktop clearing efficiency introduced by magnetic knife racks

The Best Magnetic Knife Rack?

This MUI France is one of the most popular magnetic kitchen knife racks on the market at the moment, and it is quite clear to see why.

It measures 20 inches long, which is going to be plenty of space for most people unless you have a particularly large collection of cleavers or large chef’s knives. It may, in fact, be a little bit too spacious for some (for example, if you only have three good quality kitchen knives), so it is worth bearing those requirements in mind when buying a magnetic knife strip.

Installation is straight forward, but as you would expect with a any magnetic knife rack, these do need to be screwed in to the kitchen wall so as to keep the knives from falling off. If you have a rented apartment or house, this might be harder to convince your landlord to do than if you own.

However, if you are all good to go on getting a magnetic knife strip up and running, then you will really struggle to beat this knife holder from MUI France.

The Best Nut Crackers

2011-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

We are fast approaching the time in the year where you are going to want start cracking some nuts! Whether for thanksgiving or for the Christmas holidays, we all love having a few chestnuts or pecans roasted over an open fire.

The only problem is, do you have the best nut crackers, and are they up the job this year?

Here are the best nut crackers

If you are lacking a set of good nut crackers and are partial to a few of these lovely roasted nuts through Winter, then you need to take a serious look at these Duke Company nut crackers, which are setting the bar for cracking performance and design.

These nut crackers are beautiful to look at, and have been designed with a classic setting in mind. They have a hard wood base with a gogeous nickel plating all steel construction, which make sure that you enjoy and relish what is the normally boring job of cracking nuts.

There is no assembly required for these nut crackers; all you need to do is attach and screw in the handle into the nutcracker and you are all set to get cracking on your freshly roasted nuts!

How to care for a wooden cutting board

2011-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

Great article here about how to properly care for a Wooden chopping board. I can’t stress how important this is if you want your board to last as long as possible!

Apply as much oil as the wood will absorb, but don’t leave any pooled on the surface. Then set the board in a warm place. After 12 to 24 hours, apply more oil in the same way and set the board out to warm again. Repeat until no more oil is absorbed, then wipe the board with a dry cloth and buff it until it shines.

Kitchen Knives Beat Food Processor

2011-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

Not that we are particularly surprised by this snippet from ConsumerReports.org, but it’s interesting to see it in writing!

A fine-edged knife, like any of the recommended models by Ginsu, Wusthof, or Zwilling J.A. Henckels, beats a food processor for precision and consistency, improving the taste and texture of dishes when the cut-up food is clearly visible, as in stuffing or tuna salad. If you have good skills, a knife can be quicker, too, especially when you factor in cleanup time