by Stephanie Berenbaum – March 23, 2010

Save Money & Cut Time In The Kitchen

If you love to cook like I do, you probably know that a quality knife is often the secret weapon in transforming a hard to prepare meal into a delightful experience.  And although I fully believe that stocking your kitchen with at least one or two fabulous knives is worth every penny, if you don’t take proper care of that investment, both you and your knives will soon lose your edge!

After waiting way too long to get my own knives sharpened, I finally took them to see Ralph, my neighborhood knife sharpening professional.  Lucky for us, Ralph was full of Fab & Fru tips on how to keep you sharp and make your knives last as long as possible!

Cut out the Dishwasher!

Ralph explained to me that the high heat/high humidity environment found in your dishwasher is steel’s worst enemy.  Unless you are the kind of person who takes the knives out of the dishwasher immediately and hand dries them, your best bet is to wash your knives by hand and dry them right away to prevent rust.

Get into the Groove

Ralph says to only use cutting boards – i.e. wood – that are soft enough to have your knives leave a groove in them.  In his words, “Plastic cutting boards should be banned!” Plastic and bamboo are too hard and will dull your knives in a hurry! To properly disinfect a wood board, Ralph uses hot water, a little bleach and a scrubby – again, never a dishwasher.  He reminds us that it is bad practice to soak a wood board in water – it will cause it to expand and crack. Also, once a month he treats his wooden board with mineral oil to ensure death to all micro bacteria and freshen the board.

Hone your Skills

Use your honing steel to do a quick sharpen each time you use your knives.  This serves two purposes – it will of course make sure your steel is sharp, but it will also get rid of any unwanted material on it, ensuring that your blade will make a clean cut.

Don’t Be a Blockhead

Ralph is not a fan of storing knives in wood blocks.  Sure, they look nice, but he worries about all the bacteria that can get trapped down in the holding slots.  Plus, if you stick wet knives in there, you are really asking for it.  Instead, he suggests either sticking your knives to a magnetic wall strip or having a dedicated knife drawer in the kitchen (though if you have small kids in the house, chances are these aren’t great options for you!)  Added benefit – you won’t dull the blade by running it along the wood every time you take it out of block to use it!

Each Knife Has a Purpose

Ralph took one look at my expensive chef’s knife and knew that I had been using it to cut through chicken bones –- this man is good! He showed me the blade up close and I could see that little bits of the steel had actually broken off, so the blade was not really a clean line anymore.  You will extend the life of each of your knives if you only use them for what they are intended for – and to leave the heavy duty butchering to cleavers and poultry shears!

Sharpen Regularly

Ralph told me there is an easy way to tell when your knives need sharpening.  Take a piece of paper (one from the recycling bin) and try to cut straight down with your knife.  If it does so easily, it is sharp.  If there is a lot of fuzz or the paper tears more than slices, time to get them sharpened!

Buying great kitchen knives can be expensive.  However, if you take proper care of them, you will turn what you once thought of as an extravagant expenditure into one of the sharpest lifelong investments you’ll ever make!

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