EZ Basic Knife Skills And Information

I thought long and hard this weekend as to what type of subject matter I would start out with here at EZ Cooking and after talking to some of the chefs and cooks that I deal with on a daily basis at work I decided to begin this blog with a major review of kitchen knife skills and information.  The military teaches soldiers that their knife is their best friend and this also stands true for the chef or cook. Your knives are your best friends and our number one tools in the kitchen. The chefs and cooks that I spoke with told me that at culinary school they started out with learning about the knife and then they moved on to other things. Since I have been in the cutlery industry for 30+ years I felt this would be a good place to start. I truly did not know how to begin with this series of videos because I could have started with basic cutting techniques or background information on knives either way is interchangeable and either way could be called "basic" or "advanced" knife skills or "basic" or "advanced" kitchen knife skills etc. Since I will be doing background information on knives before doing any food  cutting techniques I will call this series of blog posts and videos Basic Knife Skills And Information. covering such topics as your basic kitchen knife types and there functions. I will share with you the difference between Western European and Japanese kitchen knives.  From there I will share about the different kitchen knife grind types and the different kinds of steels used in making kitchen knives. We will then venture into the fray of kitchen knife anatomy, both Western European and Japanese to give a good foundation in these differences as these days some chefs/cooks like to use one or the other type of knife and they have reasons why. I will share along the way culinary/kitchen knife terminology. One of the best most important things that I will share with you is the inherent advantages and disadvantages between Western European knives and Asian kitchen knives.

As we go deeper into the realm of knife skills I will share the different knife sharpening techniques that one can use to keep their knives just humming along! I will discuss the different types of knife sharpeners on the market and the how's and why's of using and not using certain of these sharpening devices on your coveted knives will benefit you. I will be doing a series of videos and posts on how to sharpen a knife. I have many techniques and I am sure one will fit you. I will show you the different ways to "hone" your knives on what is commonly called a sharpening steel whether that "steel" be a diamond steel, a carbide steel, a corrugated steel, a smooth steel or  a ceramic rod and explain the differences of each and how to use them in unison. Learning how to sharpen and maintain your most valuable tools is in my opinion one of the most valuable lessons to learn. I personally do not trust my tools to someone else to be sharpening because I know how I like it done and I feel that anyone who cooks should feel the same way.  My knives have my energy on them and mine alone! It is pride of ownership for me to be able to take care of my tools. I want the same for you! Heck! I will even share with you how to sharpen your kitchen knife/knives on the back of a plate in a pinch if you needed to, and my favorite 10-5-3-1 sharpening method using various sharpening stones.  I will even show you a couple of ways to sharpen your serrated knives! From here we will then move on to other primers before we get to cooking together. I look forward to sharing with you and  I look forward to having you here. As always your feedback is welcome here at EZ cooking and I look forward to that as well!

Thanks for stopping by,

Richard Blaine

Eat Well, Enjoy What You Eat, And Long Life!