Woohoo! Bought a new santoku knife today, and my first blender (though it's a cheap hand-held). Home-made falafel, hummus, and smoothies here I come!

Ya...I geek out on kitchen stuff. Too bad I don't have a bigger kitchen to house it all in. At least my gas range somewhat makes up for the tiny space I have to cook in. I hate ceramic/glass cooktops.

I think I was a wanna-be chef in a former life.

I live in a big city so I get my hummus out of a can

Santoku? Ugly, over-priced gimmicks. Hate them.
12" white handled chef's knife available at any restaurant supply store that you'll find in use by the people that actually make your food the whole world over? It's what we used in every kitchen I ever worked in.

And if you're doing a happy dance about a blender, wait until you finally lay hands on a good food processor and/or a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Life. Changing.

<- Bigger kitchen dork/snob than gun nut.

Congrats!
I love my santoku - my daughter gave me an 8" Wusthof santoku for Christmas years ago - it's been my go-to kitchen knife for just about everything ever since - except chopping soaked garbanzos for felafel - then I use my 12" chef's knife. I like to keep the felafel chunky

Oooohh let's have a knife porn thread....
Ditto the Santoku, although I do have some hand forged carbon steel Jap knives. I trained on european chef's knives and just have never gotten the knack of holding most Japanese knife shapes. Most of my knives are old American carbon steel. Russells, Dexters and I have a number of old F.Dick and Henkels as well as Sabatiers. My butcher's knives from my long ago apprenticeship are F. Dick, now unobtainium because F.Dicks are all stainless and mostly made in China. Just say no to chinese knives. I have an old Robot Coupe processor, and an even older-1968- VitaMix blender that I love. I love kitchen stuff, but find very little on the market made in the last 25 years or more that's worth buying.

A quick shot of a few faves off the rack: top to bottom an ancient Dexter, an F.Dick out of my butcher kit, a Sabatier slicer and a Japanese parer. I have a lot of paring knives, but that little jap one is my favorite. I can get it hair splitting sharp in no time.

Gunsotsu wrote:Santoku? Ugly, over-priced gimmicks. Hate them.
12" white handled chef's knife available at any restaurant supply store that you'll find in use by the people that actually make your food the whole world over? It's what we used in every kitchen I ever worked in.

And if you're doing a happy dance about a blender, wait until you finally lay hands on a good food processor and/or a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Life. Changing.

<- Bigger kitchen dork/snob than gun nut.

You're just jealous.

As someone who actually does make food for a living, there is little that a santoku can't do-- a lot of kitchens have very limited space, so a big honkin' 12" knife will bang its tip into steel railings, your prep containers, other cook's cutting boards etc. I am the proud ownder of a beautiful 10" Ken Onion by Shun, which is fantastic-- when I have the space to use it. I can't wait to get the Kramer 8" (I'm fairly tall, and this is the first 8" knife that has ever felt "right" to me).

There are a few ergonomically amazing knives that hold their bulk well-- but most times, if you need a knife that long, you are better off using a specialty knife for what you are actually doing, aka a salmon slicer, ham/roast slicer etc. In those cases, the Victorinox is a great option. As a matter of fact, it is by far my favorite semi-flex boning/fish knife.

For most everyday stuff, however, a santoku is a great choice. I have like 5

I'm just a knife guy who loves to play in the kitchen, but I absolutely love my santoku knives. Currently, I've got a 6" and an 8",and I find that there are few tasks that one of these doesn't do well. But then, I regularly use my Spyderco Stretch as a paring knife...

My fave is a 7" chef's knife. I'm partial to the fuller-less Japanese blade style because I find the sharp bottom corner to be a useful tool for things like taking the eyes out of potatoes. I like fairly soft carbon steel that takes an edge quickly. I don't mind having to apply the steel every once in a while. One of the best such knives I ever owned was purchased for 6 bucks in a Chinese cooking store in San Francisco. I lost that knife to divorce, and the my ex bought me a zillion dollar hand made Japanese knife of the same size and shape. She did that so she wouldn't feel guilty for keeping what we both think is probably the better knife.

I'm also going to take a second here to say jap is not just an abbreviation for Japanese. It has other less-pleasant associations and I don't think anyone here means those other things. Let's use the extra five letters for the sake of righteousness.

Fukshot wrote:My fave is a 7" chef's knife. I'm partial to the fuller-less Japanese blade style because I find the sharp bottom corner to be a useful tool for things like taking the eyes out of potatoes. I like fairly soft carbon steel that takes an edge quickly. I don't mind having to apply the steel every once in a while. One of the best such knives I ever owned was purchased for 6 bucks in a Chinese cooking store in San Francisco. I lost that knife to divorce, and the my ex bought me a zillion dollar hand made Japanese knife of the same size and shape. She did that so she wouldn't feel guilty for keeping what we both think is probably the better knife.

I'm also going to take a second here to say jap is not just an abbreviation for Japanese. It has other less-pleasant associations and I don't think anyone here means those other things. Let's use the extra five letters for the sake of righteousness.

I'm not aware of the other connotations. Point taken however. No offense intended.

JinxRemoving wrote:As someone who actually does make food for a living, there is little that a santoku can't do-- a lot of kitchens have very limited space, so a big honkin' 12" knife will bang its tip into steel railings, your prep containers, other cook's cutting boards etc. I am the proud ownder of a beautiful 10" Ken Onion by Shun, which is fantastic-- when I have the space to use it. I can't wait to get the Kramer 8" (I'm fairly tall, and this is the first 8" knife that has ever felt "right" to me).

There are a few ergonomically amazing knives that hold their bulk well-- but most times, if you need a knife that long, you are better off using a specialty knife for what you are actually doing, aka a salmon slicer, ham/roast slicer etc. In those cases, the Victorinox is a great option. As a matter of fact, it is by far my favorite semi-flex boning/fish knife.

For most everyday stuff, however, a santoku is a great choice. I have like 5

I apprenticed many years ago and cooked professionally for a number of years. Nobody had Santokus or any other Japanese knives at that time. I trained on German and French knives and as I said, am used to them and can't get the hang of a Santoku. An 8" Henkels, Dexter or F. Dick forged chef is my go to kitchen blade. I can filet a salmon, slice steaks or do most fine work with it when necessary.YMMV

Cabrito wrote:

Fukshot wrote:My fave is a 7" chef's knife. I'm partial to the fuller-less Japanese blade style because I find the sharp bottom corner to be a useful tool for things like taking the eyes out of potatoes. I like fairly soft carbon steel that takes an edge quickly. I don't mind having to apply the steel every once in a while. One of the best such knives I ever owned was purchased for 6 bucks in a Chinese cooking store in San Francisco. I lost that knife to divorce, and the my ex bought me a zillion dollar hand made Japanese knife of the same size and shape. She did that so she wouldn't feel guilty for keeping what we both think is probably the better knife.

I'm also going to take a second here to say jap is not just an abbreviation for Japanese. It has other less-pleasant associations and I don't think anyone here means those other things. Let's use the extra five letters for the sake of righteousness.

I'm not aware of the other connotations. Point taken however. No offense intended.

Amer. Jap. Euro. I don't think it was intended as an insult. I knew what Cabrito was saying. I don't think it was intended to be an insult, though I understand slippery slopes. It's hard to be an average white band (oops...i meant average white man) today. Manarchist...look it up. Yep... I'm funny as shit.

Allright knife snobs, I use a set of JCPenney 'get a bunch in a wooden thingy'knives and they get dull i sharpen but they suck. But I am lazy and have not wanted to spen money on cutlery when there is a good deal on ammo

So, without spending a fortune(ie less than $100-$150)are there recomendations for a decent chopper, slicer and paring knife? And yes those may be incorrect names but they are what i do the most. My dirt cheap, always needs sharpening, fillet knife when i used to have a boat and fished, could slice a flounder fillet or a grouper fillet so smooth and get all the meat at th edge of the bone.

And, besides suggested knives, a good inexpensive sharpener?

Thanks

paul

And here I just use an old Buck knife in the kitchen...

dbluefish wrote:Allright knife snobs, I use a set of JCPenney 'get a bunch in a wooden thingy'knives and they get dull i sharpen but they suck. But I am lazy and have not wanted to spen money on cutlery when there is a good deal on ammo

So, without spending a fortune(ie less than $100-$150)are there recomendations for a decent chopper, slicer and paring knife? And yes those may be incorrect names but they are what i do the most. My dirt cheap, always needs sharpening, fillet knife when i used to have a boat and fished, could slice a flounder fillet or a grouper fillet so smooth and get all the meat at th edge of the bone.

And, besides suggested knives, a good inexpensive sharpener?

Thanks

paul

I'll admit it. My santoku is a Chicago Cutlery $10 from sprawlmart. It's good enough to slice your finger open. Before this, I mainly used a CRKT M16 folder for kitchen work. Or else a serrated chef knife! I think I hear kitchen snobs crying right now.

On the other hand, I've had a Victorinox Forschner 808-5 boning knife that I just sharpened up a couple of weeks ago.

Name-dropping changes everything.

dbluefish wrote:So, without spending a fortune(ie less than $100-$150)are there recomendations for a decent chopper, slicer and paring knife?

Two words: Asian. Market.

Well that fucking sucked...I just tried my hand at falafel and it totally fell apart in the oil. Fuck me! What the hell did I do wrong? Garbanzos, parsley, etc, the usual, blah blah. I made the balls/patties and put them in vegetable oil at about 350. WTF? They completely fell apart and I didn't even touch them for about 4 minutes until they were turning brown.

What the hell did I do wrong? Not add an egg for binding? I was really looking forward to falafel and tzatziki tonight. Dammit!

JamesH wrote:Well that fucking sucked...I just tried my hand at falafel and it totally fell apart in the oil. Fuck me! What the hell did I do wrong? Garbanzos, parsley, etc, the usual, blah blah. I made the balls/patties and put them in vegetable oil at about 350. WTF? They completely fell apart and I didn't even touch them for about 4 minutes until they were turning brown.

What the hell did I do wrong? Not add an egg for binding? I was really looking forward to falafel and tzatziki tonight. Dammit!

What recipe did you follow? The only time I've ever had that happen to me my mixture was too wet or the oil wasn't hot enough.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/forschner_fibrox.htm

pretty much represents the best price/quality ration you could hope for in an inexpensive knife.

as for the falafel-- too much oil, not enough water might be the problem.

JamesH wrote:I'll admit it. My santoku is a Chicago Cutlery $10 from sprawlmart.

We have the same knife. I have a little ceramic "V" sharpener for backpacking.
The weight of the blade is enough to slice through a soft tomato.

We bought one of those cheep ceramic knives, it holds the edge the longest - or it would if it had an edge to begin with. Since it would only cut butter, and couldn't be sharpened, we returned it.

JamesH wrote:Well that fucking sucked...I just tried my hand at falafel and it totally fell apart in the oil. Fuck me! What the hell did I do wrong? Garbanzos, parsley, etc, the usual, blah blah. I made the balls/patties and put them in vegetable oil at about 350. WTF? They completely fell apart and I didn't even touch them for about 4 minutes until they were turning brown.

What the hell did I do wrong? Not add an egg for binding? I was really looking forward to falafel and tzatziki tonight. Dammit!

Did you let your mixture set up before making the balls/patties? Every time I've made, or been around someone else making falafel there was a resting period in the fridge for the mixture before pattying to let it set up a bit. Maybe that's what you need.

Or, your garbonzos may need to be drained/dried a little more. In any fried fritter situation, falling apart balls/patties could be a result of too much liquid in your batter.

This is my advice anyway. I've held down a few line cook jobs in my life and am an avid foodie with some experience in this area. But, you know, i could be wrong too, just trying to help out.

As far as your love for kitchen stuff, I love all that shit too. I don't have the super expensive cutlery though. As mentioned above, the inexpensive knives from the local restaurant supply are what are used in most of the working professional kitchens in the country and are more than enough knife for any home chef.

Gunsotsu wrote:

JamesH wrote:Well that fucking sucked...I just tried my hand at falafel and it totally fell apart in the oil. Fuck me! What the hell did I do wrong? Garbanzos, parsley, etc, the usual, blah blah. I made the balls/patties and put them in vegetable oil at about 350. WTF? They completely fell apart and I didn't even touch them for about 4 minutes until they were turning brown.

What the hell did I do wrong? Not add an egg for binding? I was really looking forward to falafel and tzatziki tonight. Dammit!

What recipe did you follow? The only time I've ever had that happen to me my mixture was too wet or the oil wasn't hot enough.

I loosely followed this:

15 oz. can of garbanzos, rinsed and drained
~1/2 cup fresh parsley
~2 tbsp. lemon juice
a few cloves garlic
dash of salt, pepper, baking soda
~1 tbsp. olive oil
~a few tsp. ground cumin
~1/8-1/4 cup general purpose flour

I blended it all and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Formed into balls ~1.5" diameter the next evening. Heated veg. oil to shimmering. Dropped in a couple of balls in oil about 2.5" deep and they started bubbling right away. I think I had the oil temp at about 350, but I didn't use a thermometer. Left in for about 4 minutes until they started turning light brown. Then when I tried to turn them with a slotted spoon, they just fell completely apart.

They felt firm and didn't fall apart while sitting on a plate after I formed the balls while I was waiting for the oil to heat up.

Does elevation have anything to do with it? I'm at 7200 ft. Maybe the oil wasn't as hot as I thought it was.

Ikea has these terrific little sharpeners (aspekt or something I think) for like 7 bucks. They are cheapie versions of the Rollsharp that MAC used to offer with their knives (freaking love my MACs, too, for a good mid-grade knife). You can splurge and the 3-wheeled sharpeners from Global, but if you aren't going to go whole hog into a set of graded whetstones, the little Ikeas are a simple, effective, and inexpensive solution for keeping a nice tight blade on your knife.

Cabrito wrote:

JinxRemoving wrote:As someone who actually does make food for a living, there is little that a santoku can't do-- a lot of kitchens have very limited space, so a big honkin' 12" knife will bang its tip into steel railings, your prep containers, other cook's cutting boards etc. I am the proud ownder of a beautiful 10" Ken Onion by Shun, which is fantastic-- when I have the space to use it. I can't wait to get the Kramer 8" (I'm fairly tall, and this is the first 8" knife that has ever felt "right" to me).

There are a few ergonomically amazing knives that hold their bulk well-- but most times, if you need a knife that long, you are better off using a specialty knife for what you are actually doing, aka a salmon slicer, ham/roast slicer etc. In those cases, the Victorinox is a great option. As a matter of fact, it is by far my favorite semi-flex boning/fish knife.

For most everyday stuff, however, a santoku is a great choice. I have like 5

I apprenticed many years ago and cooked professionally for a number of years. Nobody had Santokus or any other Japanese knives at that time. I trained on German and French knives and as I said, am used to them and can't get the hang of a Santoku. An 8" Henkels, Dexter or F. Dick forged chef is my go to kitchen blade. I can filet a salmon, slice steaks or do most fine work with it when necessary.YMMV

I've owned Henckels, Wusthof, and Sabatier knives in the past, and those were definitely the de facto standard when I first started, but I think the popularity of asian-influenced food (not truly fusion per se, as much as imitation and adaptation) and just a changing zeitgeist made Japanese and Japanese-style knives more relevant for what I had to do. That, and the taller blade geometry allowed me to work faster without constantly slamming my knuckles into the boards...