This series, stubbornly titled Inventory Management, should serve as a bulwark against unnecessary and (even worse) boring purchases. This is a howling rebuke of every Instagram ad for copper-plated crepe pans or artisanal ceramic cocaine flutes. Get ready to not buy stuff.
Everyone’s trying to sell you something. Except me, obviously. This newsletter is free and depends entirely on your generosity, after the fact.
Most knife sets are a terrible investment. I say that with all the tenderness in the world because, sure as you’re born, you’ve got one of those rainbow color-coded sets of paring knives clanging around your silverware drawer as you read this. The vast majority of kitchen tasks requiring a sharp, thin piece of metal can all be accomplished with one knife: a chef’s knife. Save the money you’ll spend on another set of knives after a few from the last set break or go missing.
It is the result of a world poisoned by marketing that we believe a product has an exclusive function, simply because it has a name. Bread knife. Cheese knife. Tomato knife(?). Paring knife. A paring knife is not an “essential kitchen tool” no matter how many sponsored blog posts say it is. It was invented in the 16th century by French bookmakers for slicing leather bindings. So, unless you’re assembling a manuscript, skip the paring knife, for now.
In fact, most of the things that marketing says must be cut with a particular kind of knife can be simply cleaved by a reliable chef’s knife. A sufficiently sharp chef’s knife will glide through bread, cheese, and tomatoes without making a huge mess.
The reason that a set of knives often costs less than the price of a single high-quality knife is that the sets are mass-produced and of cheap quality. You’ll get more knives, sure, and maybe a knife block. But you won’t ever use most of those knives and the ones you actually need are going to fall apart.
Certainly, a sturdy chef’s knife isn’t going to perform like new forever. Like any tool, it needs to be maintained. And the simplest route to a severed thumb on your cutting board is a dull knife. A dull blade requires more pressure and strain to make a clean cut. So, keep your knife sharp. J. Kenji López-Alt wrote a terrific primer on knife-sharpening at Serious Eats. Or this guide from Mediocre Chef. (That long metal rod that came with your knife isn’t for sharpening, it’s for honing an already sharp knife.)
Finally, a quality, sharp blade demands the respect of learning how to use it properly. Knife skills are vital to your safety and efficiency in the kitchen. I recommend Jamie Oliver’s video on knife skills as a great starting point for unlearning bad habits.
Personally, I use this Nakiri knife for most of my cooking. It is terrific for chopping vegetables, which is 80% of my chopping. But if you cut up a lot of raw meat you may want a heavier, longer blade.
None of this is to say that anything besides a chef’s knife is useless. I actually own a paring knife and a bread knife. And you should too, eventually. But don’t buy them in a set, and don’t feel like you need to run out and buy every kind of knife you’re ever going to need. If you’re just starting out as a home cook or you’ve just moved out on your own, skip the sets and buy an 8” or 10” chef’s knife. You can fill out the rest of your toolkit when the budget allows.
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