Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Getting a Grip: The Business of Knives
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I have been cooking nutritious and creative food for friends and family for 20 years. I think all fed would agree they are programmed to expect only the best when they arrive for a meal.
Along the way, I have picked up tips from cookbooks, magazines, and friends. I eavesdrop at the fish and meat counters, and pester chefs at my favorite restaurants for their advice and insight. And yet, for all of the tasty and adventurous meals I have created, few have been perfect.
Mind you, I don’t aim for Martha Stewart perfection. I relish my supply of mismatched napkins and odd-sized glasses. For me, it has always been about the food and I am my own worst critic. Sometimes I feel my dishes lack depth of flavor. Other times, the seasonings might be right but the meal is all the same color. And so on. So, after two decades of cooking by the seat of my pants, I decide to take action. I enroll in a six-week “Back to Basics” cooking class at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
Day One. I walk into a large room with desks at one end and a professional kitchen at the other. It is surprisingly un-fragrant, considering that this is a kitchen that has seen a lot of action. Eighteen of my fellow cooking students sit at their own desks and face a counter with a large adjustable mirror above it, positioned so that we can see our instructor Steve’s hands.
Steve Nill is a tall, handsome man in his 50s with a grin that suggests total job satisfaction. At odds with that is Steve’s assertion that kitchen work is a young person’s job complete with low pay, few benefits if any, and a great deal of stress. He adds the occupational downer that you’re always at work when your friends are at play. Steve wears a chef’s uniform of checkered pants and double-breasted white jacket topped off with a toque—a hat that evokes a perfectly risen souffle. His enthusiasm indicates that it is unlikely he will ever return to his previous career - in finance.
We get down to the business of knives. “The four must-have knives of every kitchen are a chef’s knife - preferably 8 inches; a boning knife, a serrated or bread knife, and a paring knife.” Steve demonstrates the most stable and controlled grip: grasp the handle with three fingers and hold the blade between the thumb and index finger. Horror and relief hit me simultaneously; although I have been holding my knife incorrectly for twenty years, I haven’t shed any blood because of it. In fact, I have managed to escape with only two kitchen injuries, neither of which involved knives (don’t ask).
Steve also demonstrates proper knife sharpening, on a stone at a 20-degree angle. After a few words about knife safety, he shows us some basic dicing, mincing, and slicing techniques including how to cut an onion properly (tears notwithstanding).
Then, we gather around the large stainless steel table in the middle of the kitchen to practice. There’s a designated area for each of us, complete with apron, cutting board (secured to the counter by a rug pad fragment), 8-inch chef’s knife, a paring knife and, according to Steve, the essential “y”-shaped vegetable peeler. We are told to face the counter squarely and grip the object to be cut with our “claw” (thumb tucked under so it doesn’t accidentally end up in the sauté pan). The claw feels awkward and I develop a slicing pain across my upper back. Steve tells me to relax, but the combination of claw grip, sharp knife and roomful of strangers makes this easier said than done.
At the end, we sit down together at a long table and eat our experiments—minced garlic on bread, diced pear-zucchini soup and perfectly julienned French fries. We are especially thankful that the food is flesh-free. I have a lot to learn.
Next week: eggs.
Comments
Sarah Baker’s piece makes me want to go to cooking school too! I love to cook and feel the same way about my 20 years of feeding friends and family—good, but… And I didn’t know about the knives and now I do. Thanks for the piece. Can’t wait for next week.
The cooking article was great.
I’m walking on shells, waiting for eggs.
Sarah is highlight the importance of knives. They are such an essential tool but too many kitchens - at least the ones I have visited - have dull blades. My belief is that it is a mistake to skimp on knives. Buy the best you can find, even if it is more than you want to pay. Make sure the knives feel good in your hands, with the proper weight and balance, and keep them sharp. There is no better tool in the kitchen than a good knife.
Is it possible to delete the 07 November entry for the below? It looks like the first sentence in the ) 7 Nov entry is missing a few words:
Sarah is right to highlight the importance of knives. They are such an essential tool but too many kitchens - at least the ones I have visited - have dull blades. My belief is that it is a mistake to skimp on knives. Buy the best you can find, even if it is more than you want to pay. Make sure the knives feel good in your hands, with the proper weight and balance, and keep them sharp. There is no better tool in the kitchen than a good knife.
I have been locked in a restaurant walk-in for most of the night now, with nothing to read but Sarah Baker’s excellent piece, (which I printed out and put in my back pocket and now find, happily, along with the lap top I somehow placed next to the duck and the crown of lamb—I work the night shift)AND I’m happy to read about the importance of knives. So true. And keys. And maybe a cell phone. or a warm jacket? Looking forward to the next installment.
So glad you learned “the claw” and didn’t end up sauteeing your digits. Though kitchen disasters do make for good reading. I wish I were taking the class with you. I always loved eating at your old apartment in NYC. You should be teaching the class on creating a memorable environment for a meal. Not only were your meals delicious but the table and room were always so beautiful. Looking forward to the next installment!
Sarah’s article gives me the courage to admit that—after cooking passable meals for family and friends for 40 (!) years—I still don’t know the first thing about properly holding or welding a knife, and continue to slice towards myself despite the consturnation of my mother and serious objections of spouse and others who love me. I’m going to give the “claw” my best effort and hope, after eggs, Sarah will pass on more tricks of the knife!
I’ve been using the claw grip for nearly 40 years but have still managed to bleed into the Thanksgiving gravy, the 60th birthday beef tenderloin, the watermelon sorbet and various other lovely dishes that I served up with pride anyway. Why? Didn’t stop to sharpen the knife.
Can’t wait to hear what can go wrong with eggs! Way to go, Sarah!
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