Small Swords

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It ain’t a kitchen without a good knife.

Not long ago I, too, was a member of the dull-knife clan, ignorantly smashing my tomatoes into slices and blaming my son for dulling the knives (he used them to slice Legos). Fortunately, a friend alerted me to *Northwestern Cutlery in Chicago, where below-retail prices and a knowledgeable staff helped me find affordable knives that could truly slice and dice. I discovered a new culinary world of tear lessly chopped onions and paper-thin pepper strips as I slashed my way through familiar recipes.

Though knife preference varies from one cook to the next, we’ll give you some shopping guidelines to eliminate cutlery confusion and help you zero in on your knife needs. We tested a wide range of blades in our kitchen – putting them up against, such hard-to-chop foods as squash, peppers, cilantro and ginger root – then picked our favorites. The cutlery companies recommended here manufacture some quality products and provide excellent customer service.

THE WELL-ARMED SHOPPER

Chefs knives range from six to 14 inches in blade length, but we narrowed our field of cutlery comparisons to 8-inch chef’s knives. Versatile and essential, this knife is used for chopping, dicing, slicing and mincing. A basic knife collection will include an 8-inch chef’s knife, a paring knife, a serrated bread knife and, if you’re a big meat and poultry lover, a slicer. You’ll also need a sharpening steel to keep your knives in good shape.

  • Published on Feb 1, 2001
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