Friday 27 July 2012

What To Look For When Buying A Knife Cutlery Set

There is a large variety of knife cutlery sets on the market, especially if you are looking for one that is suitable for commercial use. Each set will be made out of different materials, will have different edges and will be purchased with different warranties. To ensure that you are making the right purchase, however, there are a number of things that you should be looking for when it comes to cutlery:
  • How many knives do you need?
If you are after just a general cutlery set, you will need at least one of each of the following: a chopping knife, a bread knife, a peeling knife, and a filleting or boning knife. Some steak knives may also be useful.
What sort of material is the blade?
The most common (and highest quality) material for blades is stainless steel, as it resists corrosion, is strong and is relatively cheap when compared with other materials.
  • What sort of material is the handle?
The material used for the handle of your knife is actually very important, as a subpar handle could cause the blade to become loose, which causes serious safety hazards. Micarta and titanium handles are the best choice.
          • What is the design like?
The rivets (which join the blade to the handle) should be of a similar quality to the blade to ensure that they hold; the tang (which is the part of the blade that goes through the handle) should go all the way through on both sides.

Whilst there are a number of knife cutlery sets on the market that are of exceptional quality, there are an equal number of sets out there that are subpar or of very low quality. By answering the above questions and keeping the accompanying tips in mind, you can ensure that you only buy cutlery sets from the former category and not the latter.

Thursday 12 July 2012

How to Choose Kitchen Knives for Cheese

If you will be offering a cheese plate at your next dinner party alongside or instead of a dessert course, then it is important to set up the plate correctly for your guests' enjoyment and your peace of mind. You might think that selecting the correct kitchen knives for a cheese plate is a stuffy and overly formal activity, but it is actually essential to making sure that your party goes smoothly, and that stinky but expensive blue cheese doesn't go flying across the room!

Some people like to forego the rustic feel of hunks and wedges on a plate surrounded by crackers, choosing instead to slice or dice the cheeses before guests arrive and arrange the pieces, pierced with decorative toothpicks, on a tray for guests to nibble at.

We feel, however, that this misses the true appreciation of freshness and variety that a tasty cheese plate, complete with the correct kitchen knives for cutting and portioning, offers. It is also often easier for guests to cut their own pieces of Camembert or Blue when presented with the proper utensils.

So if you choose to present your cheese plate in the traditional method you will have to select the accompanying utensils carefully to satisfy both practical and aesthetic needs. Simple, elegant handles are preferred over chunky and overly decorative forms as these can be distracting and difficult to manipulate.

Choose kitchen knives that are sturdily built and provide for a clean, steady slicing motion. Remember also that you will require different utensils for soft and sticky cheeses as well as hard and tough cheeses.
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