Cutting and Chopping

Cooking is a matter of control – making your tools do exactly what you want. And nowhere is control more important than in the use of particular knives for specific jobs. I would rather have sharp knives in the kitchen than any other good equipment – an inefficient knife is unbearably frustrating and a really sharp knife is much safer than a blunt one as it is less likely to slip.

Kitchen knives must be sturdily made. The tang – the part of the blade that extends into the handle – should be ‘full’, that is it should extend all the way to the end of the handle and be visible all round. Ideally, the blade of the knife should be riveted to the handle, not glued, and the riveting should be flush to the handle. Finally, the handle should be heat-resistant and non-slip.