Every Kitchen Needs Knife Sets

屠龙技 2012-09-21

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Every Kitchen Needs Knife Sets by Sandy Rutherforde

in Food (submitted 2012-01-26)

While cooking food is nothing more than a functional activity for most people, others actually like to take a lot of time and care over preparing meals for themselves, their friends or their family. Knife sets are just one of the essential kitchen tools that every amateur chef should have in their home to improve their cooking skills and make food preparation much easier.

Decent knife sets can undoubtedly improve the meals that are served up to friends and family; vegetables will be chopped finer, bread sliced thinner and slices of meat can all be a lovely uniform size. Even if the food is being made simply for a regular family dinner, there is no reason for the chef not to take some pride in the presentation of their dish.

Knife sets are available in department stores as well as supermarkets and specialist cooking websites, and it is worth investing in decent sets if they are going to be used to prepare complicated recipes that call for unusual ways of presenting the ingredients.

Most sets feature the same basic knives which every kitchen needs for those every day jobs: knives such as a carving knife for the roast dinner, a bread knife and even a cleaver for preparing raw cuts of meat. Choosing from between all the different sets available can be tricky, but the consumer has to choose between those with plastic handles, those with wood and, most commonly, those made with a synthetic material called Micarda, which is very strong and easy to keep clean.

Choosing between different knife sets can also depend on how skilled the cook is in the kitchen. If the sets are for amateurs who are just making their first forays into cooking, there is little point in buying an expensive set featuring a dozen different knives, most of which the new chef will not even know how to use.

Most sets will always feature the basic knives that every kitchen needs, and it is then up to the cook themselves to decide what other activities are likely to be going on in their kitchen. Those who are planning dinner parties and are aiming to impress their guests should make sure any sets they buy have a selection with fine, very sharp blades to aid with presentation tricks.

Cost is always a consideration when buying anything new for the home. An expensive set may seem like a waste of money, but these are likely to be better quality as well as better performers in the kitchen. Cheap supermarket sets will do fine for cooks who only need to slice bread and cheese to make a sandwich.