Whether you’re a professional chef or just have a love for cooking, your knives are an essential part of your craft. Everyone who loves to create exquisite food and exotic dishes understands the importance of their knives, but whether you’re a professional or a novice cook, it’s crucial to know how to care for your kitchen knives.
Storage Solutions
How you care for your knives will determine how long they last. One key thing to keep in mind when it comes to knife maintenance is storage. There are many options for storing kitchen knives. How you store them will depend upon how and where you most use your knives. If you’re a kitchen professional, then a knife bag may be the storage solution for you. Knife bags have individual pockets for each type of knife in your set and are ideal for transporting and storing your knives when not in use. For home kitchens, a woodblock or magnetic strip is the best way to store your knives. Never place knives in a utensil drawer where they are not held securely. If you want to store knives in a kitchen drawer, use an in-drawer knife holder.
Cleaning
Never put knives in the dishwasher. Machine washing knives can not only dull them over time, but it can ruin the finish on the handle as well. Wash knives by hand after every use, then immediately dry them with a soft cloth. You can air-dry your knives on a dish rack, but to minimize the chances of rust, it’s best to towel dry them.
Use Proper Cutting Technique
Using the correct knife for the correct job plays a crucial role in knife longevity. Also, the positioning of the knife in relation to what and how your cutting is key to keeping your knives in good condition and knife safety. One-fifth of restaurant injuries are cuts or lacerations caused by handling knives improperly or using an incorrect knife for the task at hand. For instance, you should never use a serrated bread knife to cut meat or a paring knife to debone fish.
Sharpening
A knife is no good if it isn’t sharp, so it’s important to sharpen your knives regularly. A whetstone is the best way to keep your knives sharp. If you’re unsure of how to correctly use a whetstone, have professional service sharpen your knives for you regularly or when your knives become dull.
Now that you’ve invested in a good, quality set of kitchen knives, you want them to last a lifetime. The truth is that no matter how often, or how much you use them, professional chef knives should last for many years.
Here’s another article you might find helpful: 4 Tips for Preventing Accidents in the Kitchen