Great Recipes and Great Food

The secret to great cooking is a combination of: good ingredients, chef talent, and great kitchen gadgets.  Among your kitchen gadgets, knives are of utmost importance. Good knives are a staple to any gourmet cook’s kitchen and all knives need to be sharp so it stands to reason that someone who wants to slice, dice, chop, filet, and julienne effortlessly should have high-quality and sharp knives in their kitchen.  To keep knives doing their job, knife sharpeners are definitely a staple item in the kitchen. How many times have you been frustrated, while cooking, because a knife that’s supposed to be tough enough to cut through steel can barely cut through butter?

How do you Sharpen Your Knives?

When it comes to options for your kitchen’s knife sharpener, you can go with several. You may choose a rod, a stone, or electric knife sharpeners. Electric knife sharpeners are increasing in popularity due to the safety, speed, and ease of use. Pricing for an electric sharpener can be quite reasonable as well and when calculating the return on your investment, they’re actually a bargain.

Benefits of Electric Knife Sharpeners

An electric knife sharpener is precise and it’s also safe. Believe it or not, far too often, a blunt knife is what causes kitchen accident versus a razor sharp knife. It can often be thought that sharp knives are dangerous but blunt knives play a higher risk as they can slip off the food your chopping. Sharp knives cut down food prep time and result in more uniformly chopped pieces as well as a more attractive presentation. And, by being faster and easier to use, you’ll spend less time on food prep and more time enjoying the fruits of your labour. Not only is it safer to use an electric knife sharpener than a manual sharpener but it’s easier as well.

How to use an Electric Knife Sharpener

Your electric knife sharpener will have directions that come with it for operating it as well as for maintenance of the machine. Electric knife sharpeners have various safety features but you should follow instruction and keep them away from children. Like a good set of chef’s knives your knives are tools that should last a lifetime; most sharpeners will come with detailed knife care instructions.

Most electric knife sharpeners work very quickly. In a matter of seconds you can have your knife as good as new. The most basic knife sharpeners will only sharpen straight edge knives but some have options for serrated knives and even scissors. Some models have more than one slot for various knives as well as magnetic guides to make the job easier.

Some who don’t sharpen their knives often enough spend too much time on food prep. Some who don’t sharpen their knives spend far too much money replacing knives that would be like new if they were sharpened. Whether you choose a manual knife sharpener or choose to benefit from an electric knife sharpener, taking a bit of time to learn how to care for your kitchen knives will definitely extend the life of them as well as make using them easier and more enjoyable.

Article by Total Knife Care – stockists and distributors of Nirey Knife Sharpeners and I.O Shen Chef Knives.