I am in the market for a good quality knife set. However, while looking
at the offerings, I realize that many of the knives seem to be meat
oriented and, being the biggest ones, jack the price up quite a lot.

Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?

I realize that cutting into a pineappl or acorn squash requires a big
strong knife, but I am still not sure if I need everything a meat
eating person needs. What do you use? Do you need cleaver, carving
knife, steak knives?

Ajanta > wrote:
>
> Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?

That's a tough question to answer, without knowing your budget.
Knives have enormous variations in price & quality, and you really get
what you pay for. Generally, you'll be in pretty good shape with
an 8" chefs knife, a 4" paring knife, and something in-between.

If you're on a shoestring budget, I'd say get the cheapest thing you
can find that'll meet your needs in the short term and then save up;
the middle-of-the-road stuff just isn't worth it, IMO. Then get
good knives, as you can afford them.

If you're willing to spend the money on it (and good knives last forever,
so think of it as an investment), I'd recommend going to a knife shop
and asking to hold ones that look useful to you. The knife should feel
solid and well-balanced (ie, not all the weight in the handle; it should
feel like it 'wants' to chop, without being so forward-heavy that you
feel you can't control it).

You'll do well with Wusthof classic and Henckels pro-S/4-star; *sharp*
and unserrated (and thus sharpenable) is what you want for anything
other than bread. I also have a Global 6" chefs knife that I adore
(I have small hands). Make note of what you like, but don't buy them
right away; the prices will be shocking, and you can often do better
on line & on ebay (still it'll be $100-150 for what I've mentioned).
Take good care of them and they'll last forever. Oh: and use a ceramic
disk sharpener, not a steel... it's easy to blunt a knife on a steel if
you don't have the skill & strength to do it right, but the ceramic
disk thingies are foolproof.

YMMV, as usual But that's what I did and I'm very happy.

-myrrh
(strike strike.)

"Ajanta" > wrote in message
...
> I am in the market for a good quality knife set.
<snip>
> Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?
> I realize that cutting into a pineappl or acorn squash requires a big
> strong knife, but I am still not sure if I need everything a meat
> eating person needs. What do you use? Do you need cleaver, carving knife,
> steak knives?

I have a Wilkinson Sword set that has served me very well for 20 years.
Each knife has a built-in sharpener in the holder, which doesn't take up too
much space on the counter. (I heard a chef say once that he didn't like the
ones with the built-in sharpeners, but I love mine.) The set includes three
sizes, and the largest works just fine for pineapple and squash. I tend to
use the middle-sized one for the majority of chopping/slicing, and the small
one comes in handy for paring veggies/fruit and for chopping garlic.
I also have a serrated knife--I think it came from a discount store when
I first moved out of my parents' house--for slicing bread. There are a
couple of "leftover" steak knives in a drawer that get used by my husband,
who isn't veg, so I'm sure you could get by without those. Unless you
sometimes serve meat for non-veg guests, I don't think you'd need a carving
knife or a cleaver, either.

Kathy

"Ajanta" > wrote in message
...
> I am in the market for a good quality knife set. However, while looking
> at the offerings, I realize that many of the knives seem to be meat
> oriented and, being the biggest ones, jack the price up quite a lot.
> Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?

10" Chef's knife, 10" or 12" Bread knife and a Paring knife. Thats it. Don't
get sucked into buying a whole set of knives you'll never use. Hold the
knives in your hand, feel the weight and the balance, they should be
comfortable to you and not to heavy. The knife should be forged and not
stamped. The tang should run all the way through, and be riveted to the
handle. Buy the best you can afford.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/eg...1/eggs011.html

On Wed, 5 May 2004 08:23:50 GMT, Ajanta > wrote:

>I am in the market for a good quality knife set. However, while looking
>at the offerings, I realize that many of the knives seem to be meat
>oriented and, being the biggest ones, jack the price up quite a lot.
>
>Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?

Possibly a silly question, but do you have to buy a set as such? I
bought my kitchen knives individually (from John Lewis - a chain of
department stores here in the UK) about ten years ago. I see that
Amazon (both UK and US) sell knives individually.

Although bought separately, mine do match - I chose them from the same
range (Maxime Girard Sabatier). Doing it this way, I didn't have to
buy carving knife or fork. I have no cleaver. What I got:
1 x 4" utility knife
2 x 6" cook's knife
2 x 8" cook's knife
1 x 8" bread knife
1 x 10" cook's knife

I find that I use the 6" knives most, then the 8". These two sizes are
the most comfortable for my hands. The 10" seems only to be used when
I have a cabbage to chop. I've never found a need for anything else.

Peter.

On Wed, 5 May 2004 08:23:50 GMT, Ajanta > took a very
strange rock and inscribed these words:

>I realize that cutting into a pineappl or acorn squash requires a big
>strong knife, but I am still not sure if I need everything a meat
>eating person needs. What do you use? Do you need cleaver, carving
>knife, steak knives?

Get a couple sizes of chef's knives (one large, one medium), a paring
knife, a bread knife, and a sharpening steel (I recommend one with
diamond dust as it never seems to wear out.) Anything else you might
need, you can buy individually if you need it. If you like, you can
substitute a large chopping knife for the large chef's knife.

I never use steak knives but I do have a medium sized serrated edge
knife that is sometimes used to cut things like tomatoes that seem to
need extra care.

A few other knife-like things that come in handy: potato peeler, pizza
cutter, and sandwich spreader/cutter (on the last, dunno the actual
name but it's a dual purpose tool used in restaurants to speed up
sandwich preparation; you can spread the mustard, etc. with the wide
blade and then cut the assembled sandwich with the serrated edge.)


--
Therese Shellabarger / The Roving Reporter - Civis Mundi
/ http://tlshell.cnc.net/

In article >,
> wrote:

> I use a 'Japanese Vegetable Knife'.

Those are great, aren't they? Absolutely the best thing for vegetarian
slicing and dicing. I picked up a carbon steel version from an Asian
grocery store years ago, and it's almost the only knife I ever use. A
few strokes through a sharpener after each use keeps it it top
condition.

The only "trick" to using it is the grip. The thumb and forefinger
grasp the blade just above the handle, giving much better control.

Here's a picture of the grip (on a chef's knife):

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?...f=108&t=25958&

--
-John
http://electronworks.com/recipes/

On 2004-05-05, Ajanta > wrote:

> I am in the market for a good quality knife set. However, while looking
> at the offerings, I realize that many of the knives seem to be meat
> oriented and, being the biggest ones, jack the price up quite a lot.
>
> Is there a good set you'd recommend for vegetarian cooking?

I'd avoid getting a big set at all. Most people, even meat eaters, don't
need a big set.

As others have suggested, a single 8" chef's knife will probably do the
trick, possibly with the addition of a paring knife and maybe a bread
knife (you can sometimes get a 2-3 knife set that will save you a little
money).

Get a good quality knife that will last; can't really go wrong with
Henckels or Wustof (you're probably looking at USD $60-80 for something
good). I've heard good things about the "Global" knives as well.

Get a sharpening steel or good quality electric knife sharpener too, and
learn how to use it.

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