Useless Conversation

[Draegan]

Yeah I'm thinking that as well, but I really want a good knife set.  I do enjoy cooking and I hate shitty knives.

Macy's is having a sale on Wednesday, or so the woman is telling me, and I might be able to pick up something decent for 100 bucks.

[Yegolev]

My knife suggestion: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_4_10?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=victorinox&sprefix=victorinox

Don't buy knives at Macy's.

[Draegan]

Why?  I've heard Wusthof and Henckels are decent brands.

[Sky]

They are, but unless you have money to burn, you'd be better served by getting a set of those fibrox victorinoxes. You can also throw them in the dishwasher, if you don't mind risking the knife edge; I still hand clean mine.

(not that I have the victors yet, still sitting on my amazon wishlist after another xmas season  )

[Draegan]

There were a few sets of those at Macy's for 100-150 bucks.  I didn't see a set that was cheaper on that amazon link.

edit:
Like these: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=387012&CategoryID=31761

[NowhereMan]

Hmm... the 8 piece Victorinox set is about $40 cheaper and it's unlikely you need more knives than that. I've heard the Victorinox are really good value for money but I don't really know Henckel's reputation that well besides the fact that they're a decent brand. Obviously that's an awesome deal and if they're comparable quality go for it, just bear in mind that you probably won't use half those knives.

[Sky]

You're buying a set. Do you also need steak and utility knives and kitchen shears? I'm not much of a wooden block type, though. I have knife guards for my main knives, the steak knives just go in the drawer nekkid (but my steak knives are worse than my chef knives).

[Draegan]

Yes I need steak knives.  My current ones are shot.  Rust spots and dull.

From the Macy's Link:
Set includes: 4" paring, 5" serrated utility, 5.5" boning, 6" utility, 5" hollow-edge santoku, 8" chef's, six stamped steak knives, 9" sharpening steel and shears

This is what I use currently on a weekly basis.

[Sky]

Cool, if that's in your range, definitely get it. Nice looking set of knives.

And start boning and paring, ffs!  

Also, give me your email so I can give it to my fiancee. She's not going to like you for telling me about that sale. I'm beyond broke and that's already a good price.

[Draegan]

Sorry I don't give out my email to crazy women.  

Edit:
Just noticed this on the page...

On order: usually ships within 33 business days

That's a pretty long wait period.

[Murgos]

I use the Fibrox Victorinox chef's knife.  They are great knives (very highly rated in reviews), if you haven't heard of the name they are the 'Swiss Army' knife people.

[NowhereMan]

Ok so weird as it may sound I went to 4chan's cooking board and asked for opinions for you. The basic consensus was that the Henckels are their cheaper brand and a set of Victorinox would be better knives. If you really want the steak knives though the big set might still be the better buy, though $40 could probably get you a half decent set of steak knives.

[voodoolily]

I hone my Wusthof 9" chef's knife on a steel every time I use it and have it professionally sharpened yearly. Great blade, worth the money. 

[Yegolev]

I use a steel on my 8" Fibrox, the one at the top in the Amazon search, and it is very nice.  I might sharpen it if I cut more things.  I need a smaller one, maybe, but I have a no-brand "set" of knives that I picked up from somewhere which work fine.  Not awesome but good; using the steel on it makes all the difference.  I can't really justify ordering a smaller knife while I have a working straight-edge knife.  As for steak knives, I don't see any reason to use "good" serrated knives.  They are serrated.

[Salamok]

Most of the forum needs to be trained sounds more like what I was getting at. Running a forum harsh on spelling and grammar makes me feel like I'm doing something for the internet.

This is the equivalent of my wife cutting people off so she can restrict them to the speed limit.

[Sky]

The thing I like about those Henckles knives is the bolsters. I'd really like to get a couple good knives with full bolsters like that. My current knife doesn't have one (it's cheap), and I constantly have to watch for debris or even soap getting between the wood and metal if it flexes while I'm washing it.

I'm not sure if they're fibrox handles, but I've got a couple Dexter Russel knives like I've used in some restaurants I've worked at. I've got a boning knife and a butcher knife that I got as gifts, they are mostly reserved for taking apart carcasses.



The thing I dislike about the butcher knife (the gift-giver gave it to me for general usage) is knuckle clearance. That's the main reason I've stuck with my main knife, it can hold an edge and has decent feel in the hand (not good on either score, though). Definitely need to upgrade it at some point, though. It gets daily use, and my theory is anything used daily should be as good as you can afford, the little things make life great.

So...cutting boards. Plastic, wood or bamboo? 

[schild]

You should definitely get a wooden cutting board for meats.

[Nebu]

You should definitely get a wooden cutting board for meats.

Research from UC-Davis and U of Wisconsin confirms this.  Wood is less of a risk for pathogens that lead to food poisoning.  This is especially true when compared to plastic boards with equivalent degrees of knife scarring. 

[Samwise]

You should definitely get a wooden cutting board for meats.

Research from UC-Davis and U of Wisconsin confirms this.  Wood is less of a risk for pathogens that lead to food poisoning.  This is especially true when compared to plastic boards with equivalent degrees of knife scarring.  

How about silicone?  We've got these silicone cutting mats that I like to use for everything because they're easier to clean and theoretically less prone to food germ transmission.  Is it all a lie?

[Nebu]

How about silicone?  We've got these silicone cutting mats that I like to use for everything because they're easier to clean and theoretically less prone to food germ transmission.  Is it all a lie?

The research I saw was on plastics (carbon-based polymers).  I'll see if I can find anything on silicones.  

It was my understanding that these mats were produced for their non-stick properties, not anything antibacterial. 

[Murgos]

You should definitely get a wooden cutting board for meats.

Research from UC-Davis and U of Wisconsin confirms this.  Wood is less of a risk for pathogens that lead to food poisoning.  This is especially true when compared to plastic boards with equivalent degrees of knife scarring. 

Can you find a link for this?  I know I had come across it at one point and was using a wood cutting board for meats for that reason but then my girlfriend came on a bit heavy about using her special red plastic cutting board for raw meats.

[Nebu]

Here's some stuff from a faculty web page at UC-Davis.  Literature references are at the bottom.  I'll see if I can find the Wisconsin stuff.  I only knew about that through some casual discussions at a conference I attended. 

[Signe]

I'd say wood too, especially if you're talking about knives.  I have a couple of maple ones I use for everything except raw poultry.  I use a very hard non porous plastic one I hate but it fits in the dishwasher which will sanitise it.  I don't use it for anything else.   My sister has a bamboo board and it's very nice and light, but it's so hard that I decided to keep my maple ones.  Hard plastic and bamboo aren't very good for your knives, but they're very east to clean and sanitise.  I use vinegar and peroxide to wash the wooden ones and I use olive oil (mineral oil just gets on everything!) to season it after, like my cast iron pans.  I used to have a couple of marble ones I quite liked but I didn't bother bringing them from Britain.  If you have very nice wood boards, you can always get them resurfaced if they get scratchy, too.

I use a silicone mat for baking gooey stuff sometimes and the lady next door seems to have some silicone boobs but that's about all I know about silicone.

[JWIV]

So looks like I'll be spending a fine week in Cedar Rapids, IA for work come February 7th.  Other than watching corn grow, any recommendations?

[Nebu]

So looks like I'll be spending a fine week in Cedar Rapids, IA for work come February 7th.  Other than watching corn grow, any recommendations?

Drive south to Iowa City.  Other than the Czech museum in Cedar Rapids, there's nothing at all to do. 

Iowa City has the University, a ped mall with a decent martini bar, a nice pizza joint (Paglia's), and a large mall in Coralville with a skating rink and a theater. 

[Sky]

I used to use a bamboo board for raw, large plastic for carving cooked meat, and a small plastic for veg and small chopping. Now I pretty much use the two plastics and disinfect them in the dishwasher. Dishwasher runs hot (my tap water alone hits 140º at the tap) and also has a disinfecting cycle. They don't wear great and need replacing more often, though.

My silicone mats mostly get used for tray liners in drawers. I use them occasionally when baking, but I'm more of a parchment paper guy.

[Lantyssa]

We use wooden and bamboo cutting boards since we have to hand wash them.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I have a glass cutting board right next to the sink.  I guess I'm the weird one out.  We do have a wooden cutting baord, but it's scarred up like crazy.  We clean it regualrly for since the board is kept out next to the sink all the time, the wooden board was getting water trapped under it and took forever to dry.  I still use it occasionally though.

ETA - anyone got any advice about getting knife sets sharpened?  I like the one we have now but it's probably over 10 years old by now.  Edges are definitely dull on some blades and instead of replacing, I'd like to resharpen.  Just not sure how to handle that with serrated edges and such.  Can it be done easily at home or would finding someone that does it be better?

[Salamok]

I have a glass cutting board right next to the sink.  I guess I'm the weird one out.  We do have a wooden cutting baord, but it's scarred up like crazy.  We clean it regualrly for since the board is kept out next to the sink all the time, the wooden board was getting water trapped under it and took forever to dry.  I still use it occasionally though.

ETA - anyone got any advice about getting knife sets sharpened?  I like the one we have now but it's probably over 10 years old by now.  Edges are definitely dull on some blades and instead of replacing, I'd like to resharpen.  Just not sure how to handle that with serrated edges and such.  Can it be done easily at home or would finding someone that does it be better?

I would think a glass cutting board would be hard on your knives.  For sharpening we just take our knife set in once a year, costs undere $20 for 5 knives (including a serrated bread knife).

[schild]

I just spent a little under $500 on a pair of Oliver People's Coban glasses.



They're fucking incredible.

[Signe]

I just spent a little under $500 on a pair of Oliver People's Coban glasses.

They're fucking incredible.

You mean a pair of frames in that line, right?  Not the actual glasses off the face of someone named Oliver Peoples, right?

[schild]

Correct, the frames, because that distinction was necessary. I am, however, getting the frames with lenses. Which makes them glasses.

[voodoolily]

Those specs are hot secs.

[Signe]

Yes, I like them, too.  Are you up to such awesome eyewear though?  Girls might stare and women might follow you around.

[schild]

That's what I'm wearing right now. They're about half as nice and about a third as expensive.