What is the best cookware and knives to buy?

Answer 1

For home cooking, three basic knives will cover 99% of the cutting.

1) Chef's knife or its Japanese cousin Gyuto, come in various length 6-12". Length preference depends on the user.

2) 3-4" long paring knife, for small delicate items, peeling and paring.

3) 8-12" long serrated bread knife. Obviously it works well for bread, but also works for other types of cuts, but will not work well for thin, fine cuts due to the serrated edge.

If one needs to work with bony meat, poultry, etc, then a boning knife will be a good addition the the list above. If bread is not on the menu, then a bread knife can be substituted with a long slicer. For instance a 10" slicer is best for thinly slicing hams, top rounds, and smoked salmon.

For vegetarians, it makes perfect sense to add dedicated vegetable knife such as Nakiri or Chinese Cleaver a.k.a. Chukabocho. For the record, Santoku, contrary to knife marketing claims, was never a dedicated vegetable knife, but a general purpose knife. More on the Japanese knife types in the links section.

As for the particular brands, there are two main schools or types of kitchen cutlery, western and Japanese. Main difference being that the western kitchen knives are typically made out of softer(52-56HRC), lower quality steel(most popular being X50CrMoV15 for German knives and 440A class steel for US made kitchen knives), also being thicker and heavier. The edges on the western kitchen knives are also thick, ~40 degree included angle, or more.

Japanese knives use higher quality steel(VG-10, Aogami 1, 2, Super, Shirogami 1,2), are harder (58-67HRC) depends on the make, and quality. They are also thinner and with more acute edges, typically 30 degree included angle edge and lower, all the way to 8-10 degree angle.

Given the above, Japanese kitchen knives are much better in terms of pure cutting performance, in other words they cut better and thanks to harder steel they retain initial sharpness much better. Lighter knives also induce less fatigue during prolonged use.

The main advantage of the western knives is their ability to withstand abusive use. Whacking coconuts and lobsters with a chef's knife is an abuse, since the chef's knife is not designed for those tasks, however western knives can perform the task without breaking or chipped edges, although they dull severely, thin, hard blades of the Japanese knives can be broken, or chipped badly while performing the same task,which shouldn't be attempted at first place.

Answer 2

German steel is commonly considered one of the best for knives because it holds it's edge and can be ground to a fine point. Global, Wusthoff, Heinckel (the high end line, not the Kohl's line), and Shun are commonly considered the best knives among professional cooks and chefs (and yes, there is difference in pro cooks and chefs. As was stated, you asked about best, not best value. You will pay a ton for these brands and several tons for Shun.

Lumping Shun (typical, hard steel Japanese knives) in the same group with much softer Henckels, Wusthofs and other German mainstream knives is misleading, and unfair, both to Shun, and readers. Transition from German knives to Shuns isn't always straightforward, Shuns are much more delicate and less tolerant to the abuse typical German steel can take. However, pure cutting performance and edge holding ability of Shuns and quality Japanese knives is levels above German knives.

German steel is popular, and for many users who do not want to spend time on maintaining their knives, and use one knife for everything, it might be the best choice, however, that has nothing to do with knife quality and its cutting performance, which is where German steel is severely lacking.

Umm, first, I didn't lump them. The question was, which are the best knives. These are. The first part of my answer was fact. The most common type of knife in high end kitchens are German steel and are typically Wusthoff or Henckels. AGAIN, no misleading. It is hyper critical to make your reply but that is typical among internet sites where people want to be as hyper critical so they can prove their intellectual prowess. German steel is lacking? HAHA. This is why most every professional chef uses them and Wusthoff and Henckel are the most commonly used? HAHAHA. When you make comments like that, you show how much you don't know. One knife for everything? HAHA. That is why Henckel's and Wusthoff make only one knife right? That is why if you walk into almost any professional kitchen right know, you will find a varying number of German steel knives for a wide variety of uses? Sounds to me like you are an intellectual and have never actually worked in a kitchen. Those of us who have know that German steel knives are of the highest level of quality. I stated that Shun are better but are VERY expensive and out of the reach of even most professional chefs. How about we stop reading books and actually work in a kitchen before we try to answer?

As for cookware, All Clad is a top line as is Calphalon but the reality is that cookware is more debatable than knives. Many of the new non sticks are getting better but a pro cook typically uses stainless steel because it will not alter flavor as you cook.

Answer 3

Basically it's up to you. You can use a knife that's real expensive and does the job better than any other, but it doesn't feel good to you. That can be a minus in your culinary journey. Find something that does the job, that feels right to you. in your hand. That might be the best.

Answer 4

The types of knives needed in the kitchen depends on the types of cooking your doing. The most popular knife is the chefs knife; as it chops vegtables, ans slices meat. If you cook a lot of meats a carving knife is a necessity as well. A serrated knife is best used for slicing breads. then you have the steak knife for eating, versus preparing and those 4 types could get you through the basics in the kitchen.