Welcome to Hotline Rewind, the weekly series where we gather up your questions from the week (and pepper in some from the Hotline archives) about a specific culinary topic. Let’s cut to it: Today we’re talking about knives. Being confident at the cutting board can shave hours off your weekly meal prepping, so we answered all of your chopping, slicing, mincing, and sharpening questions below.
What’s the best method for chopping an onion without crying?
We cry when we cut onions because the onion is trying to protect itself from predators (aka us). When an onion’s cells are bruised or torn, it releases a gas full of lachrymator compounds that make us cry.
Tons of hacks have been developed to avoid this, like wearing goggles or lighting a candle. Annoyingly, the only guaranteed way to reduce crying is a super sharp knife. A sharp knife will bruise and crush fewer cells with each slice, and thus the onion will release less self-protective gas.
How often should I sharpen my knives?
A dull knife is actually far more dangerous than a sharp one, so being on top of your sharpening is very important. How often you will need to do that varies greatly depending on your usage. For home cooks, I’d say once every six to eight months should be sufficient. People who cook for a living may need to sharpen as often as once every three weeks. Though honestly, I tend to use my knives until they begin to not do their jobs as efficiently, then I break out my whetstone.
What knives should I buy, if I’m starting from scratch?
We believe home cooks should subscribe to knife minimalism. There’s no reason for you to have a knife block with a dozen specialty knives. All you need is an 8” to 10” chef’s knife, a serrated knife for things like bread and tomatoes, and maybe a pairing knife for more finicky tasks.
What’s the difference between dicing and chopping?
When a recipe calls for a dice, you should be cutting in a uniform, ideally rectangular, shape that is between ¼” and ½”. Chopping is a way more broad term that usually requires larger, less even pieces, often used in things like soups or smoothies where you’ll eventually be blending your ingredients.
Best way to sharpen knives?
Ideally you’d learn to use a whetstone, though this is a difficult skill to master and risks ruining your knife. A counter top sharpener like our Shop’s one from Zwilling is a great way to keep yourself safe and your knives sharp, with minimal effort.
What’s the most durable, sanitary cutting board?
It may surprise you, but when well-maintained wood is your best option. Wood is lightweight, incredibly forgiving to your knife’s edge, and easily hand washed.
Wood is porous, which is its biggest con when compared to things like plastic. When water and other liquids seep into a material, it can create a breeding ground for bacteria. However, oiling your board every few weeks helps to keep it hydrated, prevents splintering, and creates a slight hydrophobic layer that reduces the wood’s porousness.
Does a honing rod sharpen my knife?
When you sharpen a knife, you are actively removing tiny bits of metal to renew a blade’s edge. Honing rods push your knife’s edge back to the center by realigning its microscopic teeth, preventing it becoming uneven or “rolled”. In other words, both things are important for knife health, but running your blade along a honing rod will not actually sharpen your knife.
Have a lingering question about how to improve your knife skills? Ask away on our Hotline or drop us a line at 1 (877)-52-HOTLINE.
