NameFirstEmail*What are you interested in:It can be tempting to buy a knife block, or buy a set for a friend who’s into cooking as a housewarming gift. The money you spend on a knife set packed with subpar knives could be used to buy fewer excellent knives that will last a lifetime. Here’s why you should steer clear, and what you—or your aspiring chef friend—should own instead. Especially when you’re just moving out on your own or setting up a kitchen, buying a set of knives can seem like a good idea. For a decent price, you can get a bunch of knives, a honing steel, and a block to store them all in. The problem with knife sets is that they’re almost universally terrible. We touched on this a little bit before, but often manufacturers skimp on build quality, materials, size, and in some cases even blade geometry in order to produce a cheap product. They’re not designed to keep their edge in day to day use, to stand up to regular honings or even sharpenings, and they’re not designed to last.

The video above from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen actually puts several sets to the test, and reinforces the point. Knife sets are often packed with redundant knives you’ll never use, and maybe one or two you’ll use until it’s dull, when it becomes more of a hazard than a help. Even the ones you use may be poorly designed for their purpose. The serrated knives in knife sets are often too short, the “paring” knives or “utility” knives in knife sets are almost always too short for actual peeling or detailed use, and don’t forget the annoyance that comes with opening an “eight piece knife set” only to find out that two of the “pieces” are the knife block and the honing steel in the center, and you actually got six actual knives. Long story short, for the money you spend on a knife set from a department or big box store, you can easily buy two or three great, versatile knives that will stand the test of time and keep their edge over regular, day-to-day use.

After all, if you’re buying a set of eight—or rather, six knives and only using two or three of them anyway, wouldn’t it be better to save money and get two or three amazing knives instead? The “right” knives for your kitchen depends on the type of cooking you do, of course. However, there are a few multi-purpose knives that every home cook should have, just because they’re good at just about anything you throw at them. Here are the essentials you should definitely own: In Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen, he starts with most of these (sans Santoku, of course) and then explains where you should go from there, and offers a few knife suggestions of his own, if you’d like to read more. Similarly, our list of essentials is a little different from the one our friends at Gizmodo put together, mostly because we’re aiming at essentials—knives you could easily buy with the money you saved on that knife block that’s on sale at your local department store. Speaking of Gizmodo’s list, once you have the knives above, here are some additional knives that you don’t need to have, but will certainly make specific tasks much much easier:

If you’re tempted to buy a knife set for a friend—as a housewarming gift or a wedding present—do them a favor and assemble a “dream team” of some of these knives instead and pack them together yourself, maybe along with a nice honing steel like this 12” WINCO model for $10, or this heavier-duty 12” Wusthof for $25. play sushi monster onlineTrust us, your recipient will appreciate it more, and your gift will never collect dust in a cabinet or basement somewhere.how much sushi cost in tokyo You could go crazy and get all of these—even the budget options—and spend way more than a knife set at your local department store. where to buy sushi ingredients uk

We get that, but if you stick to the essentials and go with the bang-for-the-buck options listed here, you’ll probably spend less and wind up with knives that’ll last you much, much longer and hold their edge longer before you need to sharpen them (or have them sharpened.) While you’re at it, make sure to store them on a magnetic knife rack, or at the very least somewhere not in the utensil drawer. jiro dreams of sushi producerYour knives will stay happy, you’ll have the tools for whatever you want to cook, you’ll have saved a bunch of money, and most importantly, you’ll be safe in the kitchen.sushi miami beach delivery Title illustration by Brian Hagen. sushi online hkAdditional photos by didriks and Simon Law.where can i find a sushi making kit

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