The Best $75 I've Ever Spent.
Sep 10 '00
Worth every penny, a superior Japanese vegetable knife can make a huge difference in your health. You'll be cooking nutritious foods you haven't tried before because now you can cut them!
I finally bought mine seven years ago when I adopted a macrobiotic diet and began stocking up on the root vegetables and other foods required to cook from the yin-yang perspective.
There is NO way to cut an acorn squash with a regular large kitchen knife without losing all enthusiasm for the task. I had avoided cooking all hard veggies like rutabaga (turnips) and winter squash all my years as a homemaker. Carrots and parsnips weren't much fun to slice either. Radishes and beets? Forget it. Even potatoes were a challenge.
Then THE KNIFE came into my life. I attended macrobiotic cooking classes and watched the instructor proceed nimbly through her recipes with grace and elan. She had a smile on her face as she wielded her beautiful stainless steel Japanese vegetable knife, slicing, dicing, cubing, matchsticking, mincing and shaving -- all with the same rectangular, one-piece knife.
I began to fall in love with that knife! I wanted to join the teacher up there at her counter and cut round slices, diagonal and triangular ones, rectangles, half-moons, quarters and wedges. She explained that it was important to vary the way you cut vegetables, that cutting vegetables into different shapes speeds up cooking time, makes them manageable for eating, and improves the taste, texture, and appearance of dishes.
Seasonal differences and variety play a role, too. In the winter a thick hearty soup or stew with chunks of vegetables which melt in the mouth is more appealing to the senses than crispy or raw vegetables.
In the summer you prefer something lighter like a stir-fry, which uses vegetables cut into small or thin shapes which cook very quickly. You also reduce the time spent in the kitchen by cutting vegetables more thinly.
The sensory appeal of vegetables is enhanced by cutting them into creative shapes, which also stimulates the appetite.
Armed with all this new knowledge, my quest for the perfect Japanese knife began and ended at our local culinary arts retail store. THERE on the shelf was my knife, more beautiful than I had hoped for, all silver with black polka-dotted indentations in the handle. This was a knife I could make DANCE! I figured it would cost maybe 30-40 dollars. The price tag told me a different story: $75! But it was too late. I had fallen in love and had to have it!
With tax added it cost over $85 (this is Canada, land of the 15% tax!), but, after seven years of use, I must say my "Global" brand Japanese stainless steel knife is worth more than twice that. It has been my delightful friend, enabling me to cut hundreds of turnips, sweet potatoes and squash for soup and other dishes with the ease of cutting, say, butter.
Celery and carrots are so much fun because I get to use the rocking motion necessary for speed. I do not cut straight down or use the knife as a saw, but start with the tip and gently slide the length of the blade across the vegetable in one smooth stroke and repeat with a soothing rhythm of whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. There's something comforting about using a knife in this way as you work down the length of the carrot. My children started finding carrot sticks in their lunchboxes every day, I was so enjoying cutting them!
In macrobiotic cooking we learn that attitude is an important ingredient in the kitchen. The quality and serving of the food is influenced by the serenity of the cook. A clean and orderly atmosphere is also essential.
My aim is to cut vegetables as elegantly and gracefully as possible so that each cut is evenly balanced (there's the yin and the yang again). With my wonderful Japanese vegetable knife this is easily accomplished. And it's also easy for the cook to remain calm when she doesn't have to arm-wrestle a rutabaga.
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Epinions.com ID:
NurturingFirst
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Member: Marga Raudsepp
Location: Trenton, Ontario
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 4 members
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