Do I need a good kitchen knife, or a great one?

Do I need a good kitchen(ˈkiCHən) knife(nīf), or a great one?

By Margaret(ˈmärɡərət) Grisdale

Spurning(spərn) the popular jelly(ˈjelē) moulds(mōld) and canned(kand) soup casseroles(ˈkasəˌrōl) in the early 1970s, I borrowed a copy of Mediterranean(ˌmedətəˈrānēən) Food and read voraciously(vəˈrāSHəslē) about Elizabeth(əˈlizəbəTH) David’s(ˈdāvid) “honest cooking.”

So what if the required fresh fish, garden-picked herbs((h)ərb) and sun-soaked(sōkt) vegetables(ˈvejtəb(ə)l, ˈvəjədəb(ə)l) were in short supply in suburban(səˈbərbən) Toronto at the time? I learned that a good knife is an essential tool in this and all forms of cooking. Discretionary(disˈkreSHəˌnerē) spending money was as scarce(ske(ə)rs) as the Mediterranean(ˌmedətəˈrānēən) ingredients(iNG-,inˈgrēdēənt), but careful management of my grocery(ˈgrōs(ə)rē) budget(ˈbəjət) enabled the purchase (from the local hardware store) of a high-end German knife. Little did I realize that it would be in my hand almost daily for the next 50-odd(äd) years, and nearly impossible to abandon.

This knife has an eight-inch, finely(ˈfīnlē) serrated(səˈrātid,ˈserˌātid) blade(blād) and a brown wooden handle. I called it the “brown knife.” Whether a testament(ˈtestəmənt) to its flexibility or my determination to make it work, the knife carved(kärv), chopped(CHäp), boned(bōnd), peeled(pēl), sliced(slīs) – and more. Family and friends eventually overcame their terror(ˈterər) of the uses to which I put it.

As time passed, I became a little more affluent(əˈflo͞o-,ˈaflo͞oənt) and the equipment in my kitchen also increased. It never occurred(əˈkər) to me, however, to abandon(əˈbandən) my brown knife. That is, not until a visitor, whose culinary(ˈkyo͞olə-,ˈkələˌnerē) skills I respect, declared: “There isn’t a decent(ˈdēsənt) knife in this house!”

The shock(SHäk) was acute(əˈkyo͞ot). There I was, a reasonably(ˈrēz(ə)nəblē) sophisticated(səˈfistəˌkādəd) and experienced cook, working with a bread(bred) knife.

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