Octaveman

Sam, I can see your point. Is there anything on the net that would explain the purposes of all the different styles? Just like knives, I might be able to find that a few different styles can suit most if not all my needs.

Ooh, Jan...good one. Thanks for the tip, Rachel.

This reminds of a time not too long ago (July 15, 2006 6:33 PM) that I was making a Thai dish that was to have about 5 Thai Chilies sliced in the dish. After having a beer or two before starting dinner I found myself having to use the restroom. I finished slicing up the chilies and like a dumb ass I forgot to wash my hands. It took a couple of minutes before the heat started coming on and within 5 minutes my unmentionable was on FIRE!!!! Without going into the gory details it took over two hours for the heat to subside to a managable level. At least our dinner was good. Bob

When making a saffron hollandaise sauce for seared scallops I will not have the heat too high leading to a curdled buttery mess. Oh, and I will not forget to temper the yolks first.

Hi David, I took apart a large chicken this past weekend and it performed great. Went through all the joints, ribs and I tempted fate by going through the back....not one chip or structural failure of the edge. I love this thing. I'm really glad I got it. If you're in the market, I have no problems recommending this one. Nothing wrong with having two gyuto's. I have five I rotate. I'd suggest the Blazen Sujihiki or carving knife. The Ryusen carving is rare in that there's very few carvers/sujihiki's that have a curved tip rather than a pointed tip. It only comes in 240mm though. HERE are some pics.

Holy crap that steak looks good Marlene. I was going to share some cereal with my kids for dinner but now I'm stopping at the store to pick up some New York strip and an artichoke. My mouth is watering just looking at it. Damn, just realized I forgot to get a refill of propane for my grill. Guess I gotta break out the cast iron.

Ready? Roux, balloon, double balloon, silicon, flat, egg, french, gravy, twirl, ball, saucepan, coil, barrell, double rotating turbo, whip, mini, dough, spring, magic, sauce (different from saucepan), piano, utility, pot whisk, paddle, rigid, rotary, twister and the palm spring are all styles of whisks that I've seen on the net. And they all come in different sizes and are made from stainless steel, wood, chrome, copper, silicone, non-stick plus those made with a combination of materials. Even with all these, not all whisks are created equal. Balloon whisks can have various shapes to them and could even have a small ball, medium ball or large ball inside them. Of course then it wouldn't be a balloon whisk anymore. I'm really at a loss here because nowhere is there a definative explanation for why there is so much variety in types, shapes, sizes, materials and most importantly, what are all these whisks used for that I can't get away with owning just one or two for all my needs. Now I'm a gadget guy as much as the next but do I really need these or even a handful of these? Why are there so many options? Amazon has over 375 whisks available for sale and it just seems to me to be a prime example of overkill. Is the wheel trying to be reinvented...again?

I've done a lemon/caper sauce with garlic, shallot, pinch paprika, micro pinch cayenne, wine, fish or lobster stock. I like to add slivers of mushroom too. You can also sub orange for the lemon juice and chipotle for the cayenne for an additional twist. HERE is a recipe for scallops with coriander butter that sounds good to me. This is going to be tried the next time I get scallops.

Anybody buy a new knife lately? I did and am quite the excited one. I got rid of my Honesuki and am going to try out a traditional deba for boning chickens. I bought THIS one...Korin Ginsanko (stainless) 165mm deba. Some pics are shown below. The hardness level on it is lower than most traditional deba's so I'm thinking it will work quite well. Gonna use it on a 6-lb bird tonight. If it chips, I'll just repair them and put a more obtuse bevel on it to help support the edge more. I used it to break down a couple of large yellowtail filets this weekend and that was quite enjoyable.

Nobody else is posting so what the hell, I guess I'll post some more. I guess I missed your post. Cool David. Takeda really has awesome blades. I have a 255mm AS gyuto that I use a lot. I keep it very thin and the edge just keeps on going. For being a carbon steel blade, the kurouchi sides are very protective of the surface. I too find their appearance to be quite unique and enjoyable. I've been digging the rustic look lately.

Can't wait to hear what you think of it. Post a picture too!

What dimensions are you thinking of?

Wow, what a great video. I wish I posted that one. Wait a minute, I did! (two posts above this) HAHAHA...just poking fun, Dick. What I'd actually like to see is a video using a flexible knife in the technique you describe. It would be cool to see the differences.

I certainly am not speaking for Steven but I understood his post to mean the performance properties of CI not, necessarily the technical properties. I have a DeBuyer black steel frying pan and it indeed takes on a non-stick surface and sears meat very nicely. I second his recommendation for one. Just keep in mind the lip of the frying is 3" of the total size so an 11" pan will have an 8" cooking surface.

Yep. Tojiro DP 240mm Gyuto Item #F-808 this described as stainless w/ carbon core. Excited, can't wait until it gets here. Thanks for the recommendations. ← Actually, the core is stainless too. They describe it as a carbon steel core but in fact is stainless. A very good performer. You're going to love it.

Yes, that is an awesome blade. It's sexy as hell too. I used a 240mm for a while and wished I got the 270mm. I've seen pics and it really is HAWT! Hurry, order it so you can post pics when it arrives.

Most common I've seen in recipes, etc. is for example 3 tbl fat and 3 tbl flour. I was taught the same as Rico above...50/50 by weight so I ignore what the recipe states and go by the above ratio.

That is a good idea and one I've been trying to do as well. Old habits die hard I'm afraid.

Amen to that Welcome to the forum Max. First, the best place to get Japanese knives, which by the way fit your criteria above (can actually feel a big difference in how it cuts), is an online retailer in Japan shown below. Widest selection and the best prices. Shipping? I've ordered a knife on Monday and had it in my hands on Thursday...from Japan...for $7. The best. Great brands to consider are Ryusen Blazen, Misono UX10, Hiromoto AS, Tojiro DP, Tojiro Powder Steel or Kanetsugu Pro-M (the diamond in the rough). http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html A Gyuto is what you're looking for. It's very similar (but different) to the chef knives you have now. The difference is these are thinner, lighter and harder. This makes for a very manueverable knife. The size that's most versatile is 240mm or 9.5 inches. A Chinese chef knife aka vegatable cleaver is quite a knife. It takes some getting used to technique wise but it does a great job. For now though I'd stick with the Gyuto since you keep the tip on the board. Look around at JCK.com above and see what you come up with. If you have any questons, ask away. Cheers, Bob

Ummm...wow. I wonder how much they spent on market research.

It's just different techniques and styles of doing the same job. I'm sure a person that is proficient in using the western fillet knife can do the same job just as well as someone proficient with a deba. Keep in mind the bone thing. I personally would feel more comfortable using a sturdy knife around bones that a knife that wasn't designed for that job. Actually, I can't think of any Japanese knife that is flexible. In the video below, the guy uses both a large (270mm) deba or a stiff knife specifically for cutting down tuna. No flexible fillet knife used. You probably won't need knives this big but a 180mm-210mm deba would work great. Then you can use your gyuto at the same point the other video started using the Yanagiba. The idea is to learn how to use the knife you buy. I think the deba is more useful and it's not the same old boring look-like-everything-else-out-there western styled knife. You can get different handle materials, you can get the blade engraved, it has cool looking kanji on them, etc. But that's just me. http://itkitchenknife.com/j_catalog/tuna.shtml

The deba he's using is either a 180mm or a 210mm so it's not small. Sure, bigger fish need bigger knives but size is a secondary decision. What kind of knife to use is the primary concern. The deba excels at prepping whole fish.

You're right Scoobadoo. He uses a yanagiba to skin the filet and make sashimi slices. What I meant to say in my first post is that he uses the deba to this point, not all the way through making the slices for sashimi. A deba would not be ideal for making sashimi but it certainly can be used for taking the skin off. So, the deba is used for breaking down and filleting the fish making it ready for consumption. The Yanagiba will then make the slices for sashimi.

Thanks Swicks. I've been curious about the place for a while now. I should just find the time to go.

Al, a gyuto can do the job but it's not recommended as you'd be dealing with bones to some capacity. The Japanese use a deba to break down fish and filet it. This is the knifes main purpose. It is very thick and stiff. Here is a video of some guy that has done his own video's of just this very thing. He uses a deba the entire process all the way to sashimi. It's done very well and I highly recommend viewing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ijoxvyD6E