Clark Kent
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Knife Skills Illustrated (Cooking).
By arnisador - Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:08:18 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
A book review in the WSJ:
Knife Skills Illustrated
Quote:
One might have thought that "knife skills" -- like chewing and swallowing skills -- come naturally. Even our Paleolithic ancestors seem to have mastered a basic cutting technique. But according to Peter Hertzmann -- who "teaches knife skills" for the Sur La Table kitchenware chain "as well as privately in both the United States and France" -- there is still a lot for us to learn. With "Knife Skills Illustrated," he has produced a meaty book with the dimensions of a modest cutting board. It is padded out only slightly: Do we really need mirror-image, left-handed versions of each knife technique? Otherwise Mr. Hertzmann offers a near-comprehensive guide to slicing, dicing and chopping -- and to selecting, caring for and sharpening cutlery. At times he is so thorough that the reader may be reminded of the Anal-Retentive Chef character on "Saturday Night Live" years ago. There are 26 individual chapters on cutting fruits and vegetables and nine pages on onions alone. A whole chapter is devoted to that not-so-hardy perennial, fennel. Mr. Hertzmann may go too far when he claims that, with good knife skills, "cutting a carrot is no longer a chore, but a meditation"; yet he provides a lot of useful information. The "pinch grip" -- "you pinch the blade with your thumb and forefinger and wrap only the other three fingers around the handle" -- is an astoundingly simple but effective way of adding firmness and control to knife use. And in an age of overpriced "trophy knives," Mr. Hertzmann exercises commendable restraint.
Read More...
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FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
By arnisador - Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:08:18 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
A book review in the WSJ:
Knife Skills Illustrated
Quote:
One might have thought that "knife skills" -- like chewing and swallowing skills -- come naturally. Even our Paleolithic ancestors seem to have mastered a basic cutting technique. But according to Peter Hertzmann -- who "teaches knife skills" for the Sur La Table kitchenware chain "as well as privately in both the United States and France" -- there is still a lot for us to learn. With "Knife Skills Illustrated," he has produced a meaty book with the dimensions of a modest cutting board. It is padded out only slightly: Do we really need mirror-image, left-handed versions of each knife technique? Otherwise Mr. Hertzmann offers a near-comprehensive guide to slicing, dicing and chopping -- and to selecting, caring for and sharpening cutlery. At times he is so thorough that the reader may be reminded of the Anal-Retentive Chef character on "Saturday Night Live" years ago. There are 26 individual chapters on cutting fruits and vegetables and nine pages on onions alone. A whole chapter is devoted to that not-so-hardy perennial, fennel. Mr. Hertzmann may go too far when he claims that, with good knife skills, "cutting a carrot is no longer a chore, but a meditation"; yet he provides a lot of useful information. The "pinch grip" -- "you pinch the blade with your thumb and forefinger and wrap only the other three fingers around the handle" -- is an astoundingly simple but effective way of adding firmness and control to knife use. And in an age of overpriced "trophy knives," Mr. Hertzmann exercises commendable restraint.
Read More...
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FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
