Your kitchen knives are the most crucial kitchen equipment, together with the most necessary cookware.
A good, sharp knife is necessary for almost everything you wish to make. However, a lot of us do not handle our knives with the care they require, which is why they frequently do not work as well as we would want. Here are seven ways that you’re not properly maintaining your kitchen knives, along with our recommendations on how to do it right.
1. Leaving your kitchen knives wet before storing them
Your kitchen knives need to be kept fully dry, whether they are made of carbon steel or stainless steel. When we say “fully,” we mean completely dry. Dry them after properly washing them. Your blades will rust if they are even slightly damp, which is something you really don’t want.
2. Using a drawer to store your kitchen knives
Kitchen knives should never be kept in drawers. Apart from the safety risk, keeping your kitchen knives in a cupboard with other tools increases the likelihood that they may come into touch with other kitchen instruments and chip or get dull. Instead, think about storing your blades in a traditional knife block. Alternatively, use a magnetic knife strip to show your knives in plain sight.
3. Incorrectly sharpening your kitchen knives or not honing them regularly
No matter how fine your kitchen knives are or how proficient your method is, if you don’t correctly sharpen and hone them, they will never perform to their maximum potential. For good knife care, mastering both of these techniques is essential, so try to learn the best methods.
How frequently should this be done? Knives should be honed with a steel or ceramic rod (depending on the kind) prior to or after every use, and at least once a month. The contrast in your knives will be night and day once you start implementing these techniques into your daily cooking routine.
4. Using the unsuitable cutting board
You need to stop using a cutting board that isn’t made of wood. It is not a good idea to use stone, plastic, or even glass, they might be dangerous for your knives and more of a problem regarding bacteria. Use a high-quality, hardwood cutting board whenever available, and if you have a choice, go for one without an indentation around the edge. Compared to hard, slippery surfaces like glass or marble, which might chip your kitchen knives or lead to an accident, the hardwood surface is significantly less harsh and much more suitable for metal blades.
5. Not caring for the wooden handles
You must regularly apply mineral oil to any valued kitchen knives with wooden handles if you want to keep them from drying out or breaking. Dry wooden handles can be protected against long-term harm by being coated with a thin layer of mineral oil.
6. Leaving them in the sink
Ceramics or metal are both used to make sinks. The sinks are flat and slick. Soap residue and dishes are frequently found in sinks. A knife will likely slide around, bump into the sides, or, worse, become buried behind the foam and dirty dishes, where it will wait until an unguarded hand goes down for it. After you’ve used a knife, always remove it from the sink.
7. Using the dishwasher to clean them
There really is no perfect area for a knife in the dishwasher, not even on the rack or in the cutlery tray. It will unavoidably be roughed up by the high-pressure water spray, banging against the racks and blunting its blade. Always hand-wash your kitchen knives.
