Each cuisine of the world today has not only its own traditional dishes, methods of their preparation, not only applies certain types of products depending on natural resources and time of year. Each nation also uses its own kitchen utensils: pots, cooking spoons, plates, etc., but the cook can never do without knives when cooking, no matter how they look or whatever they are called.
Japanese traditional cuisine, formed in the 17-18 centuries, also has its own characteristics, including a specific set of cutting tools used for various functions and dishes. Indeed, from kitchen knives are required, as before from the katana sword, two properties - sharpness and absolute reliability.
Features of kitchen knives in Japan
Cutlery, as well as kitchen tools used in restaurants in Japan, are somewhat different from their counterparts in European cuisine. The Japanese cook knife is a delicate little thing, both literally and figuratively. Their blades are really thinner and heavier.
Sharpening is only on one side of the blade (only for right-handed people!), Which is usually thinner and narrower than its counterpart in European cuisine, although Japanese tools with double-sided sharpening are exported. A professional Japanese chef's knife is sharpened only on a special wet stone.
Their features are associated with the use of knives for the preparation of a large number of specific Japanese dishes of fish and seafood, the use of cheese and sauces of a special consistency. For cutting just transparent pieces for sushi and sashimi, for a beautiful, non-oiled cut, the surface of these cutlery should be very specific.
In addition, the function of the knife used will necessarily depend on the shape and size of the blade, and, of course, on the skills and preferences of the cook when working with it.
Functionality (where applicable)
By functions, Japanese cutting and chopping tools can be represented as follows:
- cooks (chef), quite large, wide and heavy, universal;
- Japanese cook knife Santoku, smaller and lighter, universal;
- for cutting fish (used Deba), with a wide blade, easily cope with fish bones;
- boning, crescent-shaped, for fish, poultry and meat, narrow and long;
- for slicing;
- slicers (for thin slicing);
- for sushi and sashimi (yanagiba - the queen of knives), a special slicer, slices thin to transparency;
- for making sashimi (sashimi bot), long and narrow knives;
- loin;
- for cutting vegetables (nakiri), in the shape of an hatchet, but narrow and very very sharp;
- for breakfasts and tomatoes;
- for peeling vegetables and fruits;
- for bread, always with cloves, usually long, used for slicing large fruits (pineapples, watermelons, melons);
- for steak;
- for processing crabs (ram kir);
- for slicing octopus (takobiki), narrow and thin;
- for cutting puffer fish (fugubiki), the longest and thinnest knife;
- for oysters, specific shape and thickness, for opening shells and cutting;
- for cheese (with two handles);
- kitchen hatchets for meat;
- kitchen hatchets for poultry;
- knives of a bee.
The longest knife (oroti bot) has a length of up to two meters; it is used for cutting very large fish. There are also Japanese kasumi cook knives. And this is not a complete list of cutting tools.
By functionality, Japanese kitchen knives are divided into 200 types, in addition there are additional ones for small-town dishes, which are more than 600. For comparison, there are only 20 types of European ones.
Interestingly, the Japanese developed only two cutting aids for home cooking:
- santoku (women love universality),
- Nakiri for a very thin and beautiful cutting of vegetables.
General rules for choosing a knife
How to choose the right knife, very interestingly described in the third part of the book by Douglas Adams "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." To make the arm less tired, cut pieces are easier, thinner and more even, you need:
- good sharpening
- specific length, width and thickness of the blade,
- a certain weight and the correct location of the center of gravity of the cutting tool.
All professional chefs emphasize these requirements.
What size should the knife be?
The size of professional Japanese kitchen knives is usually smaller than European ones: they are shorter and narrower. However, their weight is not less, but more than that of similar European functions. This is due to the difference in the materials used and the difference in the methods of using these cutlery. European cooks usually cut smoothly, without tearing the knife from the cutting board. Japanese chefs have slightly different movements, so the cutting tools are shorter.
The thickness of the blade in European is usually about two millimeters, in Japanese - one and a half millimeters.
What should be made of a knife
Kitchen cutting items are usually steel. The latest stone (ceramic) knives made of composites, titanium and others in Japanese restaurants are not used as either kitchen or dining rooms. Although the main manufacturer of ceramic tools is Japan. In Russia, often under the guise of ceramic knives, a plastic Chinese fake is sold.
Composition of steel can be divided into two large types: carbon with a high carbon content of 1.0-1.5% and low carbon with a carbon content of 0.5-0.6%.
In Japanese restaurants, carbon steel cutting tools are common. The best is considered a Japanese Damascus steel chef's knife. They are harder, sharper, but also more fragile. Stay sharp longer. Their sharpening is done only on wet stone. This is a special stone. It is designed for sharpening in water. Other methods of professional cooks in Japan, according to reviews, do not use. Such knives quickly rust, become covered with a coating of oxide films. But this is not scary. With prolonged use, plaque prevents the transmission of knife odor to food. Alloy steel tools are not plaque. They look fresher, smells never convey.
In European cuisine, stainless steel knives are considered the best, because they need to be sharpened less often, they are more flexible (and therefore more durable). Sharpening such tools can be done in a variety of ways. Used in European restaurants and tools made of alloy steels. Doped with chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, etc.
They have slightly worse characteristics compared to Damascus steel: they are often dull, fail, and require replacement. But such a knife can be easily corrected and sharpened under normal conditions.
Professional chefs of any kitchen, as a rule, have their own set of favorite cutting assistants, which they “shake” over, without letting anyone use it. And usually they sharpen their tool themselves.
The handle is an important part for a professional
For the knives of kitchen knives traditionally used wood. Specially processed, it did not allow the hand to slip, but also did not injure it. The tree of valuable species (ebony, red) gave the knife special value in the eyes of Japanese cooks and collectors. But the shape of the pen is much more important: it should be flat, cut in the shape of an ellipse (European cuisine) or a polyhedron (Japanese cuisine).
Currently, various types of wood, various plastics, and metal are used to produce kitchen knives.
Shape and balancing
The shape of kitchen knives in Japan is such that moisture and particles of the product they process almost do not get on the joint of the blade and handle. It is much more hygienic and more convenient when washing the tool.
Balancing a knife - creating its center of gravity in a specific place. The usual balancing is to place it in the middle of the length of the knife. If the cutting tool is used by a professional, i.e., for constant specific work on cutting, cutting, deboning, the center of gravity for the convenience of work should be shifted towards the blade or handle and at different points, depending on the functional value of the operations carried out by him. Only then can we talk about perfect balancing, which gives pleasure to working with such a cutting tool.
A professional knife must always be well balanced between the blade and the handle. This balancing is true art. Real masters and their works are appreciated by connoisseurs as musical instruments of Amanti, Stradivari, Guarneri.
Sharpening: problems and tools
Any housewife knows how important is the sharpening of the cutting tool. In Japan, there is even a special term for the interval between sharpening - “Kirinaka”. The Japanese do it in a completely different way. Another angle of sharpening, other angles of the slopes, the slopes themselves, etc. This is called "knife geometry." And it is very important to maintain it for the correct operation of the tool. Although in Japanese and European cuisine these "geometries" are very different.
Tips for novice cooks
When working with a knife, it is important:
- thoroughly wash boards and all tools after work;
- Japanese cook knife for what it is intended, for that and to apply;
- hold the device when slicing like this: three fingers on the handle, one on the blade;
- hold the knife when cutting (eyes from potatoes, for example) with two fingers;
- brush away chopped from cutting boards with a knife butt, but not with a blade;
- after use, the device must be washed, dried and must be hidden in place;
- to get a quality cutting tool.
Which knife to choose
The best Japanese kitchen knives are produced by firms:
- Global - claim high quality steel;
- Kanetsugu - position themselves as guardians of Japanese traditions;
- Masahiro - claim that their tools are the oldest knives of the Land of the Rising Sun.
By purchasing a cutting tool of any Japanese master, even little known, you get a real work of art.
You can, of course, make a Japanese cook knife Santoku with your own hands, with etching on a blade, as is suggested in one of the workshops on Youtube, but it is unlikely that you will immediately get something worthwhile.