Sunday, September 19, 2010

Emerging Foodie? Emerging Idiot!

So I'm typing this with a rubber glove covering the bandage on the middle finger of my left hand. Remember when I said my one knife skill was not chopping my own self up? Not so much: Today while chopping peppers for another batch of jalapeno jelly, I took a bit of a divot out of my fingertip. It's not serious, but it hurts a bit, and will probably leave a scar.

I watch all these cooking shows and I'm invariably surprised to see chefs cut themselves, but I shouldn't really be surprised that I do. The idiot part of this deal is that sitting on my counter was a perfectly good kevlar cut-resistant glove, which I bought after the last time I cut myself (on a mandolin slicer)... but which I didn't bother to use today! <sigh>

3 comments:

  1. You know the saying

    Experience is a marvelous thing. It teaches us to recognise our mistakes when we make them again.

    What kind of knives do you have - and do you keep them super-sharp?

    I have so many scars from various knives, I no longer count. Just two days ago, cutting some veg for a nice soup, I got three small nicks and two damaged finger nails. My knives are in serious need of a good sharpen (Calaphon Katana set - marginal but pretty).

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  2. Jack, I have a 30 year old set of Cutco knives that I bought as salesman's samples, back when I was unintentionally taking an undergraduate course in Why I'll Never Be a Salesman. I paid way more for them than a college kid would ever need to spend on knives, and I think I sold about $30 worth of product before I threw in the towel... but I've been using those knives ever since. Cutco brags about their patented serrated edge pattern, but it's the paring knife and the chef's knife that I use most often, and they're both straight-edged. I'll probably invest in better knives eventually, but for now, they're better knives than I am a cook.

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  3. Well - as Alton says - the only bad knife is one you never use. Personally, I think he is being generous though. If they work well for you, that's what counts.

    I tell you though - I used a lot of cheaper sets and was happy with them each - until I got better ones. I am desperately afraid that one day I will get to use a Shun or a Global in my hands - and won't want anything else!

    Sorry man, but over $100 for a single knife is just TOO MUCH!

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