Thread: Psych's Low Budget Cooking Blog (comments & recipes welcome)

So one of the tools you'll use the most in your kitchen is your chef's knife. As those of you in the discord chat know, I was really looking forward to getting my newest chef's knife and I'm going to tell all of you why you should consider buying it! Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8 Chef's Knife So first, let's talk about the selling points of the Fibrox Pro according to Amazon Multipurpose chef's knife designed for chopping, mincing, slicing, and dicing with razor sharp, laser-tested, tapered knife edge is ground to form an exacting angle, to hold a sharp edge longer and ensure maximum cutting performance and durability. Ergonomically designed, non-slip Fibrox Pro handle provides a sure grip and easy handling even when wet, making each knife safer and more efficient. Highly Recommended for over 20 years by a leading gourmet consumer magazine that features unbiased ratings and reviews of cookware and kitchen equipment. Expertly crafted in Switzerland since 1884 designed for professionals who use knives all day, every day lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship. Price Between 36 and 44 on average. Yeah but why? So this is very likely the most used knife in your kitchen. It's great for western cooking because we tend to cut up a lot of tougher meat, harder veggies, and so on. That's where the typical chef's knife really excels. It's good for chopping potatoes, carrots, and onions as well as beef, lamb, chicken, and pork. Since we're going to use it so much, it makes sense to spend a little more money on it. That's the attitude most professionals have, spend the most on a good chef's knife then spend less on the knives you rarely use. Personally I like to have good knives for whatever I'm doing but I also have a pretty tight budget to work within. That's where this particular chef's knife comes into play. The magazine that the Amazon posting is referring to is Cooks Illustrated . I absolutely adore this magazine because of their product reviews among other things. Their reviewers have NO brand loyalties and are completely pragmatic about what they endorse and what they don't. Despite the fact that they've reviewed crazy expensive, world renowned knife brands, to this day to my knowledge Cooks Illustrated still suggests this knife over any and all that they've tried. Now my personal experiences so far have been really really good. I've portioned out an entire pork loin, and done all the cutting and chopping for a batch of chicken stew. Onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, chicken Even cutting through something as big as the pork loin there's no resistance what so ever. With a factory edge I was able to shave beard hair off with the thing. Some people are scared of sharp knives but you can tell with this knife that it does all the work for you. Portioning out the pork loin took a fraction of the time it normally does. This is where good knives really sell themselves when they take all the work out of cuttingchopping. If you're cutting up a lot of stuff for a big meal like Thanksgiving you'll notice a HUGE difference in how your hand feels when using a knife like this. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like the synthetic handle but I have to say that it's really comfortable. Caring for the knife is a little different than the kinds of knives you might pick up at Target or Wal-Mart. Under NO circumstance should you put this knife in a dishwasher. What I do is I just wash and dry it as soon as I'm done with it. I use a soapy washcloth and wash it by hand which is what Victorinox suggests. This is pretty typical of professional quality knives and a small sacrifice for the ease of use you'll get from it. All in all this knife gives you a professional quality knife at a price point that's three to four times less than knives that a lot of chef's lust over. Reputable sources claim it'll last for ages and hold an edge for longer than some of the previously mentioned knives. The best part is that if anything were to happen to your Fibrox you wouldn't be out that much money and could likely replace it faster than say a 120 Wsthof Classic Ikon Chef's Knife . In the end there are cheaper knives, and there are more expensive knives. You can definitely find flashier chef's knives from a variety of big manufacturers but this knife is still impossible to beat.