Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes. [Hardcover]

Sur La Table (Author), Sarah Jay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2008

Get a knife that's balanced and weighted for you. There's no reason you shouldn't get fitted for a knife the way you get fitted for . . . a dress, a suit, or a pair of skis." -Tom Douglas, Seattle chef and restauranteur

Sur La Table's Knives Cooks Love focuses on some of the most versatile tools in the kitchen-knives. Knives Cooks Love offers instructions on how to buy and care for knives, and how to properly chop, dice, and slice with them to create delicious dishes.

Consider this Knives 101-lessons on everything you need to know to make your experiences behind the blade more straightforward, efficient, and enjoyable. In Knives Cooks Love, trusted cookware authority Sur La Table teams up with writer Sarah Jay to guide chefs of all levels so their knives will last a lifetime. The nuances between knife blades and handles are discussed, as well as cutting surfaces and an array of sharpeners and honers.

Numerous cutting techniques are also showcased with step-by-step instructions and photographs. These skills are then put to the test with more than 20 knife-essential, tantalizing recipes like Mango-Cucumber Salsa, Mediterranean-Style Mussels with Fennel and Tomatoes, Arroz con Pollo with Chorizo and Capers, and Bread and Butter Pudding with Rum and Crystallized Ginger.

Readers will learn what to look for when purchasing quality knives, the best culinary uses for each knife variety, as well as how to properly clean and store them. With sidebar advice from renowned chefs, including tips, tricks, and notes on their favorite knives, Knives Cooks Love is the ultimate guide to choosing and using the most important tool in the kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Useful and informative...you'll appreciate the instructions on how to evaluate a knife and the list of must-have knives...valuable information. --About.com

Wonderfully coherent, easy-to-follow guide. Even better, recipes that you can make immediately after learning each new cut, chop or slice. --Tampa Tribune

In-depth advice on selection and care of knives, cutting techniques and recipes. --Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Beautiful...one part textbook and one part tribute to the most important tool in the kitchen. --Boston Herald

This book makes a dull subject interesting....It's perfect for the new home cook. --Sara Moulton, Good Morning America

Review

The lay reader will like the simple sections on how to chop, peel, and dice a variety of foods.

One part textbook and one part tribute to the most important tool in the kitchen.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; First Printing edition (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740770020
• ISBN-13: 978-0740770029
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Jay was the executive editor of Fine Cooking magazine before becoming a freelance food writer and editor. She is now a contributing editor to the magazine. A former newspaper reporter, Sarah has published articles in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Saveur. She received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and is a graduate of Brown University. She lives in New York City with her husband, two daughters, and a drawer full of very sharp knives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars still learning after all these years, February 2, 2010

By 

S. Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes. (Hardcover)

When I had an opportunity to re-stock a kitchen, I wanted to buy some good knives -- but I didn't know how. In the past, I had just bought whatever. I got this book and love it. It has everything you ever wanted to know about knives, and then some. It describes the history of cutlery (short), Things to look for in buying knives, all the different kinds of knives and what they're used for, and how they're used. There's a nice section on cutting techniques as well. Now, I thought after decades of cooking that I knew how to use a knife, but I have learned a lot. The new way of cutting green peppers, for example, makes a world of difference in my prep work. I highly recommend this book. Even if you know all you need or want to about knives, it is just interesting to read. Plus, it has beautiful pictures.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite sharp enough, December 27, 2010

By 

Eric Bridges (Brentwood, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes. (Hardcover)

For anyone that cooks even just occasionally, there's some basic information that should be known about knives: how to tell if they are sharp, how to store them properly, how to sharpen them, etc. Even the most basic book about knives should contain all of that. It's when you get beyond those things that you can tell if a knife book is worth its weight.

And this book fails to do so. It's worth a read if you know nothing about knives, but it would probably be a better idea to invest the time in a book that is a little more comprehensive and thought-out (An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a Pro comes to mind ).

Knives Cooks Love provides only the most basic how-to about using and keeping knives, the same amount of information probably able to be stuffed into a free brochure or a knife's user guide. The rest of the book is filled with fluff and pretty pictures. It seems as though, and this is proving to be a theme across a lot of Sur La Table cook books, that it is meant to be sitting nicely on a shelf in an ambitious home cook's library, rather than actually used.

When I was selling these books at our store, a lady happily bounced up to the register, this book nestled tightly under arm. She laid it on the counter with a smile. "Cook a lot?," I asked. She quickly replied, "Oh, no. I don't cook. I just like cookbooks like this. They're so pretty."

Congrats, Sur La Table. You win. You found your target audience, and they're willing to spend money on this book. If you're not one of these people, I would pass on this one.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish i could have read this book years ago., December 21, 2008

By 

Mattew M. Firek "dr fire K" (state college, PA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes. (Hardcover)

If you ever stopped while doing prep work on vegatables and thought "you know there's probably a better way to do this" then you really need this book. I wasn't even holding my knife correctly let alone making anything but random, unproductive cuts.
This book shows step-by-step instuctions for cutting all kinds of things. It also gives history and details about knives which some may find interesting, myself included.
It's an overused expression, but this book really does make cooking fun, so much so that i went out and bought a couple new knives.