Customer Reviews

Mastering Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Tools in Your Kitchen (with DVD)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is written from the perspective of someone who has only really started to cook beyond the means of frying eggs and microwaving whatever I could get my hands on over the past year, and realizing how important knife skills are in really becoming an effective cook.

For someone who is relatively new to the kitchen, and beginning to work more with an increasing variety of produce, this book is an excellent start.

For starters, the photographs are top notch. Not only are they in beautiful colour and spaciously laid out, but the appropriate (and necessary) steps are photographed, which is not always the case.

Even when describing multiple cutting techniques for one single product (e.g. onions, tomatoes), every technique is comfortably laid out over a series of pages, rather than rushed into a more cramped, difficult to read format over fewer pages.

The video is well produced, and although I wish I could have seen EVERY technique demonstrated, I understand why it would have been impossible to do so. Techniques I have found myself using frequently are the ones he demonstrates. The two I also found most useful are the video on fabricating chicken (no matter how many pictures I look at from a large number of different books, there is no substitute for seeing someone actually doing it), and carving a chicken (which is not described in his book).

As you can tell, if all of these techniques sound like "Mickey Mouse" endeavours to you, then this book is certainly NOT for you. But if the simple task of carving up a chicken and properly dicing an onion has always eluded you, then this book will not only teach you that in magnificent fashion, but so many other skills you didn't know you needed but definitely will.

I compared this book to two others, but picked this one for the following reasons:
- Knife Skills Illustrated: A User's Manual (Hertzmann) - I just enjoyed the photographs and simpler, more concise and comfortable layout better in Weinstein's book.

- Knife Skills: In the Kitchen (Trotter) - lots of big names attached to this book, the pictures are stellar, and the smaller size of the book actually was more appealing to me, as the Weinstein book is a bit on the large side, especially once you open it up and want to lay it down on the kitchen counter as you work. However, Weinstein is a professional instructor, and I found that his ability to teach (which is what you want out of this book, not the ability to concoct earth shattering recipes - which this leads to, hopefully!) really shines.

Plus, the Trotter book did not break down each product into its own section in as much detail, and the smaller format, although appearing easier to handle, did not allow for the more spacious, comfortable, and easier to read layout (especially when you have it on the table while you are working!) that the Weinstein book afforded.

Content wise, both are comparable. Both have a few techniques which the other does not cover, but Weinstein does a better job teaching the ESSENTIAL techniques which you know you will absolutely be using on a regular basis.

"Mastering Knife Skills" by chef Norman Weinstein is a marvel of a book - visually attractive, overflowing with facts both historical and culinary, the ultimate guide to the choosing of knives, their care and upkeep, and their optimal use.

This book fills a real gap in the field of cook-bookery. I, a serious amateur cook, have been cooking for over forty years now, and yet, in forty years of watching television cooking shows and reading cookbooks (of which I own some thirty), I have never before seen any teacher or TV chef relate - really relate in any serious and systematic, way - to this most important of all our cooking tools, at least not until the present illuminating book.

One could be forgiven for expecting such a book to offer mere dry factual knowledge on the subject, but in fact it is excitingly written and lavishly illustrated, and Weinstein's style has a flow and a sweep that pull the reader along from page to page, like a good detective novel, from slicing through dicing, to mincing to filleting to fabricating - yes, fabricating - a chicken. The accompanying DVD, furthermore, is graphic and extremely well presented.

I have seen Norman Weinstein in the classroom. He is an inspiring teacher, who wears his prodigious erudition lightly, and enlivens his classes with a quick and warm sense of humor. That same encyclopedic knowledge, sympathy and warmth come across in his book as well.

And one last note: following Weinstein's instructions I sat down for an hour with a sharpening stone and sharpened all my knives to an edge the like of which I have not ever gotten from the "professionals".

While this may not be the only cookbook you will ever want, it certainly is the only knife book you will ever need.

Harvey B.

I spent a fair amount of time deciding which knife book to get, but I'm very happy with my choice. The book is incredibly detailed and has many useful photos. I was a little off-put at first because the author completely poopoos using santuko knives for chopping most things. But after I tried his techniques using a chef's knife (longer than santukos) I agreed with his point. But regardless of what knife you choose the techniques are very useful and easy to follow. I especially liked how each vegetable is given it's own section and instructions. The section on knife selection was also very detailed and helpful. .

I have been a serious home cook for 30 years, and have developed some pretty reasonable self-taught knife skills, just from the years of cooking. I don't know that this book would have much to offer a professional cook, but it is pure gold for the self taught. I bought it a week ago, and embarked on a series of lessons from the book, and my understanding of good knife skills has increased ten fold. My knives feel much more natural in my hands now, and I have learned to work with my knives, instead of forcing them to do what I want. The results are great -- not really different than what I achieved before, but more ordered and elegant, and while not faster yet, I can tell that they will be as soon as I get my groove. This book is easy to follow, well illustrated, and nicely ordered for a home mini-course on better knife skills.

This may be the best knife skills book on the market right now, but it's nowhere near as complete or as good as it might be.

What it gets right is basic, European knife cuts. Mr. Weinstein is a good teacher, and his descriptions and pictures are clear and well presented.

The section on buying knives, however, is outdated. A book written twenty years ago would have practically the same information, even though the world of knives available to Western cooks has expanded and evolved enormously since then. Mr. Weinstein mentions Japanese knives in passing, but doesn't give any sense that he's actually used them. This is unfortunate, since so many Western cooks have started using Japanese knives for much or all of their work. Much of the old information that Weinstein gives doesn't apply to these knives, and what little little he does say about them is questionable.

His section on sharpening isn't bad. He knows more about sharpening than most cooks, but unfortunately this isn't saying much. And sharpening is an area where a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. I belive that any serious cook should know how to sharpen their knives, but they need to be given a solid background in the subject in order to avoid wrecking them. I'm not sure Weinstein's book gives quite enough.

The book does a good job teaching the most basic cutting techniques, but even here it seems a little dated. Since Weinstein's experience is with fairly old fashioned (not very sharp) knives, the techniqes he shows are built on the assumption that you'll be using similar knives as well. So even though he talks up the idea of using a relaxed grip, he demonstrates cutting with a much firmer grip than what you'd use with a sharp knife. And he demonstrates making certain cuts in multiple sawing strokes, where a sharp knife would cut in a single pass. This is all fairly primitive compared with what the best cooks are doing when they have a good knife in their hands. In the end, he's teaching you to be less efficient and to produce lower quality results than what's possible. Which is a shame.

Mr. Weinstein is an excellent how-to book author. I'd like to see a new edition of this book written after he gets some eductation in updated techniques. And I'd like to see him sharing the load with some other experts. For example, he could write on the basic Euro techniques, and have guests write on Japanese cutting and butchering techniques, on knife selection, and on sharpening. This would result in a truly great book.

The enclosed DVD is pretty good, especially on the more complex tasks like fabricating and carving poultry. These skills are pretty hard to learn just from pictures. Unfortunately, Weinstein's cutting skills seem surprisingly sloppy, especially considering he's been teaching for so long. I'm not as big a stickler as some people for perfectly consistent cuts, but I'd think a knife skills teacher would be!

Great for beginners. The illustrations are first rate, and the DVD (comes with the book) is wonderful as well. The book is easy to follow and explains what kinds of knives are useful for what purposes, has advice on what to buy, and how to maintain your knives. And, of course, how to perform various food prep tasks (cut, chop, fillet, etc) with your knives! I quickly learned easier and more efficient ways to get things done in the kitchen from this book and DVD -- stuff they teach professional chefs in culinary schools. The only minor caveat is that the author is a bit overly opinionated on things like his preference for wooden cutting boards and knife blocks vs magnetic bars (small details). Highly recommended overall.

I highly recommend this book. I also purchased "Japanese Kitchen Knives: Essential Techniques and Recipes" in the hopes I would learn more on technique. Although "Japanese Kitchen Knives" was interesting it was short on technique and long on recipes and, being a vegetarian, it was not anywhere near as helpful as "Mastering Knife Skills".
Chef Weinstein selects several vegetables to illustrate "knife skills" and these are just what I was interested in. I bought several handmade Japanese knives due to their really sharp edges. My first knife was a gift, a Kyocera Santoku ceramica which I fell in love with until it became dull and the only option was to send it off to be sharpened. My next two knives were Shun's, a Kershaw Shun Usuba, which I still love and use a lot and even with the admonition that it was "extremely sharp and use due care" I cut myself three times before I developed any skill (it's really, really, really sickeningly sharp and the handmade knives are even sharper). My third knife was a Chroma Damascus Santoku which I paid too much for, there being many Santoku's on the market in the same price range that are much better.
That said, I wish I would have had Chef Weinsteins book in hand before I purchased ANYTHING. I shied away from a 10" Chef's knife as I thought it was too big and too heavy. I have to admit that after purchasing the Shun Usuba($120), a Seikon Dojo Usuba(handmade, $244), an Asai PM Damascus 7 1/8" Gyuto ($356) and a 6" Petit Kazuyki Tanaka handmade ($320, god I love this knife, beautiful and cuts anything like butter), for just over a thousand dollars (ok, I really like them all, I mean really) I still wish I would have bought this book before I bought my first knife. Well, after I purchased this book I bought a Messermiester Meridian Elite 9" Chef's knife (a mere $120) and was astounded by how often I use this knife and how easy it is to use. Just a point here, I'm very careful now with my knives after my experiences with the Japanese knives and while showing this knife to my wife, you guessed it (see honey...ooops), I sliced an extremely thin piece of flesh off my right thumb, so thin it did not draw blood nor was it painful either when I cut it or later. I bought the 9" because I was still under the misconception that 10" was too big and after finding how easy the 9" was to handle I'm thinking the 10" would be even better. Oh, by the way, I'm 5'7" with what you might call fairly small hands and I'm in love with the Messermeister's. Chef Weinstein likes the J.A. Henckel knives but since he stated that he wished all manufacturers polished the spine like the Messermeister's that's what I bought.
Chef Weinstein, admittedly biased against Japanese knives, has made this home Chef a believer in German and French Chef's knives, not that I don't love my Japanese cooking razorblades, I do, but I'm now convinced I could have purchased the ultimate Knife wardrobe for the kind of money I spent on just three good Japanese knives. Oh, I also forked over mucho dinero on the right stones for sharpening the Japanese knives, something I do not regret at all, consequently all of my knives can be used to shave with and I have to agree with Chef Weinstein that slicing correctly adds to the flavor of vegetables. I think this is a must for your first knife book and I haven't even watched the video yet!
Great book, you'll just love it. For vegetarians it's a must first book...

This is a well written and easy to follow book, full of information.

It is about 75% devoted to knife selection, knife theory, and knife maintenance. I wanted a book that was more about knife skills, and practical knife usage in the kitchen. "Knife Skills" is a mis-leading title.

I was misled by the title of the book "MASTERING Knife Skills". I was hoping to find a text and DVD that illustrates, well, MASTERY of the craft, such as how to de-bone a whole chicken, how to fabricate a crown roast, or other MASTER knife skills. I was not prepared for a history of knives in the bronze and iron age (p. 13), pictures of knives from 1886 (p. 17) or pictures of 11 kinds of honing steels (p. 43). Elementary, my dear Norman! BASIC knife techniques only start on page 78, and go on for the next 100 pages with slicing vegetables and fruit (a very few are creative, but it's not MASTERY). Fabricating poultry, meat and fish are covered in only 39 pages. The DVD is a long-winded show of how to slice celery and carrots, and ends with a show of ripping apart a chicken with bare hands. Slushy and messy. (kitchen shears would have done nicely). The DVD does not cover any other meats or fish). Considering the cost of the book, and shipment costs half around the world, it was a non-performing investment. Change the title to MOST BASIC, and it would be worth a few extra stars.

I've just started going through this and have not yet viewed the enclosed DVD, but I'm already highly impressed. The author's depth of knowledge and ability to communicate that knowledge to the reader is excellent. Just scanning the first chapter I have learned a lot. This, by the way, is from someone who prides himself on being able to produce an edge that slices paper with no effort AND has spend a little time forging his own blades. (My grandfather and great-grandfather were blacksmiths, and I was privileged to grow up around my grandfather's forge.) This is a work for any serious cook, professional or amateur. Knowing how to select and care for knives is a must, and this book provides the needed know-how in a well thought out and easy to follow instructive format.