The food thread

[Cassiel]

Mizuno Santoku (Honba-Zuke)

Very tricky to work with. I want my money back.

[Steve Dunlap]

Originally Posted by scott wurcer

[/U]

I know, I was shopping in "Kitcentown" in Tokyo some were $1000 for one. There were many $3000-4000 knives including a $3500 one that was only for cutting soba by hand.

EDIT - Never looked for items like that unique stone on ebay

But can you taste the difference int he food in a double blind test?

[SY]

Steve" you don't have to, the visual difference alone will tip you off.

The knife's function is to give the cook control over where a solid item will be separated. When you look at the stuff I do (as a moderately competent amateur cook), the difference with really good knives versus merely good knives, the slices are cleaner and more even, I can do more fancy trimming and carving, the pieces of dice or julienne are more even, the chiffonade is finer, you can scan a bar code through my thin tomato slices, the whole dish looks prettier and more "pro." Now, a real pro can do better looking stuff like that with more downscale equipment and REALLY shine with the good stuff, but for most of us, the quality of the tool helps reduce our need for skill.

How does this affect flavor? That's debatable, and would certainly vary from dish to dish. IME, there are benefits to size uniformity of the stuff I cut up, and no-one would argue that squishing through a ripe heirloom tomato with a mediocre knife compared to a clean, laser-thin cut will yield a very different texture to go along with the visual differences

[Steve Dunlap]

Steve" you don't have to, the visual difference alone will tip you off.


So you can tell if you peek.

[SY]

For visual data, yes, "peeking" in the sense of "using eyes," not "peeking" in the sense of being aware of which dish was prepared which way other than by looking at the dish. But no, you're not peeking if the chef did the prep in another room and wasn't with you when you guessed which was which. This kind of testing (evaluating impact of process parameters on sensory: optical, organoleptic, haptic) is routine in the food and wine industry and there's a very rich literature about it.

[jacco vermeulen]

Originally Posted by Steve Dunlap

But can you taste the difference int he food in a double blind test?

If you slice and dice an onion with different knives, can you taste the difference ?

(this afternoon, lampascioni in virgin olive oil and vinegar on toast)

[Steve Dunlap]

Originally Posted by SY

For visual data, yes, "peeking" in the sense of "using eyes," not "peeking" in the sense of being aware of which dish was prepared which way other than by looking at the dish. But no, you're not peeking if the chef did the prep in another room and wasn't with you when you guessed which was which. This kind of testing (evaluating impact of process parameters on sensory: optical, organoleptic, haptic) is routine in the food and wine industry and there's a very rich literature about it.

This was meant to be just good natured kidding. Remember I went to culinary school. I am aware of these things. I also believe how well sliced the food is does effect the taste of a dish.

[SY]

I didn't know you had- wonderful! My "training" was much more ad hoc, and I wonder how much better I could be if I had gotten some formal instruction.

[Steve Dunlap]

I never worked professionally as a chef. I did work in professional kitchens as part of my training. This was something I did for myself and my wife. We traveled a lot and ate in nice restaurants all over the country, and my wife in several other countries. I did all the cooking because I loved to cook. Professional training made a greater difference than I dreamed possible.

[SY]

I would like to have done that. I spent time in pro kitchens, got yelled at by pro chefs, and asked a million questions everywhere I ate. No actual classes, alas. Favorite learning experience was cooking a Thanksgiving dinner with a group of students at Bocuse's culinary academy. Those kids were monstrously good.