Tips for buying a cutlery set. Read about tips used for buying cutlery including ceramic knives and steel knives, steak knives, or utility knives. When buying cutlery there are several things you will want...
When buying cutlery there are several things you will want to consider so you can buy a set that best meets your needs. First you should consider how often you plan to use the items as well as how many people you will be serving. Restaurants serve lots of people several times each day. Families may not need to reuse the items as often each day and most likely won't be serving as many eaters. Washing cutlery items by hand is the most recommend way to care for the items so they will last a very long time. Dishwasher detergent and hot water is very hard on the items and may cause wear or damage over time.
Some people are looking for high quality cutlery sets that will last a lifetime. Silver-plated pieces and cutlery with fine wood handles are available in a variety of sets and for a wide range of prices. Sterling silver sets are more expensive but are typically nice items.
Cutlery may come in a boxed set or as open stock pieces that are sold individually. Some people purchase a flatware set in addition to a knife set that will compliment each other. Some cutlery sets come in boxes or cases that the items can be stored in while not in use. Cases may range from wooden boxes to pieces of furniture that serve as storage cases as well. Some simply have a tray that fit in a kitchen drawer to separate the items.
Cutlery sets typically come in sets of four or sets of eight but some do come in sets of twelve. Most cutlery sets will include a five-piece place setting that consists of a salad fork, a dinner fork, a tablespoon, a teaspoon, and a table knife. Accessory pieces may include a sugar spoon, butter knife and serving spoons as well.
Karl Pfitzenreiter has been in the business of cutlery for 24 years. He is the president and CEO of J.A. Henckels, a position he has held for the last 20 years. Pfitzenreiter states, "There is a lot of demand for education on what each knife does. And we tried to do our best to get out as much knowledge as possible. A carving knife is for slicing and carving meats and rolls, including turkeys. Carving turkey is probably the most famous example for that knife." Pfitzenreiter adds, "An eight inch bread knife is for cutting bread. An eight inch carving knife is for carving and slicing meat." Some restaurants or cooking schools may offer classes in how to use kitchen knives properly. Pfitzenreiter adds, "A utility knife is for cutting the mid-sized fruits or vegetable. You also could use it for preparing sandwiches and this kind of stuff. So it's what the name says, it's a very utilitarian knife. A boning knife has a cleft edge or blade. This is mainly for de-boning meat or to cut out the meat from the bones." Most sets of knives and cutlery will contain a list on the packaging that describes which pieces are included with the set. You may also find information inside the package telling what each item should be used for. Meat cleavers may also be found in some kitchen utensil sets.
Pfitzenreiter states, "There are two kinds of cleavers in the market. One that is a meat cleaver and other one is a Chinese cleaver. The meat cleaver is used to basically split any kind of bones. The Chinese cleaver is a vegetable cleaver. It is much finer than the meat cleaver. It is not used to split bones, but it's basically one of the oriental chef knives." He also states that, "A carving set consists of an eight inch or 10 inch carving knife, a slicer and a carving fork. A steak knife set contains a number of big knives. The most common version of steak knives sold is eight inch knives. It depends on how many table settings you want cover with your steak knife."
As you can tell there are many different pieces that may come in a cutlery set. It is important to know what you want to do with your set to know how make a practical choice. The cutlery sets on the market range in number of pieces, types of pieces, materials the pieces are made of and price ranges as well.
