Got Shun?

One of the biggest requests we get is about how to cook like a professional chef at home.  While we will continue to do posts which will help you learn how to actually cook better, one of the biggest mistakes people make is not investing in their kitchen tools.  Most households have a nice stove or refrigerator, a nice set of plates or dinnerware yet they have a $29.95 knife set from your local discount retailer.  In order to cook like a professional, you need to invest in professional tools.

As you can imagine from our knock at cheap knife sets, we think one of the most important items in your kitchen is the knives which you own.  Any professional chef will tell you that they are attached to their knives.  In fact, a lot of chefs won’t let anyone else use their knives.  While they can be expensive, they are worth every dollar you spend.  

Today, we’d like to feature our favorite knife company, Shun.  Shun knives are the nicest knives either one of us have ever owned.  Shun knives are among the strongest, sharpest and most well balanced knives that you can buy.  They are reasonably priced, when considering the quality of knife you are purchasing, between roughly $100-350 per open-stock (read: individual) knife depending on the type of knife you purchase as well as which Shun series it’s from.  You can also buy these knives in different size sets and series.  They can be purchased from Amazon, Williams-Sonoma, and Crate & Barrel, among other retail outlets.

Two of the most important aspects of choosing a knife is how it is balanced and the sharpness of the blade.  Shun knives execute these two features flawlessly.  The larger knives, where balance is key, are always perfectly balanced and feel comfortable in your hands.  The blade is razor sharp and hardly ever needs to be sharpened on a stone.  Both of these factors are huge when cutting delicate foods such as tomatoes all the way up to cutting through a thick meat.  In a future post we will go through how to select a knife.

Food Network star Alton Brown has an excellent video describing his love for Shun knives as well as providing a lot of knowledge on selecting a knife and what sets Shun apart from their competition.  After watching the video, consider investing in just one Shun knife and we are sure you’ll never turn back!