The Costco Connection - October 2013

• Lightness. Ceramic knives are up to half the weight of traditional knives.

• Cleaning. Because of edge retention and resistance to corrosion, many ceramic knives are dishwasher-safe.

Ceramic knives shouldn’t replace all knives. Because ceramic can break, don’t reach for a ceramic knife to bone a chicken or cut into super-hard vegetables (some root vegetables, for example). And because they are ceramic, they won’t hang on a magnetic knife strip.

Also newly popular are resin-coated stainless steel knives. The coating protects the blades, makes slicing smooth and clean, keeps cleanup easy and, like ceramic blades, resists corrosion. These knives come in bright colors and because the resin coats steel, they still hang on a magnetic knife bar (most also come with a sheath, which protects the blades and ;ngers if the knives must be stored in a drawer).—BF

THERE IS ALWAYS a place for traditional steel-bladed knives in the kitchen, but new technology offers new options.

Ceramic knives. These blades are made of a specially hardened ceramic that, according to makers, is second only to diamond in its hardness. The bene;ts?

• Edge retention. Ceramic knives hold a sharp edge longer than many of their steel blade counterparts.

• Purity. The ceramic surface won’t taint the cut edge of food with any sort of metallic taste.

• No rust. Ceramic blades are not affected by acids, water or salts. They won’t rust, pit or discolor.

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PureKomachi 2

HIGH CARBON S TAINLESS STEEL

Slicing through the options

Flexible fillet knife. Flinn likes the flexible fillet knife, which has a thin, flexing blade, usually straight on top, sometimes curved, with a narrow, curved knife edge. She uses it to slice chicken breasts into thin fillets as well as for filleting fish.