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Many budding chefs among us have blamed a bad knife for a poor dinner. But how do you know which ones will make light work of slicing tomatoes gossamer thin – and which will leave you hacking away at the waxy skin?
Here at the Filter, we decided it was high time to find the best kitchen knives. In collaboration with the newly launched Guardian Food Quarterly, we recruited a professional to put 14 knives through their paces. The professional in question was Ben Lippett, former chef turned home cook and food writer, and author of How I Cook, who describes himself as “opinionated”. “I know what I like, and I’m not a sucker for style over substance,” he writes.
Ben “ensured each knife saw a similar amount of action, focusing on one or two key ingredients – onion or shallot, waxy-skinned tomatoes, herbs – to see how each one handled fine work as well as brute force”. “Rattling through everyday tasks was definitely the most revealing test for me,” he says. “It shows edge retention very quickly.” He took notes immediately after each session, testing them across a fortnight.
Some of Ben’s top-rated knives aren’t cheap – his favourite, the Wüsthof classic chef knife, would set you back £137.11 at the time of writing. “But if you spend your money wisely,” he says, “it can be a lifelong, fulfilling partnership.” To make sure it lasts that long, we asked knife specialist Helen Symonds for her knife care dos and don’ts. Her top tip? “No stones, no bones and no frozen food … Think of your knife as a precision tool rather than a cut-all machete for opening your Vinted parcels.”
But not all of the best knives are three figures: his top budget pick – the Victorinox Fibrox chef’s knife – is £43. “I used this knife at the start of my cooking career and swear by it,” he wrote. “The blade is razor sharp and well balanced.”
Cut to the chase
Sourcing knives for testing wasn’t without its headaches. Our researcher, Lily Smith, found that some brands don’t sell knives online, so they were unable to post us samples; she had to hit the high street in search of knives herself. Even deliveries were more tightly controlled than for other products: “There were a couple of issues with deliveries to our mail room: one of them needed me to personally show my ID,” Lily says, “and another needed a pin that I was sent, but I was away from my phone when delivery was attempted.
“And that’s not to mention that unboxing a huge stack of razor-sharp kitchen knives in the middle of the office earned me some funny looks.” We hope all our efforts were worth it, and can help you find your lifelong kitchen companion.
This week’s picks
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The best foundations for every skin type – from glowy to full coverage, tested
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Everyday essential or kitchen clutter: do you really need an air fryer?
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‘Alive, fruity and with a soft texture’: the best supermarket frozen peas, tasted and rated
Editor’s pick
Are you getting away over Easter with small children in tow? A holiday with babies and young kids is often nothing of the kind. Something “that once evoked the promise of rest and relaxation becomes a feat of logistics and endurance, where one forgotten item can mean a week of no sleep (been there, done that, got the T-shirt),” writes Rose Stokes, a parent of two under-fours.
For our guide on how to travel with young kids, Rose shared her hard-won tips and tricks as a well-travelled parent, and enlisted the advice of fellow parents, too. From a ride-on suitcase to a screen-free camera, we have you covered.
Hannah Booth
Editor, the Filter
In case you missed it …
Winter is behind us, and that means one thing: time for a spring clean. And not just a quick once-over of your carpet, but getting into awkward corners and doing that most hated of cleaning tasks, the stairs. Andy Shaw tested the best cordless vacuum cleaners for those very jobs, and much more – vacuuming everything from pet hair to flour, and rating battery and suction power.
And if your spring clean is extending outside, his newly updated guide to the best pressure washers will help you get the garden sunshine-ready.
Get involved
We recently updated our test of the best pillows with information on how often you should change them (it’s much more often than you think – and comes so soon after the bombshell that underwear also has an expiry date). But what can we do with all these products when we’re done with them? From filling planters with pillow stuffing to cleaning with used toothbrush heads, how do you get a second life out of your old things? Let us know by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at [email protected].
