The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - Martha Stewart Living Magazine [16]
boning knife The narrow blade of a 5-to 6-inch boning knife can reach between meat and bones, allowing you to easily trim off fat, tendons, and cartilage. A stiff blade is good for boning cuts of beef; a flexible one is better for poultry.
chef’s knife The broad, substantial blade with a curved bottom is specially designed to be rocked back and forth. Although often considered an all-purpose knife, it is ideally suited for chopping and slicing firm vegetables and mincing (or cutting into fine julienne) delicate herbs without bruising. Use the flat side of the blade to smash garlic cloves (for easy peeling), to crush herbs, or to crack peppercorns and other whole spices. Chef’s knives are available with either an 8-or 10-inch blade; choose the one you are comfortable working with.
kitchen shears Use shears when a knife won’t do, such as for snipping herbs, trimming vegetables, and cutting through the twine of a trussed bird.
paring knife With a 3-inch or shorter blade, this knife is flexible enough to handle small jobs, such as trimming, coring, and peeling.
serrated knife Also called a bread knife, a serrated knife has a scalloped blade (or serrated edge) that can cut through foods that are hard and crisp on the outside and tender inside (such as bread). Using a sawing motion allows you to cut soft fruits and vegetables, such as peaches and tomatoes, as well as cakes and delicate pastries, which might otherwise be crushed or torn by the pressure of a slicing knife. This is also the knife to use for chopping bar chocolate. Be sure to buy a knife with at least an 8-inch blade, or longer if you like larger loaves of bread.
slicing knife Marked by its long, flexible blade, a slicing knife is perfectly designed for carving roasts, evenly slicing meat and poultry, and filleting fish.
MANDOLINE This tool makes it possible to quickly and easily slice vegetables and potatoes paper thin; it can also be adjusted to create julienne or waffle-patterned pieces. If you do a lot of slicing, you may want to invest in a high-quality stainless-steel French model. Otherwise, look for the plastic Japanese mandoline (such as the Benriner), which is significantly smaller and less expensive, making it convenient for the home kitchen.
MEASURING CUPS AND SPOONS These are basics that each kitchen needs: a glass measuring cup for liquids (or a few in different sizes); a nesting set of cups for dry measures; and a nesting set of spoons. Stainless steel is a good choice for nesting cups and spoons, as it is long lasting and easy to clean.
MEAT MALLET (OR MEAT POUNDER) The waffled side is used for tenderizing beef; the flat side, for pounding and flattening cuts of meat and poultry, such as when making medallions or paillards.
MELON BALLER This simple tool can do more than scoop a melon into uniform balls. Use it to seed a halved cucumber or core a halved apple or pear; when making hors d’oeuvres, use it to hollow out cherry tomatoes or form soft cheese into little orbs.
MIXING BOWLS A set of wide stainless-steel nesting bowls will be able to handle almost any task in the kitchen. Those with a generous width are helpful for prepping, folding, and whipping. Get at least five different sizes so you can do more than one job at a time.
PIZZA PEEL This shovel-like flat wooden board with tapered edges and a long handle is used to slip pizza in and out of a hot oven and onto a pizza stone. When the peel is lightly dusted with semolina or cornmeal, the pizza may be formed directly on it.
PIZZA STONE Essentially a heavy round or square slab of stone, this simple piece of equipment can dramatically improve the quality of home-baked breads and pizza crusts. When bread is placed directly on the stone, heat is distributed evenly, from the bottom; this is essential for heating the dough quickly