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not good for flavor while deep frying.

I liked Molto Mario on Food TV, but never agreed with Mario Batali's insistence on using EVOO* (sorry for the Rachel Ray shorthand) for deep frying.

*EVOO - extra-virgin olive oil.

By the way, I just changed the name of this thread since we have gone off in several directions - way beyond knives.

Maybe you should have renamed it - "All things kitchen."

good idea, dave

back to knives for a minute - anyone have any suggestions for a decent steak knife set?? since steak knives take such a beating (cutting on ceramic plates is almost as bad as hitting them with a hammer ), I don't plane on buying the matching Shun set. don't plan on getting the cheapest set, either

anyone have a set that works well, feels nice in the hand, and looks good?

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decent steak knife set

Sorry, but our steak knives are the "ginsu" set we bought over 20 years ago after succumbing to the TV ad. They still look like new and cut meat great, and have endured hundreds of cycles in the dishwasher. Not bad for $19.99, which also included the famous full-sized ginsu chef's knife - which does have it's uses although it isn't as good as the steak knives.

I have been very happy with the Boker ceramic knives, but, in keeping with my never being satisfied mentality, I am trying the Kyocera ceramic knives this week. Review forthcoming!

oh man, ginsu...do they make those anymore? i remember the infomercials from when i was a kid

looking forward to the ceramic review - have never tried ceramic before, but would be interested to hear about them

also, i just went over to bed bath and beyond during my lunch break and picked out a set of steak knives...anolon advanced stainless....nice looking, have gotten decent reviews, and relatively cheap ($30 for 4)

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oh man, ginsu...do they make those anymore?

Absolutely! Google it.

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They still look like new and cut meat great, and have endured hundreds of cycles in the dishwasher.

We were told by a butcher that we should never put knives in the dishwasher. It's not the hot water that affects them, but the abrasive nature of automatic dishwashing detergent. It makes the knives a lot more dull than if you don't put 'em in there.

I guess if you're still happy with the knives after 20 years of dishwashing, it wasn't a big deal for steak knives! We don't put our big slicing and dicing knives in the dishwasher.

Sandy

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We were told by a butcher that we should never put knives in the dishwasher.

I never put knives that need periodic sharpening in the dishwasher - such as my carbon steel knives. Yes, they'll lose the edge from the detergent's abrasive nature. But the ginsu's are stamped stainless and pretty much indestructible. They really have lived up to the claims made on the TV commercials..."and it really really works!"

I still have my set of ginsu and I bought a set of Quikut about 10 years ago. They were both inexpensive, but both are still going strong. They've stood up to the dishwasher for over 20 years. I may go back to washing dishes by hand, cut down on electricity as rates are raising here by at least 7%.

aside from the abrasive detergent, knives in a dish washer get bounced around and can chip or dull by coming into contact with other things...another reason to wash by hand is that knives in the dishwasher can be unsafe if someone forgets they are there while reaching their hand in

Knives in a dishwasher?!?!? Perish the thought. I do the vast majority of the meal prep and cooking in our house and she knows to never mess with my cutlery. I am kinda fanatical about the care of my knives. What Mike said brought back memories. The old Ginsu infomercials were great. I vividly remember the chef cutting through the can and then expertly slicing the tomato to show the knife's durability.

didn't they also cut through cement blocks?? maybe i made that up...

I think you're right, it's a long tucked away in the memory, but I think it cut through a cement block.

impressive...i wouldnt even THINK of doing that to my new set of knives

Here is a link to the original Ginsu commercial that we know and love.
ginsu commercial

Mikethekid I agree about being careful with steak knives in the dishwasher and we place ours in sharpe end down so that the handle is topside. The best steak knife I've had is one that I picked up at a butcher shop at the cashier check out for a couple of bucks and never dulls....Perhaps the Ginsu strikes again.

Peter1

are they serrated? those should stay sharp a good long time…that’s why most restaurants tend to use serrated blades...personally, i just don't like the looked of most serrated knives…except those steak knives that have serrations on the first inch or so, and the rest is fine edge (look up the Calphalon Katana steak knives to see what I mean – very nice set of steak knives, just a bit more than I want to pay...not sure if I like the Katana cutlery, though)...my fine edge steak knives will require a bit more maintenance, so its a trade off…in the end, most steak knives will perform the same, so you really don’t need to spend much money on them...its more about looks

sorry if i'm repeating myself - this thread has been going for a while and im not sure what i may have already said in the past...im too lazy to check

Steak knife update - yesterday, my parents gave my fiancee and I a very nice set of Cutco steak knives (12 piece). I know I said I normally don't prefer serrated knives, but these are an exception to the rule. My parents have their own set and they work great - cut through meat like butter. Very generous of them to give such a nice gift!