An Edge in the Kitchen

The classic technique of making a series of horizontal slices across an onion intimidates some people. That’s why there is the Onion Cheat. This was referred to as the Quarter Roll Trick in the book because you start with an onion quarter rather than a half. It’s a little slower than the classic technique but for home prep no one will know the difference.

As always, cut the stem end off the onion, leaving the root intact. The root will hold everything together and keep your onion pieces from skittering all over the cutting board. Turn the onion onto its now flat stem end and cut in half through the root, then peel. Cut each half into quarters, again from root to stem.

Working your way across the onion, make a series of vertical cuts, pulling the tip of the knife down through the onion from root to stem without cutting through the root.

It only takes four or five cuts.

Now comes the cool part.

Roll the onion over onto its other side. The vertical cuts you made before are now horizontal. Make the same series of vertical cuts on this side of the onion.

And when you cut across the onion it falls into a perfect dice. Neat, huh?

Here’s a quick Technique of the Week to get us started. You often read that you should sharpen your knife to 20° or 15° or some other seemingly arbitrary number. If you have a standard European-style (German, French or something along those lines) chef’s knife, it probably has edge angles of 20-25° per side. A western-style Japanese chef’s knife (Shun, Mac, Global, et at) will have edge angles about 15-16° per side. The trick is being able to find and repeat those angles. That’s where the Magic Angle Finder comes in. I won’t go into the math, but you can divide the height of the blade (at the heel) by a specific number to find out how high to raise the spine above the sharpening stone for a given angle. It sounds more complicated than it really is. Here’s how it works:

Chad’s Magic Angle Finder

For 20° divide by 3
For 15° divide by 4
For 12° divide by 5
For 10° divide by 6
For 8° divide by 7

So, if your chef’s knife is 1.5 inches tall, measured from spine to edge, and you want to put a 20° edge on it, just divide 1.5 by 3 to get .5 inches. Lay the knife flat on the stone and then raise the spine .5 inches. You have just set the edge angle at 20°. It works in metric, too. If you want to put a racy 12° edge angle on your Japanese gyuto and it is 45mm wide at the heel, just divide 45 by 5 to get 9. Raise the spine to 9mm above the stone and you are good to go. It can be a little tedious to sit there with a ruler, checking to make sure you’re at the right height but the payoff in consistency is well worth it. It also helps ingrain the angles into muscle memory so that the next time is much easier.

Coin Tricks

If that is too nerdy for you, you can just use a stack of quarters. A US quarter coin is officially .069 inches thick, though they vary slightly. Four quarters is a little more than .25″, five quarters is about .33″, six quarters is about .4″, 7 quarters is just under .5″ and eight quarters is just over .5″. It takes a surprising 15 quarters to reach a full inch high.

To raise the spine of your chef’s knife .5″, use 7 quarters. It’s not quite .5″ but the width of the spine makes up the difference and puts the spine at almost exactly the right height.

Can you say, “low budget”?

Things are still perking along behind the scenes here at Edge in the Kitchen world headquarters. I’m told that the printing gnomes have nearly finished their jobs. The finished books should be coming off the presses today, well ahead of the June 10 on-sale date. I’m certain there will be Harry Potter-like midnight sharpening & garnishing parties at bookstores worldwide as the eager masses count down the minutes until the store can officially sell the book.</p> <p style=”>There are big plans for the website, including a redesign to feature some of Bryan Reagan’s great photography from the book. Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks:

• Technique of the Week: Each week will feature a new technique or skill — from chiffonade to sharpening — fully illustrated with step-by-step photographs and detailed instructions. You’ll be a julienning genius in no time.
• Blade Show Roundup: I’ll be in Atlanta at the world’s largest cutlery expo May 30 through June 1. Some of the best custom kitchen knife makers in the world will be there, including Murray Carter, Shosui Takeda and Shinichi Watanabe. I’ll bring home photos, interviews and reports from the show on the latest in kitchen cutlery.
• My Knives: I’m frequently asked what knives I use in the kitchen. I’ve owned nearly every chef’s knife in existence and have settled on a select collection that ranges from the exotic to the pedestrian. I’ll give you the guided tour.
• Video! I’m working on a series of brief knife skills videos for the site. You’ll be enthralled by their low-budget charm.

A cook should be aware of his or her own habits and style because knives always adjust as they are used by a particular person. They adapt to that person. Masaharu Morimoto, from An Edge in the Kitchen.