Japanese Culture Shows In Its Cutlery - Kitchen Knives2. A sharp blade slices through ingredients effortlessly, but a dull blade will damage the cell
walls of ingredients, altering their texture and flavor. For example if one tries to chiffonade
basil with a dull knife, it will turn black almost instantly. With a thin sharp knife, the same
chiffonade will retain its vibrant green color for hours or even days. The singleedged blade
is a unique feature of traditional Japanese knives, which is directly linked to Japanese
cuisine and history. Traditional Japanese cuisine aims to preserve and accentuate the true
flavors of fresh and seasonal ingredients, making a sharp knife essential to this process.
We could say that these knives go hand in hand with the development of a sophisticated
and refined cuisine that has popular in the US, Europe, and many other places. Dishes
such as sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are some of the foods that are commonly known. The
Japanese diet consists principally of rice; fresh, lean seafood; and pickled or boiled
vegetables. The healthy Japanese diet is often believed to be related to the longevity of
Japanese people. As more and more people worldwide take to Japanese cuisine, the
popularity of Japanese knives likewise grew.
3. There are two classes of Japanese knives based on the materials and methods used in
their crafting. They are honyaki and kasumi both honyaki and kasumi knives can be made
with either aoko or shiroko steels. Each classification has its own advantages as well as
difficulties.
Kasumi means “mist” which refers to the hazy appearance of the soft iron body of the
blade, in contrast to the glossy appearance of the carbon steel. Craftsmen forge kasumi
knives by joining a piece of soft iron with a piece of carbon steel. After forging, hammering,
and shaping, the carbon steel becomes the blade’s edge. The soft iron portion becomes
the body and spine of the blade. This reduced brittleness and makes sharpening easier.
Kasumi knives are much easier to use and sharpen than honyaki knives, but their edge
retention is shorter.
Honyaki (or "trueforged") knives are constructed entirely out of one material. Honyaki
knives have the greatest kirenaga, or edge retention within Japanese knives. But because
the steel is so hard, honyaki knives are harder to sharpen and more prone to chipping,
cracking, or breaking if used improperly. Craftsmen require a great amount of skill to forge
honyaki knives, and chefs need a lot of experience to use and care for them.
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