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| Cuisinart's new Ceramic knife |
There are few kitchen-related pleasures more deeply felt than when you're holding a new razor-sharp knife in your hand, and are slicing through veggies. I have my go-to favorite slicers, but I have always had a soft spot for really hard ceramic knives. Their benefits are many: made of exceptionally hard material that holds a sharp edge for much longer than metal knives, these knives also don't impart metallic or tinny flavors, especially when cutting acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus. These babies never rust and are quite light weight, always nice for the wee handed. The big downfall though, has always been, drop one and it'll chip and be useless. It might survive a short fall to a wooden or linoleum floor, but a tile floor spill will leave the blade (and your heart, somewhat) shattered. One also has to sharpen it with special tools very carefully, as the brittle nature of the material, can also cause easy chipping.
So when I was told at a trade show recently that Cuisinart's ceramic knife is made with a new ceramic material that won't chip, it got my attention. I was given one to test. I said, I'll enjoy its use a few times before I would start testing their claims, and then got busy using the 4-inch paring knife for slicing near-transparent slices of Granny Smith apples, cucumbers and strawberries. It's amazingly sharp and the black rounded material of the handle feels really good to hold and bear down on.
After a day of enjoyment, the minus-temper-tantrum knife throwing commenced. After the first toss, I could barely look down at the floor, where I'd vigorously slam dunked it. Yet there it lay, intact. I grabbed it up and tossed it to the floor with even more vigor. Damage? Zip. I'll let you know if it does chip. In the meantime though, my other paring knives will be gathering dust in the knife block, while the new material that's giving longer life to this constantly used kitchen tool seems to be living up to my drop-kick abuse beautifully.
(Available late March/ early April, for $19.99 for 3-piece set of knife, shield plus small cutting board.)
--Monica Forrestall
