I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated a rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy motion. He said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer to dull when using the rocking motion.

Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?

On Wed, 11 Sep 2013 11:18:35 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> wrote:

> I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated a rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy motion. He said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer to dull when using the rocking motion.
>
> Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?

Use your tools properly. A rocking motion is the best technique for a
French chef's knife (look at the curve of the blade). I associate
chopping with a cleaver - like when Martin Yan does a cooking
demonstration. Don't ask me how to use a santoku knife. Mine has a
straight blade and combined with the Asian sounding name, I think it's
meant for chopping. In the mean time, it looks like manufacturers
have put a slight curve on a lot of them to make them more like a
French chef's knife and a accommodate rocking motion rather than
chopping.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2013 2:18:35 PM UTC-4, Kalmia wrote:
> I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy
> demonstrated a rocking motion with his knife, rather
> than a chopping, noisy motion. He said " A noisy chef
> is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer to
> dull when using the rocking motion.
>
> Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?

It depends what you are cutting. I think of a chef's
knife as being very versatile, sometimes the only knife
you might use. If cutting chives, yes I would use a
rocking motion. If cutting potatoes I wouldn't have
the tip on the cutting board. Onions? no tip on board.
To finely cut herbs, start with the tip on the board
and then continue with a rocking motion about the
center of the knife. Sometimes cut on the forward
stroke, sometimes on the backward stroke.

There are so many suitable techniques with a chef's
knife. More important is how you hold the blade.

http://www.richardfisher.com

"Kalmia" > wrote in message
...
>I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated a
>rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy motion. He
>said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer to
>dull when using the rocking motion.
>
> Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?


My mom would agree with that. She would tell me to peel potatoes and then
yell at me because I always managed to whack the peeler into the cutting
board. Not sure exactly how or why I did that. I don't do that any more
when I peel stuff. But I think when I was a kid, I was afraid of cutting
myself or something.

I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some things.
But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think it's overly
noisy. Nobody has complained about that.

Now my former neighbor who made a lot of Thai food would do something in her
kitchen that brought on looks of alarm to my face. She did explain to me
what she was doing, but she didn't speak English so well. I think perhaps
she was tenderizing the meat. She made some sort of beef that disgusted me
to see it being made. Once tenderized and marinated, she cooked it
overnight in a very low oven by hanging the strips of meat over the oven
rack. That's right. Straight on the rack and not a pan. It was a very
messy ordeal. Not sure what she did with that meat. It wasn't jerky. It
was also so highly seasoned that once she began a certain part of the
procedure, she would have me take the kids outside. She said the use of the
Thai chilies would burn their eyes.

Whatever this was, she made it at least weekly. They had one or two dinner
parties per week plus she made food at home for a Thai restaurant.

"Julie Bove" > wrote in message

> I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
> things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
> it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.

I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content and
Himself never complains))

Maybe I am just lucky


Once tenderized and marinated, she
> cooked it overnight in a very low oven by hanging the strips of meat over
> the oven rack. That's right. Straight on the rack and not a pan. It was
> a very messy ordeal. Not sure what she did with that meat. It wasn't
> jerky. It was also so highly seasoned that once she began a certain part
> of the procedure, she would have me take the kids outside. She said the
> use of the Thai chilies would burn their eyes.

Sounds like she was drying it out like you and I would do in our
dehydrators.
--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"Ophelia" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>
>> I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
>> things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
>> it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.
>
> I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content
> and
> Himself never complains))
>
> Maybe I am just lucky
>
>
> Once tenderized and marinated, she
>> cooked it overnight in a very low oven by hanging the strips of meat over
>> the oven rack. That's right. Straight on the rack and not a pan. It was
>> a very messy ordeal. Not sure what she did with that meat. It wasn't
>> jerky. It was also so highly seasoned that once she began a certain part
>> of the procedure, she would have me take the kids outside. She said the
>> use of the Thai chilies would burn their eyes.
>
> Sounds like she was drying it out like you and I would do in our
> dehydrators.

Yes but it wasn't jerky. She hung it over the rods of the oven rack. I did
see it served and I did see people eat it. It was quite popular. The meat
wasn't thinly sliced like jerky so I don't know. All I do know is that it
was served by itself. I don't even know what cut of meat it was.

She also used a lot of ground pork. She did send me to the store to buy
that for her on occasion.

"Ophelia" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>
>> I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
>> things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
>> it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.
>
> I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content
> and
> Himself never complains))
>
> Maybe I am just lucky

My opinion on that is...if I'm making too much noise to suit you, you take
over. :-)

Cheri

"Cheri" > wrote in message
...
> "Ophelia" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>>
>>> I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
>>> things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
>>> it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.
>>
>> I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content
>> and
>> Himself never complains))
>>
>> Maybe I am just lucky
>
> My opinion on that is...if I'm making too much noise to suit you, you take
> over. :-)

lol Too Right!!!!!!!!
--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

Think the quoteee was right on the money. Chefs knives are shaped to be rocked. Mainly for chopping veggies.

"Cheri" wrote:
>
>My opinion on that is...if I'm making too much noise to suit you, you take
>over. :-)

Make all the noise you want, Cheri... I much prefer a noisy woman.

Ophelia wrote:
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>
> > I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
> > things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
> > it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.
>
> I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content and
> Himself never complains)

Chopping method is good for slices or chunks of whatever. The rocking
method works well for mincing those already chopped or sliced pieces.

G.

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> Ophelia wrote:
>>
>> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>>
>> > I have seen chefs do the rocking motion. And I do use that for some
>> > things. But I think normally I do the chopping thing and I don't think
>> > it's overly noisy. Nobody has complained about that.
>>
>> I can't do that rocking thing either I chop away to my hearts content
>> and
>> Himself never complains)
>
> Chopping method is good for slices or chunks of whatever. The rocking
> method works well for mincing those already chopped or sliced pieces.

I expect it is, but it won't work with me .... although, not sure how
you will get slices by chopping!
--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 19:48:21 +0100, bigwheel
> wrote:

>
>Kalmia;1864769 Wrote:
>> I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated a
>> rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy motion. He
>> said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer
>> to dull when using the rocking motion.
>>
>> Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?
>
>Think the quoteee was right on the money. Chefs knives are shaped to be
>rocked. Mainly for chopping veggies.

Um, mainly for SLICING vegetables.

On Thursday, September 12, 2013 5:08:14 AM UTC+10, sf wrote:
> Kalmia wrote:
>
> > I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated a rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy motion. He said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife would take longer to dull when using the rocking motion.

"BAD" is a bit strong. "Noisy" is wasted effort - your goal is to cut the food, not the cutting board - and the harder you hit the cutting board, the faster the knife will dull. But "faster" doesn't mean too fast (but if you're cutting on glass, it will).

You slice, you rock, you chop - technique depends on food and outcome. Chef's knife is multipurpose and multi-technique for a reason.

> Use your tools properly. A rocking motion is the best technique for a
> French chef's knife (look at the curve of the blade). I associate
> chopping with a cleaver - like when Martin Yan does a cooking
> demonstration. Don't ask me how to use a santoku knife. Mine has a
> straight blade and combined with the Asian sounding name, I think it's
> meant for chopping. In the mean time, it looks like manufacturers
> have put a slight curve on a lot of them to make them more like a
> French chef's knife and a accommodate rocking motion rather than
> chopping.

All of my santoku knives have curved edges, and are curved enough to rock. I don't think a straight-edged snatoku is quite proper - it's meant to be a versatile combination of nakiri, deba, and yanagiba, and a straight-edged one will be just a nakiri in effect (ichitoku rather than santoku!).

My best knives for rocking are traditional-style Korean knives. The curvature of the edge is the same as a Western chef's knife, but the blade is a couple of inches shorter. Takes a chef's knife, and take two inches off the base of the blade, put on a Chinese style handle, and one would have a Korean style knife. I think it's better for rocking because it's lighter.

On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 13:56:24 -0700 (PDT), Timo
> wrote:

> All of my santoku knives have curved edges, and are curved enough to rock. I don't think a straight-edged snatoku is quite proper - it's meant to be a versatile combination of nakiri, deba, and yanagiba, and a straight-edged one will be just a nakiri in effect (ichitoku rather than santoku!).

Mine is a name brand and it was fairly expensive when I bought it from
either Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table few years ago (10?). I was a
santoku novice at the time, so I expected them to know what they were
doing by selling a straight edge. I use it, but it's by no means my
favorite knife. Maybe no one could educate the general public on how
to use a straight edged santoku properly, so they started putting a
curve on it. I dunno. I just know I have not become fond of that
straight edge and I wouldn't have bought it if it was curved.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Friday, September 13, 2013 7:25:55 AM UTC+10, sf wrote:
> Timo wrote:
>
> > All of my santoku knives have curved edges, and are curved enough to rock. I don't think a straight-edged snatoku is quite proper - it's meant to be a versatile combination of nakiri, deba, and yanagiba, and a straight-edged one will be just a nakiri in effect (ichitoku rather than santoku!).
>
> Mine is a name brand and it was fairly expensive when I bought it from
> either Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table few years ago (10?). I was a
> santoku novice at the time, so I expected them to know what they were
> doing by selling a straight edge. I use it, but it's by no means my
> favorite knife. Maybe no one could educate the general public on how
> to use a straight edged santoku properly, so they started putting a
> curve on it.

I think it's more likely that some Western manufacturers didn't quite know what santoku are for, but decided to make them anyway to cash in on fashion.. Wüsthof have made some pretty straight santoku, and other Western knife-makers. I've not seen a traditional Japanese one with a straight edge (might exist, but not so common).

> I dunno. I just know I have not become fond of that
> straight edge and I wouldn't have bought it if it was curved.

Heh! I use one (Shun Classic) as my main knife because of the curve (or rather, because the curve is concentrated near the point, so it's rockable). Otherwise, I'd use a Chinese knife (slight curve, but uniform, and thus less curved at the tip, so not good for rocking). My wife uses one too, but a smaller lighter one. She prefers the Wüsthof chef's knife when it comes to big knives.

On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:17:44 -0700 (PDT), Timo
> wrote:

> She prefers the Wüsthof chef's knife when it comes to big knives.

Yes, I have two Wüsthof chef's knives... one is longer and heavier
than the other but I use the smaller, lighter one. It's by far my
favorite knife out of the entire bunch.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 9/12/2013 5:08 PM, sf wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:17:44 -0700 (PDT), Timo
> > wrote:
>
>> She prefers the Wüsthof chef's knife when it comes to big knives.
>
> Yes, I have two Wüsthof chef's knives... one is longer and heavier
> than the other but I use the smaller, lighter one. It's by far my
> favorite knife out of the entire bunch.
>
I have had really good results from Anolon knives - I know, they're not
the primary business for them. But they build a well-balanced heavily
weighted product. And their prices are competitive too.

Kalmia wrote:

> I heard this quote during a how-to video, where the guy demonstrated
> a rocking motion with his knife, rather than a chopping, noisy
> motion. He said " A noisy chef is a BAD chef." He said the knife
> would take longer to dull when using the rocking motion.
>
> Your thoughts? Comments? Agree? Disagree?

I cut as the first guy you see in this clip (starting at 1:55), obviously
not even close to his speed, with the point of the knife always touching the
board. Actually, I use the point on the board as a pivot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOLQKSvQSzo&t=1m55s
If that's rocking, then I agree with the article
--
"Un pasto senza vino e' come un giorno senza sole"
Anthelme Brillat Savarin