Knives & Salt/Pepper Mill recommendations please

Clutterfree

Hi Everyone,
Hope you are all well.
Not been about for a while - been on the Grabbit board trying to get a Wii!

Anyway, now that is all sorted :j I was wondering if you could help me please?

My parents have asked what my hubby and I want for Christmas and I'd really like either a decent set of knives or a good quality salt & pepper mill (the cheapo one we have is rubbish!).
I thought the OSers would be the best people to ask, so any recommendations would be gratefully received as there are so many to choose from I don't know where to start.
Many thanks.
CF xx

vanoonoo

depends on budget obviously but as far as a good quality knife goes I would get a sabatier chefs knife - its very versatile and a useful size for most things. Price will vary on supplier, tesco used to do them but I am not sure that they do anymore.

you can get the five knife sets in a block for between £50 and £100 from the likes of argos, debenhams, john lewis.

hope that gives you a starting point.

regards

Noo

ps no idea on salt and pepper mill and I have a really old italian restaurant style pepper grinder and hardly use salt in food anymore -sorry!

mathsus

The trouble with really 'cheffy' knives is that if you leave them in the washing up water or always use a dishwasher you will quickly rot the handles or rust the blades. So for the most fantastic, cheap, indestructable knives go for these Victorinox ones. You can get them in loads of places like John Lewis for a few quid each. You can buy them online from Nisbets individually or as a set. The long, serrated tomato knife is fantastic & really versatile.. even works as a bread knife. Everyone I've given one to goes on to buy more for their fs&f....

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?SiteType=cat&productCode=S710

[Deleted User]

I have the wooden ones and they are fantastic. no spillages, ever

topsy turvy mills
http://www.saltpepper.co.uk/salt-pepper-mills-topsy-turvy-mills-c-40_122.html

these are the ones I have and you may find them by googling

http://www.saltpepper.co.uk/eminent-berlin-upsidedown-salt-mill-white-maple-11437-p-402.html

oh here they are and they are cheaper
http://www.mycookbee.co.uk/cat172740.html

victorinox knives are the ones I chose. Really really good

floyd

Have tried numerous Cole and Mason pepper and salt mills and they are always pap but have found that Peugeot ones are absolutely outstanding. We bought ours as a duo in Costco a while back but they are well worth the money (about £27 for the pair).
Just read a bit of history, aparently they have been making salt and pepper mills longer than they have been making cars!

floyd

P.S another vote for Sabatier knives, have had mine 8 years, dishwash every day (almost) and they are still in fabulous condition and don't take much sharpening.

beemuzed

Our kitchen knives were a gift from DS (a chef) and they are the Sabatier ones. Certainly we've always been happy with them. As to pepper/salt mills, we'ver got through wooden and glass over the years - eventually they all seem to stop grinding efficiently. (The longest lasting has been a refillable peppermill from Tesco!!!)

foreign_correspondent

Personally I would go for Richardson of Sheffield knives every time - great quality and a 25 year guarantee. I had a set for ten plus years that were used every day and still functioned fantastically, but the handles had started to deteriorate (I am not entirely sure they were sold as dishwasher proof actually, so may well be my fault!) - I rang Richarsdons, and they replaced the set, no hassles (and the new set are definitely dishwasher proof!)

Stephen_Leak

Sabatier are the professional's choice, and rightly so. However, for everyday domestic use, I recommend Victorinox with waterproof "Fibrox" handles as the best balance of quality and value for money. A firm called Culinaire do them online, and have special offers of free paring/veg' knives with some of the bigger ones as well.

PS. IIRC, if you give a knife as a gift, the recipient must give you a small coin in return, so that the knife doesn't "cut" your friendship.

Lord_Lardington

mathsus wrote: »

The trouble with really 'cheffy' knives is that if you leave them in the washing up water or always use a dishwasher you will quickly rot the handles or rust the blades.

I've got wooden handled chef knives and have dishwashed them for many (>8) years with no ill effects. I guess cheap wood handles might go in the end but knife handles seem to be made from sterner stuff than, say, a wooden spoon (which my dishwasher really has killed). Also, how would stainless steel ever rust? I've never seen a knife for sale that wasn't made of staniless steel.

beedeedee

We never have much luck with pepper/salt mills and have bought loads of rubbish ones in our time. We like our pepper not too finely milled (if you know what I mean?) and most make it into a fine powder. Whilst you're answering the original post, does anyone know which one would be good for us? Cheers