PRODUCT REVIEW: Katto cookware
Eating healthily means avoiding processed foods and cooking proper meals. Some find that a hassle, others really enjoy the process, and many even find it a great form of relaxation. If you like cooking or are thinking of starting to cook more from scratch, you’ll no doubt appreciate that the right kitchen equipment can make a huge amount of difference. And if you are really cooking from scratch, that’s going to involve a lot of chopping and slicing. In our house, as we eat of lot of veg, lots of chopping and slicing goes on in my kitchen, so I was delighted when offered the opportunity to review Katto cookware by choosing one of their brilliant Chefs Knives to trial.
Now I must make a confession. I love cooking. Love watching cookery programmes, especially Jamie Oliver. And have been saying for years I would like to do a knife skills course so I could chop, chop, chop as they do on the tv. I still haven’t done the course and my ‘favourite’ knife was a small, non-descript general-purpose knife with the tip missing. No wonder my knife skills were not up to scratch!
My Katto Chef’s Knife arrived, and it looked stunning. Katto uses Japanese steel and then hand-carve and fit beautiful wooden handles which are available in walnut, beech, or Indian rosewood. The knife, although quite large, was much lighter than it looked and felt incredibly good to work with. And OMG – my knife skills improved almost instantly! Okay, I’m still not quite up to Jamie’s standard, but such an incredible improvement and a delight to use. And to be able to thinly slice veggies too – just amazing.
And then something started to go wrong. The knife didn’t seem to be cutting as well as it had. Good Chefs Knives do need to be sharpened, but surely not after a couple of weeks? I was getting more than a little worried and then suddenly had a light bulb moment. Could it be the chopping board I was using? It was a glass board and I registered that there was no ‘give’ as the knife cut through produce and hit the board with a smack. Could that be the problem?
I emailed co-founder Josh, and he confirmed my fears.
“Aside from slate, it’s probably the worst material for sharpness as it knackers the blade edge.”
Oh dear! But he offered a solution.
“Send your knife back to us for a free sharpening (or if you’re in London just bring it down). And in the meantime, get hold of a wooden chopping board. Naturally we sell some beautiful walnut ones (!!); but even a cheapo one from IKEA or Tiger will work well.”
Fab. He was going to sort the knife out free of charge and didn’t even get salesy with the chopping board. Although I did buy the walnut one which was a lot more expensive than the other options, but also very beautiful.
I’ve got the knife back. I’ve got the new chopping board. And with this hot weather and making lots of lovely salads, I’m happily chopping and slicing virtually every day. And I am absolutely delighted.
If you like cooking, and particularly if you are vegan, vegetarian, or predominantly plant-based, I recommend you make your life easier and purchase a beautiful Katto Chef’s Knife and check out the rest of the beautiful Katto cookware range.
Oh, and as an added bonus, Josh’s regular emails are full of tips including great recipes, so just adds to the benefits of being a Katto customer.