السبت، 28 يونيو 2014

Santoku-Bocho: The Japanese Kitchen Knife

By Kaku Nanashi


The santoku-bocho is the most common Japanese kitchen knife today. While it does not excel at any one particular task, its size and shape make it useable in a lot of scenarios the daily cook is likely to come across.

The direct translation of the name "santoku-bocho" is "three virtue kitchen knife". The "three virtues" refer to fish, seafood, and meat (the three foods one would need a knife for) and the santoku's purported ability to cut these foods in many ways. A more practical translation for "santoku" would be "all-purpose".

The pre-Meiji era Japanese diet was mostly seafood, vegetables, and rice. Accordingly, the most popular home kitchen knife at the time was the nakiri-bocho ("knife for cutting greens "), a thin, cleaver-shaped knife used to cut vegetables.

Western influences brought more meat into the Japan during the Meiji Restoration, leading to proliferation of western chef's knives, which were the knives of choice for slicing and disjointing large cuts of beef at the time. At this time, however, most ordinary Japanese families still did not each much meat. The nakiri-bocho was still king in the kitchen.

In the post-war economic recovery period, average families began to include more meat with their standard diet of vegetables and seafood. This necessitated a knife that could handle all three types of food, and thus the santoku-bocho was born. Put a naikiri-bocho next to a western chef's knife and you'll see that the santoku fits in nicely between the two.

In general, the bladed edge of Japanese knives are much flatter than that of western knives. This is due to the Japanese style of "pushing" cuts as opposed to the western style "rocking" cuts. Thus you will notice that santoku-bochos also have flatter cutting edges.

The santoku-bocho was made with non-professional household cooks (i.e., housewives) in mind. The reduced length and heft of the santoku make it simpler to manage in on generally crowded Japanese home kitchen countertops than an 8 to 11 inch expert chef's knife. The downward sloping point of the santoku (a "sheepsfoot" tip) is likewise safer for somebody not trained in appropriate knife handling.

Santoku-bochos are sold just about everywhere in Japan. You could pick a decent one up from your local supermarket for less than 2000 yen ($20 USD).

The santoku will be more than enough for everyone save for professionals and kitchen otakus. It is a jack of all trades and a master of none, just like you. If you can get your hands on a nice santoku from a respectable maker, definitely do so.




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