Anthony Bourdain Swore This Old-School Kitchen Tool Is Essential

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Anthony Bourdain held many strong opinions that he was ready to share, prompted or not. When it came to the kitchen, his ability to wax poetic on knives, especially a good chef's knife, was legendary. He hated the "knife set." In his memoir, "Kitchen Confidential," he said of the purchase often made when filling out an apartment kitchen for the first time, "No con foisted on the general public is so atrocious, so wrongheaded, or so widely believed as the one that tells you you need a full set of specialized cutlery in various sizes." So when he was asked in 2009 by Martha Stewart on her Sirius XM show what tools he couldn't live without, and he immediately replied, "The offset serrated knife is something that I really can't live without," it meant something.

This isn't the first time he discussed his love of this knife blade style. In his memoir, he talks about the F. Dick offset serrated knife, saying, "It's cheap, strong, and takes a beating. Perfect for bread, tomatoes — anything with a skin."

An offset serrated knife is one where the blade doesn't continue straight out from the handle. It instead takes a turn before continuing on, placing the handle and blade on different planes. This way there is room for your knuckles between the handle and the cutting board. This is especially helpful when cutting bread so you can use the full blade all the way through the loaf without your knuckles banging the board. Chefs using the offset knife often feel like they have more control. The knife feels more ergonomic and comfortable to use. There's even offset cheese knives specifically made to cut through brie and other soft cheese.

The serration helps cleanly break through the skin of whatever you're cutting and then saw through its soft interior. The jagged edges allow you to apply less pressure while cutting. The biggest downside of the knife, however, is that the small ridges can be difficult to sharpen, causing some chefs to prefer leaving that to the professionals.