Last Updated on August 6, 2021
This is not about my Napoleon complex. I really mean it. We little people work better with a bigger knife. Actually, mostly, big people chop more efficiently with a bigger knife too. Why? The heaviest part of any knife is where the blade meets the handle. This is where you should position your “victim,” aka the item you are going to chop. If you put your vegetables or herbs or whatever you are chopping right at that spot the knife will naturally come down heavily on top of the vegetables. You don’t have to force it, the knife does the work for you. But something else is going on here. The “sweet spot” on a larger chef knife is a lot longer than that of a small chef knife. This means that you can chop more of an ingredient with a lot less work when your knife is bigger!
Zwilling, a proud sponsor of my forthcoming season of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” on PBS, is celebrating their 290th birthday this year. They have been crafting high-quality knives in Solingen, Germany, known as “The City of Blades,” since 1731. Join us in wishing them a happy birthday and take a look at their website to learn more.
long time fan of you and your shows, but our local PBS station in Jackson Mississippi does not run Sara’s Weeknight Meals. maybe one day they will come around.
Love this insight from Sara Moulton! She nails why bigger chef knives rule: the balance point (where blade meets handle) lets you rock and chop with way less effort, and that extended “sweet spot” makes prep faster and easier—no matter your size. “We little people work better with a bigger knife… actually, mostly, big people chop more efficiently with a bigger knife too.” Spot on! Zwilling’s German-crafted beasts for Season 10 of Sara’s Weeknight Meals sound like serious upgrades. Who’s ready to go big on their next knife? Great share, Sara—timeless wisdom!
Great read! Makes a strong case for why a bigger chef knife can really enhance performance in the kitchen.