What defines sharpness?
Today, I paid a visit to Uedaya-san. I had a few questions to ask, and it had been a while since I last enjoyed Ueda Shihan’s cooking, so I decided to go for a little nutritional boost? A replenishment of culinary happiness, if you will.
I heard a story about a visit to a tuna shop! They were like, ‘Oh, it was like this!’ and ‘It was like that!’ It seems that once you know how to cut, you can handle anything with ease. It’s a skill that can be acquired through effort, learning, and a curious mindset. If you understand that, even the tip of a petty knife can cut through the backbone of a red snapper! You might think, ‘That’s ridiculous!’ but it’s true. There’s a cutting point, so once you insert the blade there, it’s good to go. Because, just like using a finely sharpened yanagiba to fillet beef, you can tackle the backbone of a tuna! It’s all about the user and the knowledge of cutting, you know? Where is that point? Well, why don’t you try to find it?
So, I was thinking about the definition of sharpness and trying to come up with a good measurement for it. What does it mean to be sharp? Does it simply mean the ability to cut well? I’ve always associated sharpness with the degree of “bite.” It’s the ability to firmly grasp the food without slipping and make clean cuts. I know it might be slightly different if you look it up in a dictionary, but when it comes to describing the sharpness of a blade, I think this kind of expression works well, don’t you think? (＾＾)b
One way to measure sharpness is by how well the blade catches on your nail. Although it can be risky, trying to cut through a chestnut shell and ensuring that the blade doesn’t slip can serve as a good indicator.
If the blade catches on your nail or cuts through the chestnut shell as desired, sharpening it with a #1000 grit stone should be sufficient.
However, this concept of “sharpness” is slightly different… It’s more related to the coarseness of the blade edge. In practice, using such a blade can result in a slightly rough texture on the ingredients…
The idea of “sharpness with good bite” is often achieved with a finishing stone (at least #6000 or higher), where the blade can catch on nails or chestnut shells. That’s the kind of image we’re talking about. To achieve such a bite, it becomes important to pursue the compatibility between the steel material and the sharpening stone.
Ueda Shihan, who has the recommended sharpening stone set from Suisin, skillfully cracked open a crab for me today with a finely sharpened blade! You might think, “Using a kitchen knife to crack open a crab?!” but don’t worry (＾＾)b. It’s possible because of the proper sharpening technique tailored for this purpose! Talking to Shihan after a long time really gets me excited. We had a lively chat since I hadn’t been to the shop in a while. However, when it was time to leave, I felt so full and sleepy… (＾＾; Little by little, my thoughts are coming together! It’s crucial not to forget the spirit of inquiry to adapt to exceptional situations (laughs).
hibishugyo 2009-10-06
