The Hungry MouseA New Santoku Knife, in Pink for the Cure
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. While there’s no breast cancer in my family, it affects hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Now, I’m not really one to get up on a pulpit. But I’ve known several people who have been affected directly or indirectly, so every October, I try to do my small part to support the search for a cure.
Among other things, that means shopping.
Shop Pink
All over stores, pink displays have been popping up for about a week or so now—like the cooking section at our local Target. Given my great love for pink things in general, I’m guessing that our kitchen will definitely be a little rosier by the end of the month.
I picked up a new 7-inch Santoku knife, made by Bialetti, for just under $10.
It’s made of high-carbon stainless steel, has a full tang, and is surprisingly well balanced for such an inexpensive knife. While I’m not sure how it will hold up over time, I’m game to give it a shot.
Santokus are all-purpose kitchen knives from Japan. They’re great for mincing and dicing. I like to use one when I’m chopping veggies or cheese.
The Angry Chef sharpens our knives almost every time we use them, so I can guarantee that it will be razor sharp as long as it will hold an edge.
It’s also a pretty-in-pink addition to the Hungry Mouse Wall of Knives and Pointy Things. Part of my purchase went to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Other places to shop pink for your kitchen
In addition to Target, there are a bunch of other places that donate part of your purchase to fund breast cancer research. Cooking.com has a handful of items, as does Sur La Table, Amazon.com, and KitchenAid.
Cook for the Cure
KitchenAid and Gourmet magazine have also partnered to create the Cook for the Cure program.
Pass the Plate is one part of it. Cooks prepare a meal, then use this special platter to present it to friends, with the goal of spreading the word about breast cancer and the search for a cure. Read more about it here.
A note for bloggers and other internet creatures
If you’re a blogger or own a website and want to show your support, check out Pink for October. This website has a bunch of badges, buttons, and blog themes that make it easy.
As for how my new Santoku holds up, I’ll definitely let you guys know.
***
Copyright 2008 The Hungry Mouse�/Jessica B. Konopa. All rights reserved.
10 Comments on “A New Santoku Knife, in Pink for the Cure”
Leave a Reply
Friend me up!
Buy my cookbook
I was in O! (Holy cow, right?)
…and Country Woman magazine!
Amazing candles, hand poured by one of my best friends
You won’t believe what happened to us last year
That is a nice looking set of knives you have! I really want to get a santoku – all my husband keeps saying when I mention it is – “Christmas is coming….”
Thanks, Jenn! They’re totally mismatched, but I’ve collected them over the years. My favorite has got to be the, um, machete-type thing.
+Jessie
You can never feel guilty about buying pink utensils when you support a great cause! Must get to Target!
What a terrific wall of sharp things! I’d be frightened that my not-so-little one would be tempted to take them down and check them out.
I happened by that display the other day and didn’t take much of a peek but you’ve intrigued me. And hey, if shopping means that I’m helping out a good cause then I’m all for it
Heidi–I couldn’t agree more!
RecipeGirl–Hehe. Thanks! Definitely take a peek. I have my eye on that muffin pan with the pink lid and also the set of pink nested mixing bowls…
+Jessie
I saw the pink display at Target last week – so cute! I was hoping that since it’s Bialetti they’d have my little espresso maker in pink, but alas they did not.
Juliet–I didn’t see the espresso pot in pink, but they do make one.
You can get one from Bialetti (http://www.bialettishop.com/DamaPinkMain.htm) or from Sur La Table (search for Pink Dama Stovetop Espresso Maker). They’re about $40.
+Jessie
I was wondering if you could tell me how to get knives sharpened. I have one set that I got cheap at Tues. Morning so I have no idea what the quality is, but I liked the weight the knives have. (I just don’t want to be embarrassed taking my cheapo knives to get sharpened)
Thanks
Oh, gosh. Don’t be embarrassed. There are plenty of good knives out there that don’t cost a fortune. Believe it or not, one of my favorite knives is a cleaver that I got in Chinatown here in Boston for like five bucks. I keep it sharp, and it has an edge like a piece of paper.
So there’s a few things about knife sharpening. If you haven’t sharpened them in a while, you might want to get them done at a kitchen shop in your area.
Once you do get them sharpened, get a steel (one of those long metal rods with a handle), and use it to keep the edge nice and crisp after you use your knife.
KitchenArts, one of my favorite kitchen stores in Boston, does a really good job educating folks about knife sharpening. Here, take a peek:
http://www.cobrandit.com/kitchenarts/2007/06/how_to_use_a_sharpening_steel.html
If you can’t find a place in your area to sharpen your knives, KitchenArts does do them by mail. I know the owner and he’s a really nice guy.
Hope that helps. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
+Jessie
Gals, on the subject of sharpening I have to chime in. My husband recently bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker (http://spydercosharpmaker.org) and he taught me how to use it. It’s actually very easy and the results are outstanding. You may need to see a professional to recondition an old knife, but sharpening your own steel isn’t as hard as it used to be with systems like the sharpmaker.