Mother's Day Gift Ideas

This year, instead of the standard flowers you give your mom each Mother’s Day, consider a gift that she’ll get real use out of. A great Mother’s Day gift idea for moms who love to cook is a tool they use every day: knives.

How to Choose the Right Ceramic Knife for Your Mom
Determining which knife is the right one for your mom depends on the kind of cooking she does – as well as which knives she might already own. Every cook should have a reliable chef’s knife, but it might not be something your mom has purchased for herself. With a new ceramic chef’s knife, she’ll take her cooking to the next level. Holiday dinners will never be the same. If she has a chef’s knife, consider getting her a set of knives of different sizes to round out her collection. Does your mom love to bake? A great set of paring knives may be the perfect Mother’s Day gift - and will guarantee she’ll keep baking up a storm!

Make it a Mother’s Day Gift Basket
Make your Mother’s Day gift a little more personal by creating a cooking-themed gift basket. Supplement your choice of knife with rare ingredients like exotic spices, fancy oils and vinegars, and interesting grains and pastas. Choose an international cuisine to theme your basket around, or pick a favorite recipe that you think your mom would love and buy her the ingredients and tools she’ll need to make it. Don’t forget to include a printed copy of the recipe! No one knows your mom better than you, so really tailor your gift to her personal tastes.

A Gift Every Mom Will Love
With the bounty of the summer growing season just around the corner, a great addition to any Mother’s Day gift is a double blade chopper. It’ll make short work of fresh herbs, which can then be added to pretty much everything your mom wants to cook. Basil for pastas and salads, mint for lemonade and desserts, tarragon for omelets and bruschetta – the possibilities are endless.

Potato Gruyere Gratin for Easter Dinner

With just a week away until Easter, it’s time to start planning which Easter recipes you’ll break out for your big feast. Take a cue from what’s plentiful this spring when deciding what to cook – fresh fruit and vegetables will always make for a more impressive meal than canned.

Easter Dinner Recipes
Whether you decide to cook a turkey, a ham or opt for a vegetarian Easter dinner, you’ll also need a few good side dishes. Easter recipes should feature as many spring favorites as possible. Trade in tired Brussels sprouts for grilled or roasted asparagus. Swap out mashed potatoes for a rich, mouth-watering gratin. Leave the stuffing off the menu and instead pick up a fresh loaf of multi-grain or sourdough bread that can be warmed and served with herb butter. For perfectly chopped herbs for any dish, try using a double blade chopper!

Easter Recipe Prep
Just like Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll want to do a certain amount of prep ahead of the big day. If you’ll be serving herb butter, chop your fresh herbs and mix with your butter a few days in advance to let the flavours meld. Thyme, rosemary and even a little lemon zest are great options for this. Bake your dessert the day before – you may even have pre-chopped rhubarb hiding in your freezer that you can use.

Easter Dinner Presentation
Casual or formal, any Easter dinner can benefit from a few personal touches. Fresh cut flowers like tulips or daffodils will brighten up your dinner table, as will brightly colored napkins. These affordable accessories will make your meal all the more memorable.

Potato Gruyere Gratin Recipe for Easter

Ingredients

• 1/2 pounds Yukon potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cream
• 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• Butter to grease the pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch baking dish with butter. Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can and arrange them in a layer, overlapping the edges slightly. Add a sparse later of onion and then sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper and a third of the cheese. Repeat this process with remaining ingredients, but reserve the last third of your cheese for later.

Carefully pour the cream over the potatoes. It should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes; add more if this was not enough. Bake it for about an hour. Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gently press the potatoes flat to keep them moist. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

Try Cooking With Rhubarb This Spring

Traditionally used in desserts like cakes, pies and crumbles, rhubarb recipes can be used for sweet and savory dishes alike. As we enter rhubarb season, here are a few ways you might incorporate this tart ingredient into your spring kitchen.

How to Pick Rhubarb
When looking to pick the best rhubarb, pay attention to the thickness of the stems, as well as their crispness. The thicker the stem, the tougher the rhubarb will be. Ideally, you want to pick out slender, firm stalks. If rhubarb stalks are in any way floppy, they’re most likely old and will not yield the tastiest results. Rhubarb stems range in color from pale green to dark pink – the rosier the hue, the sweeter the rhubarb will be. When you get your rhubarb home, keep it in your vegetable crisper for up to one week.

Cooking Rhubarb
Rhubarb adds a delicious tang to sweet treats, and when cooked takes on an almost buttery texture. Because of its composition, rhubarb is also a terrific addition to chutneys or compotes that complement a number of grilled or roast meats. On it’s own, rhubarb can also be stewed and served alongside breakfast dishes like pancakes, waffles or oatmeal.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients:

FILLING

• 5 stalks rhubarb; 1/4 inch slices
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• Juice of one small lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

TOPPING

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Add the rhubarb and strawberries to a large bowl, tossing with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Squeeze in lemon juice and stir to combine. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients, except the almonds. Using a wooden spoon, stir everything until clumps form.
3. Spread fruit filling evenly in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Using your hands, scatter the topping over the fruit filling. Top with sliced almonds.
4. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit filling is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve with whipped and ice cream.

Rhubarb gives apple sauce a satisfying tartness – check out this recipe!

A Bamboo Cutting Board Needs Regular Care

One of the most used items in a kitchen is the cutting board. You turn to it every day, sometimes for every meal. From soups to sandwiches, a cutting board is used as often your knives. A bamboo cutting board is one of the most reliable chopping blocks you can own, but after putting it through the rounds of daily chopping, do you know how to properly care for it?

Benefits of Bamboo
Bamboo cutting boards are superior to other cutting boards for a number of reasons. Besides the environmental benefit to buying a cutting board made from a sustainable material, bamboo boards won’t absorb odors or stain the way plastic cutting boards do. Often made from laminated strips of bamboo, these boards don’t absorb water the way other wooden chopping boards do, which makes them less prone to warping. Their durability means you’ll have a bamboo board for much longer than any other type of cutting board.

Bamboo Cutting Board Care
Care for a bamboo cutting board in pretty straight forward. It is best to hand wash a bamboo board and dry right away. Although they are less prone to water absorption, it’s still best to dry them as soon as possible to ensure their longevity. Apply a bamboo oil to your board approximately once a month. Most kitchen stores carry butcher block oil and often will one specifically for bamboo. Apply the oil all over the board with a cotton cloth and let stand for 20 minutes. Wipe off any excess oil and let dry completely before using again.

Learn more about bamboo cutting boards!

Keramikos Knives Include Free Lifetime Sharpening

Now that you have a new Keramikos knife, you’ll need to know about ceramic knife sharpening. While a ceramic knife may look and feel like an ordinary steel knife, they are quite different. The biggest difference is how sharp your new knife will stay. Often, ceramic knives will keep their sharp cutting blade for months, even years, depending on how often you use them.

Free Ceramic Knife Sharpening
When you buy a Keramikos ceramic knife, you never have to worry about finding a reliable ceramic knife sharpener. All Keramikos knives come with free lifetime sharpening from the company. Sharpening of a ceramic knife needs to be done by a professional to guarantee it won’t get damaged during the sharpening process. Keramikos knows how beneficial it can be to have a ceramic knife in the kitchen, so they want to ensure yours are as sharp as they can be every time you want to use them.

Ceramic Knife Sharpener
Along the way, you may be tempted to buy a ceramic knife sharpener that you can use at home. While it may seem that this is easier in the short term, a ceramic blade is far more delicate than a steel one and can be easily ruined if the proper sharpening technique is not used. Since free lifetime sharpening is included with every Keramikos product, why not take advantage of the professional services they offer?

Not sure how to properly care for your ceramic knife? Check out our Knife Care post!

A Ceramic Knife is a Great Addition to Any Kitchen

When it comes to buying knives, the best ceramic knife to have in your kitchen is the one you’ll actually use.

Best Ceramic Knives
If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you may want to consider purchasing a set of the best ceramic knives. A set will include all the knives you need including a chef’s knife, paring knife and slicing knife. If you’re a bit of an amateur cook, starting off with a basic ceramic chef’s knife is a good place to start. No matter what your comfort level in the kitchen, however, the best ceramic knife you can own is one that will make cooking a more pleasurable experience.

Adding a Ceramic Knife to Your Collection
A good kitchen knife should always be treated with care, and a ceramic knife is no different. The reason every kitchen should have at least one ceramic knife is because of their reliability to stay sharp and making chopping and preparing meals much quicker. Their sharp blades need to be handled with care to ensure their longevity. When considering which is the best ceramic knife for you, remember that as long as you take proper care of it, it will be a kitchen tool you can rely on for a very long time.

Best Ceramic Knife Techniques
Ceramic knives are good for many kitchen tasks, but some of the ceramic knife techniques involve precision cutting, chopping and dicing. Keep checking back at the Keramikos blog for great tips on how to use your new ceramic knife.

A Chef Knife Makes a Great Christmas Gift

Still stuck on what to get your friends and family for Christmas this year? If they like to cook, some of the best Christmas gifts for the kitchen include quality knives. No matter what a person likes to prepare, a sharp knife can make all the difference.

Kitchen Gifts
No kitchen is complete without a decent knife, but often people put off buying one for themselves because of the cost. What better Christmas gift than one they’ll use on a daily basis? If there’s one knife everyone should have, it’s a proper chef’s knife. If you want to get a kitchen gift that will cover all your loved ones cooking needs, then a knife set is probably the better way to go.

Kitchen Gadgets
Kitchen gadgets can make great stocking stuffers. They’re often something that we don’t use that often, but that doesn’t have to be the case. A good vegetable peeler makes for a practical, useful tool for any kitchen. It’s a gift that will most likely be used right away to make that big holiday dinner!

Christmas Gift Basket
If you’re feeling particularly generous this year, why not throw together a Christmas gift basket? Include the basics like a good knife or knife set, some kitchen utensils, a cutting board and maybe even some bakeware or pots. You could also theme your Christmas gift basket and include a cookbook and ingredients to help them get started. This would be a great gift for someone just starting out on their own, or who’s just starting to experiment in the kitchen.

What are some of your favorite kitchen gifts to buy? Share them with us!

Ceramic Knife Set

The type of knives you use in your kitchen is very important.  The wrong type will find you sharpening the blades time and again, while the right choice will hold its edge, even through repeated cuttings.  The wrong choice will discolor, rust, corrode and basically become unusable over a relatively short time.  The right choice will remain in pristine condition, offering great looks and tremendous use.

What is the wrong choice?  Steel knife sets, for all their glittering glory, can be terrible options in the modern kitchen.  A ceramic knife set is a far better option and can provide numerous benefits to you.

Why should you consider ceramic in your kitchen?

First, a ceramic knife set is incredibly durable.  These blades are harder than steel, which means that you will have to sharpen the blade ten times less than with a steel knife.  In addition, you will find that ceramic knives provide numerous other benefits that can lead to a happier kitchen life in addition to that edge retention.

Ceramic knives do not rust, which is why these types of blades are used by divers around the world.  Ceramic knives will not pit or corrode like steel and high-acid foods will not etch the knife blade.  All of these problems can reduce that gleaming steel knife to a rusty mess that won’t cut butter, much less your vegetables or boneless meats.

Therefore, it’s important that you consider the benefits offered by having a ceramic knife set in your kitchen.  These knives can help ensure that you have reliable cutting tools that offer a razor edge to anything you care to set before them.  Whether you are butterflying shrimp or slicing tomatoes like paper, ceramic knives are the best possible solution for your culinary needs.

To find the ceramic kitchen knife set that suits your needs best, browse our selection at www.keramikoskitchen.com.

What are the elements that make up a great knife set?

Size – Your ability to grasp a knife’s handle is one of the first things that you should determine.  How well does the handle fit your hand?  How well does the grip conform to the contours of your palm and fingers?  If you cannot grasp a knife correctly, using it can be very dangerous.

Weight – How heavy is the knife?  Steel kitchen knives are often very heavy (if they are of high quality), while ceramic knives are much lighter.  Lighter knives are better options for most people, as they help to alleviate the strain from muscles and tendons in the fingers, hands, wrists and forearms.  In addition, it’s easier to make thin cuts with the best kitchen knives than with a knife that weighs a ton.

Blade Type – The type of blades offered in the set is of paramount importance to you.  The best kitchen knife sets give you ceramic blades on all the included knives, while subpar sets will offer steel.  Even high-carbon steel is inferior to ceramic in every way.

As you can see, ceramic makes the best knife sets. Steel will corrode, lose its edge and provides a poor experience, while ceramic knives will stand the test of time and make a tremendous investment option.

If you are looking for the best knives to use in your kitchen, ceramic should be at the top of your list.  The Keramikos Kitchen line of quality ceramic knives offers choice and versality.  Follow this link to browse now!  www.keramikoskitchen.com

Ceramic Chef Knives

How often have you bemoaned the cruel fate that leaves you sharpening that chef knife once more? It can seem as though you have to sharpen it almost the second you’ve made a cut. In fact, if you’re using a steel chef knife, you might just be sharpening it every few cuts. Ceramic chef knives can help you avoid this horrible fate and find more time in the kitchen that doesn’t involve a whetstone.

Ceramic chef knives offer some startling benefits over their steel brethren. The first benefit is hardness, which is the quality that allows ceramic blades to keep their edge longer. Ceramic knives have a hardness rating of about 8.2 (steel comes in around 5.5 or so), which means that they can hold an edge ten times longer than a steel chef knife.

Ceramic chef knives never discolor, won’t rust or corrode and you don’t have to worry about the blade being etched by certain types of food. Therefore, these knives are far more enduring than an equivalent steel blade. Because you will not have to worry about the knife corroding over time, you can enjoy the unique beauty (and lots of use) that comes from these blades.

Ceramic chef knives also offer other benefits. For instance, you will find that ceramic blades are denoted as chemically inert. You will not find this with steel blades. What this means is that the blade has a tightly closed microscopic structure (unlike steel). Why is this important? First, you will not have to worry about transferring the taste of one food to another. Second, you won’t have to worry about cross-contamination. Finally, you won’t have to worry about that metallic tang that steel knives leave behind.

If this sounds appealing, then you should certainly consider purchasing one of our many quality ceramic chef knives available in our online store at www.keramikoskitchen.com.