FOOD NEWS
The Unexpected Item You Can Use To Sharpen Any Kitchen Knife
By Gregory Lovvorn
Sharpening and honing a knife is more important than you may think as a knife with a fresh edge not only cuts with less effort and more precision, but it’s also safer to use. However, if you find yourself with a dull knife and no sharpener at hand, this readily available item found in almost every kitchen can be used to put a new edge on your cutting tools.
All you need to return the edge to a dulled blade is a ceramic coffee mug or a ceramic dish that has an unglazed, rough-textured area, which for most modern ceramics, is the bottom ring. To sharpen your knife, hold its edge at a twenty-degree angle to the sharpening surface and slowly drag it from the heel to the point across the cup.
While honing simply maintains the edge of your blade, sharpening rebuilds your knife by removing metal from its edge. As sharpening causes more wear on a blade, you should only do it when honing no longer helps. For most home chefs, a blade should be sharpened once a year or less while honing should be done after every hour to an hour and a half of use.