matzaluna, maxaluna, ???

J

Josh Wilson

Joined
Aug 3, 2000
Messages
232
I saw a kitchen knife the other day and I heard the name but I cant figure out how to spell it. The knife had a large (12") curved blade with handles at both ends (kind of a cresent moon shape).

What is the name and where can I find one?
 
"mezzaluna" pronounced 'medzaluna' is Italian for "half-moon". If you have an Italian community near you, they might have them for sale, maybe even in the grocery stores. They are traditionally used with a round wooden bowl.

For the bowl, and a selection of the ulu, an Eskimo knife similar to the mezzaluna, see
Great Northern Cutlery Company at http://www.ulu.com/

H. Roselli of Finland at http://www.roselli.fi/eng/products/EKV.html also has an ulu.

P. J. Turner Knife Mfg., Inc. at http://dns1.silverstar.com/turnermfg/ makes a ... different ... piece of equipment, based on the ulu as crossed with a folding skinning hatchet.
 
Right, the knife is called "mezzaluna" ( pronunciated like metz-aahhh-loon-aahhh ) and that means half-moon.
However, it's used on a flat cutting board, not in a bowl (trust me...after all i am italian
smile.gif
).It's a very useful tool to chop vegetables in small pieces.
 
Max, I trust you! My family's Jewish, and my grandmother used a mezzaluna in a round bowl; so did Italians in the neighborhood. Maybe they got the bowls from us? You're right, it works fine on a regular flat cutting board, especially for slicing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top