Traditional folders make Apples taste funny

freq18hz

freq18hz

Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,093
Just made my first two traditional folder purchases. I'm not used to carrying a carbon steel blade knife.

Maybe its oil from inside the knife, or perhaps I am just spoiled by stainless, but these puppies seem to make food taste pretty gamey.


Now the big question is, which do I prefer, Boker carbon steel, or Case chrome vanadium? YUM.
:D


-Freq
 
It's the carbon steel. Using a carbon steel knife can leave behind a funny taste on certain foods. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. It'll go away in time after your knife builds up a patina.

- Christian
 
kamagong said:
It's the carbon steel. Using a carbon steel knife can leave behind a funny taste on certain foods. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. It'll go away in time after your knife builds up a patina.

- Christian
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it any better.
 
All I can tell you is to keep using it and 1 of 2 things will happen soon or later.

1) It will get a patina

2) You'll start to like the taste! :D
 
Stick it some apples and lemons you don't plan to eat and let the juices soak in a while.
 
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Everyone needs a little extra iron in thier diet!:D

No, really, once your knife developes a good patina, the patina will sort of seal off the carbon steel. It's gonna be alright, trust us!;)
 
Mmm, new knife taste. Now I can't decide if I want to cut up an apple or order a new carbon slippy.:confused:




:D
 
freq18hz said:
LOL

SO which knife has your favorite flavor?

GEC? Case? Boker?

-Freq
Click to expand...

Definitely GEC's 1095 :D

The inevitable patina will help, but a fresh sharpened blade can impart a little twang as well.

You might try using food grade mineral oil on the knives you will be using to cut your food. Just in case you are also tasting some oil residue. You can find it sold by the bottle in the pharmacy section of your local grocery store. It is very low cost, maybe a few dollars for a lifetime supply.
I wash my knives in hot soapy water with a toothbrush, then dry them with a hair dryer until they are too hot to hold water, then oil them when they are still warm.
 
The funky taste is a by-product of the oxidation process. When the carbon steel reacts with the acids in the food, there is an exchange of electrons from one to the other. That alters the chemical makeup of each, which results in the patina on the steel and the funky flavor in the food. As the patina forms on the steel, the oxidation reaction will slow down to a point where it no longer has a significant impact on the taste of the food (unless or until you grind/polish/sharpen the oxide layer away, which will start the process over again).
 
I have a friend that lived in Japan for 20 years.
Her husband's family were rural

She was honored by a gift from her mother in law
They were kitchen knives; carbon of course.

Her mother in law told her she must wait a day to use the knives any time she sharpen them
She said it was something about the taste
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
The funky taste is a by-product of the oxidation process. When the carbon steel reacts with the acids in the food, there is an exchange of electrons from one to the other. That alters the chemical makeup of each, which results in the patina on the steel and the funky flavor in the food. As the patina forms on the steel, the oxidation reaction will slow down to a point where it no longer has a significant impact on the taste of the food (unless or until you grind/polish/sharpen the oxide layer away, which will start the process over again).
Click to expand...

Is that called flavor steeling?:cool:

Sometimes I crack myself up! However, I am easily amused. :o
 
Ensure you clean off any oil with some alcohol when you first get a carbon knife. As others have said, once it gets the patina the taste subsides,use it to chop some veggies in the kitchen that really helps. As for brand, mmh I opt for Böker it's got a teutonic tang to it!
 
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