I was talking to a chef friend of mine who also uses a few ceramic kitchen knives. I asked him what he really likes about it. Aside from its sharpness, he also mentioned that his fruits don’t oxidize and turn brown as fast when he uses his ceramic knife to cut it, particularly apples. I knew ceramic knives are chemically inert, and that they’re not supposed to react with your food, but I thought it was in regards to taste, not color!

You probably guessed what I did next. I headed straight to the supermarket and picked up some apples to test this theory. I was really skeptical about the whole thing. But then again, the advice was from a professional chef who uses ceramic knives daily. He wasn’t trying to sell me any knives, he was just being a pal and sharing his knowledge.

I started by cutting one with a $150, newly sharpened Henkels knife and the other with my ceramic knife. I let them sit, taking pictures in random intervals. The results made me say “Oh my gosh!” The apple cut with the regular kitchen knife did indeed turn brown a lot faster than the one I cut with the ceramic knife! See the images below and click on them to enlarge.

 7:10pm

 7:25pm

 7:55pm

 8:22pm

 8:45pm

 9:08pm

After about 15 minutes, the apple wedge cut with the ceramic knife hardly oxidized at all, while the slice cut with the kitchen knife already showed some signs of discoloration. After about an hour and 10 minutes into the test, the differences became very apparent as you can see from the pictures.

I left the apple wedges out even after I was done with the test. The next morning, I was even more surprised at what I saw. The slice cut with the ceramic knife remained in the same condition it was the night before! There was no further discoloration or oxidation. I was amazed!

To be honest, I didn’t think this would really work, but as you can see from the images, it truly does! Now I can feel confident about cutting fruits ahead of time without having to worry about oxidation. Through the couple of weeks I’ve used a ceramic knife, this test really amazed me more than any others. Moving forward with my test, I don’t think anything will amaze me more than this.

We have received many many requests to do the ceramic knife & apples test using avocados, so how could we resist? We were actually quite interested in the results too.

For this test we did a similar setup as the apples test. We took 1 avocado and cut one end off with a metal knife and one end with a ceramic knife. We left the pieces out and took pictures at random.

 4:50pm

 5:17pm

 6:27pm

 7:23pm

 8:49pm

 9:16pm

 9:42pm

When I cut avocados for any dish I am making, they seem to go brown almost instantly. I began this test thinking that it would be a quick test and that I would be done in about an hour or so. Boy was I wrong. I didn’t see much happen until the 7:23pm mark, around 2.5 hours into it.

Over the course of the next 2 hours, things started getting very interesting. The brown spots on the avocado cut with the metal knife began growing and spreading. The piece that was cut with the ceramic knife began showing brown spots but the spots were not as defined and did not seem to merge with each other. The last image shot over 5.5 hours later (9:42 mark), shows some obvious differences in color and spots.

Like the apple test we performed, I had my doubts about this. To be honest I had more doubts about this test than I did with the previous. The results do show that the ceramic knife does make a difference.

Remember, I am not a scientist, nor do I claim to be one. This test was not performed in any special lab, although some of the food in my fridge can be mistaken for a science project. Use your own judgment based on the information I have provided you. And..If you like our tests, let us know. If you have any requests, don’t hesitate to ask, we love to hear from you!

I’m making Gyudon beef bowls tonight. It’s my first attempt and already I’m a little terrified just by looking at the recipe. The recipe calls for a good amount of onions. We all know what that means…be prepared for a waterworks show! But rumor has it that using ceramic knives can cut down on those dreaded tears. Fact or fiction? Let’s put it to the test.

I bought the smallest onion I could find. As far as I know, the smaller, the fewer the tears. I begin by cutting off the ends and cutting it in half. So far so good! Next, I made thin slices and half-way through, I begin to tear up a little. Not too bad. I continue with the slicing. By this time, I’m left with teary eyes but not enough for tears to stream down my face. I must say, that was pretty awesome! That was the first good experience I’ve had with an onion.

I have only used my ceramic knife twice and I may already be convinced not to return it. It already seems to be superior to my regular kitchen knife. Just this experience alone is enough for me to keep it. I no longer have to be terrified of mincing onions. I don’t know the scientific reason behind how ceramic knives attribute to minimal tears. If I had to guess, it would simply be because of it’s razor sharp blade. Each slice is so clean and precise. That’s the trend I’ve been noticing with these knives. Again, there is no odor left behind. I’m already in love with ceramic knives!

I’m putting my ceramic knife to the ultimate test today. Tomatoes! I’m making sandwiches for lunch today so I thought it’d be a good chance to test out my knife on the notoriously hard-to-slice tomatoes. A sharp blade is always a necessity, otherwise, you’ll end up with a chopping board full of ketchup or thick uneven slices. I imagine ceramic knives would succeed in doing the job but I wanted to check just to be sure.

Ceramic knives are supposed to excelled at slicing tomatoes, this was no exception. Perfectly even slices…they almost look too good to eat! I barely needed to put any pressure on the knife at all. It did all the work. Even the tough skin was not enough to keep the knife from going through. The first incision is always the hardest but there was no resistance whatsoever as the blade sliced through the tough skin.

I usually like my tomatoes pretty thin but I can rarely get them thin enough. With the ceramic knife, I can get them as thin as I want. Just for fun, I tried to make them paper thin (as shown in the picture). Take a look at that! Isn’t that amazing?

OK, I’m convinced…I’m sold! There’s no way I’m ever letting go of this knife. It’s one of the best investments I’ve made to date. Now I’m wondering what took me so long to get this knife. Ahh, I remember…the price. Ceramic knives do come with a hefty price tag but it is certainly well worth every penny.

I came back from the market yesterday and was so excited to try out my new ceramic kitchen knife. On the dinner menu was steak with garlic potatoes. Potatoes are always fun to cut so I made sure that was on the menu. It’s also a good test of how sharp and well the knife handles.

I went straight for the potatoes. After a good rinse, I started dicing. Wow…I was impressed! The knife glides so easily through the potatoes with minimal effort. Each slice and dice was so precise. The potatoes also didn’t stick to the blade like they usually do with

I came back from the market yesterday and was so excited to try out my new ceramic kitchen knife. On the dinner menu was steak with garlic potatoes. Potatoes are always fun to cut so I made sure that was on the menu. It’s also a good test of how sharp and well the knife handles.

I went straight for the potatoes. After a good rinse, I started dicing. Wow…I was impressed! The knife glides so easily through the potatoes with minimal effort. Each slice and dice was so precise. The potatoes also didn’t stick to the blade like they usually do with metal knives, which used to be such a nuisance. My prep time was decreased simply because I didn’t have to release each slice off the blade after each cut. It was such a pleasure to use… I wish I had bought more potatoes!

Now on to the garlic…my least favorite thing to chop. The cloves are small and they stink up my hands for days. I usually start by smashing the cloves with a metal knife but since I wasn’t sure of the durability of ceramic knives, I skipped this step and peeled the paper off the cloves. Chopping it was actually kinda fun. I was able to make very thin slices, then julienne, then chop. It was great! Just like the potatoes, every cut was so precise. This thing is razor sharp…I could feel it going into the cutting board. I had to remind myself that no pressure was needed.

According to Kyocera’s website, “Kyocera advanced ceramic knives are chemically inert so foods look and taste the way they should. The smooth, polished surface resists germs and is impervious to acids, oils and salts.” I had to put it to the test and what better way than with garlic. I just gave the knife a rinse, didn’t use detergent or anything, dried it off and took a good smell of the blade. They really do live up to their claim. No trace of garlic odor was left behind. But I will put the knife to the ultimate test at a later time.