Hello everyone,

I'm currently living in Germany and in these few years I've discovered by chance a small but super sharp fruit knife from Solingen (I think the brand was from Rör). I was so amazed by the sharpness that now I want to buy a chef's knife for myself (budget: up to 60 or 70) and a knife for my dad (budget: up to 30 or 40) as a Christmas gift.

I've already searched the web for great German knife brands, and it seems these are the ones:

• Wüsthof
• Burgvogel (a.k.a. in the US as Messermeister)
• Friedr. Dick
• Herder Windmühlen
• Hohenmoorer

If someone is looking into this post looking for a budget (but still good) German knife brand, it seems that Rör is that brand.

But since, I’m looking for advice with this post, I’m no expert on the topic, if there are bad knife makers on this list or great knife makers missing, please tell me, and I'll remove/add them from/to my post. :)

The knives list below are all that fit the budget I've mentioned. Hohenmoorer and Windmühlen (and this brand only has wooden handles, which I don't like), are just too expensive, so only Friedr. Dick and Wüsthof are left inside my budget, but I could include two more expensive ones from Burgvogel and Friedr. Dick, if it is really, really worth it.

For myself:

• Friedr. Dick

  1. ActiveCut 21 cm
  2. Premier Plus 21 cm

• Wüsthof

  1. Gourmet 20 cm

• Bonus (around €80, if they are really worth the extra effort):

  1. Burgvogel: Master Line 20 cm
  2. Friedr. Dick: 1905 21 cm

For my Dad:

• Friedr. Dick

  1. ProDynamic 21 cm
  2. Superior 21 cm

• Wüsthof

  1. Silverpoint 20 cm

Last questions:

1. Would you recommend a 20, 21 or a 23 cm blade size? Some knives have different variations of these blade sizes.
2. Should I care about the material of the knife? I saw someone saying that it should be made of carbon steel (I think?).
3. Should I already buy a knife sharpener from one of the brands above?
4. Should I buy one of those knife guard/protector/sleeve to store it on a drawer or something like that?

That is all, and I want to say thank you in advance for all the replies 🙂

Since the recurring thread here is about recent changes you make to your diet or events where you eat things you usually don't eat these threads tend to be kinda empty so I made this post.

(Bonus question: When you first began buying your own food did you try new stuff or stuck to the diet you already had?)

Anyway:

The breakfast is usually "Hokkaido milk bread" (this loaf but less tall which we just call "Pão de leite" or "Milk bread" here) with mayonnaise and a slice of bologna.

The lunch and dinner are the 2 Brazilian staples of Rice and Beans with the "mix" (at least that's the translation of what my parents call it) which is just the third food, usually either meat, eggs or chicken, the meat and chicken being in a more often flattened or less often more cubical shape. (I'm not sure how to describe this.) and more occasionally sausage and nuggets, and strogonoff. Sometimes there's also usually screw noodles. I cook the eggs and nuggets myself and basically try to get them to be crunchy without them getting burnt.

Often around 5 PM I will eat a few guava barrinhas.

On Saturday the dinner is instead either Sfihas (That's what they're called in English? That's the weirdest anglicization I've heard of. If you don't know, it's just a smaller pizza that's usually not eaten in slices.) from which I usually pick the ones of chicken with catupiry but increasingly more pepperoni with catupiry or Whoppers, which I prefer without Pickles or tomatoes.

After a meal I'll usually drink either juice in they sell in sachets or cartons or I'll drink guaraná soft drinks if they're there. After a snack I'll drink strawberry yogurt.

If I bought my own food I would try a lot of different vegetables to see if any of them are any good and I would try to see if there's a healthier replacement for basically putting the oil you use to cook on my plate, since I've heard consuming that oil is quite unhealthy.

I bought a dozen duck eggs from the farmers market this week, hoping to add some pizazz to any dishes with egg this week. Was wondering if anyone had recommendations for dishes where duck eggs really shine or take it up a notch? Scrambled eggs will be on the menu this weekend. I have heard baking with these eggs is recommended as they have more yolk and are richer.

So the garden plot has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, and I can't give away enough tomatoes, tomatillos, and hot peppers.

I'm averse to the risks and expense of home canning, but otherwise open to suggestions. There's a wide variety of heirloom cherry (if you can get seeds for "Brad's Atomic Grape", they taste amazing), Roma, and beefsteak types.

Tomatillos are getting roasted and made into salsa verde for freezing.

I'm going to make freezer salsa rojo, but any other suggestions or favorite recipes are welcome. [I do have a dehydrator, but that seems like cheating.]