If you have a culminating chef within you, we sure can understand your love for beautiful cutlery and all things right in the kitchen. Just the presence of the beautiful cutlery set as in your kitchen is sure to keep you on toes while you enjoy working around it all day.

But how would it be if your cutlery was to get damaged way too soon than its shelf life? The thought itself is disturbing to you, I’m sure. That is why it is essential that you are acquainted with the know-how of cutlery care so that you can preserve your cutlery and enjoy it while it lasts a long time. 

If you want to know some of the best ways to take care of your cutlery, do read on and find out all about it while also going through it as a cleaning guide.

• Good handling skill

Firstly, to do an excellent job of caring for your cutlery, you should ensure that you use it with skill and care at the same time. Half the work to ensure a longer life for your cutlery is done when you learn how to handle it. Did you know that holding your knives and chopping vegetables in a certain way determines how skilled you are at cooking? Well, as surprising as it may sound, it does matter a lot as to how well you handle your kitchen equipment while you are cooking. Whether you are chopping vegetables or fruits for salad, or just to sauté, or even if it is to chop up that meat for barbeque, each task will have you mastering its own set of skills!

So how do you properly hold a knife?

• If you grip your knife handle with your thumb on one side and all other fingers on the other hand with your index finger pointing atop the metal blade part, you are doing it all wrong! 
• You are also wrong if you hold your knife with your whole palm gripping the handle of the knife.
• The correct way to hold a knife is to use your thumb and index finger and grip both sides of the metal blade, right at the juncture of the blade and the handle. Your hand should be wrapped around the handle’s top. Make sure you pinch the grip as it will determine whether you have a good hold on the knife or not. Pinching the grip will also give you better control over the knife.
• Ensure the sharpness of your cutlery

When you use your cutlery for a long period, it is bound to get blunt. But you must not let this happen as it will wear out your knives earlier than usual. Make sure you sharpen your knives regularly so that you can use it to its maximum potential. Apart from that, a sharp weapon just makes a skilled warrior better, right?

 Using sharp knives will prevent its blade from being ragged and worn-out too soon. Plus, it will give you a much efficient result to all your chopping and all other uses you put it to. 

To sharpen your knives, you can buy a mini sharpening machine which fits your countertop perfectly. It will not appear as something big and unappealing in the kitchen. Or if you want to resort to more homely methods, you can even keep a small slab of granite where you can sharpen your knives whenever required. 

• How to clean your cutlery?

Clean cutlery equals a better shelf life. Simply keeping your cutlery dry and clean keeps it from corrosion and rust, and obviously healthier chopped food items. So how do you ensure owning a clean set of cutlery without using much of your time?

• If your set is a new one, make sure you wash it in warm water and mild detergent before using it for the first time. Once washed, rinse it again in warm water and dry it carefully before you stack it away. 
• After the use your cutlery each time, repeat the above process. Ensure that you do not leave your cutlery unwashed after use for a long period as the stuck food will just make the cleaning task tougher. Even if your cutlery is stainless steel, the salty and acidic ingredients in the food are sure to corrode it. 
• Once you have washed your cutlery, ensure that you wipe it clean, preferably with a cotton cloth. If you leave it to dry naturally, the detergent chemicals and water are sure to leave white marks on your cutlery. 

For tarnished cutlery:

• In case you have cutlery that has tarnished, white vinegar is your solution, quite literally! To create a mixture of vinegar solution, add one part vinegar to eight parts warm water in a vessel. Put your cutlery in and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Once it is soaked well, wash it clean and dry it, just like in the process mentioned above.
• If you do not have vinegar available at home, you can use bicarbonate soda as a substitute. It is quite a handy material to clean cutlery. Fill up a vessel with warm water while you add a teaspoon of soda to it. Soaking the cutlery for 10 minutes,  and rinse it clean and dry.
• If your cutlery has streaks on it, olive oil gives the best results. Take a piece of a soft cloth and wet it with a teaspoon of olive oil. Gently rub the cloth on the cutlery where it has streaks. It is definitely going to look as good as new. 

For silver cutlery:

Cleaning silver cutlery is done in these simple steps:

• Line the base of a saucepan with aluminium foil
• Add cold water, and mix one tablespoon of bicarbonate and salt each. Further, add half a cup of vinegar to the mixture while it sizzles. 
• Pour in one cup of scalding hot water and put the cutlery in the mixture. 
• Soak for five minutes, and there you go! Your sterling silver cutlery is as good as new. 

With all these step-by-step cleaning guides and cutlery care, you are now definitely equipped with more “cutlery knowledge”. Just put it to use and watch yourself enjoy working with cutlery that will last you a long time. It is only going to make your cooking time more enjoyable than it already is and you will not even get a chance to complain!