Traditional French Fry day

[Skyline Drive]

These two "service tree" knives are wonderful, Sky!! The sublety of the wood is a perfect conterpoint to the great metalwork of Jerome!! Great kniv

These two "service tree" knives are wonderful, Sky!! The sublety of the wood is a perfect conterpoint to the great metalwork of Jerome!! Great knives!!

Thanks waynorth. But please be aware, the "trois pièces" is made out of wood from the "Wild Service Tree", botanical name: sorbus torminalis. The other one is made from wood of the "Service Tree", botanical name: sorbus domestica. The wood from both species is all but identical, you can't lkeep them apart with the eye or even a microscope. You need an electronic microscope to differentiate inbetween the cellular structures of the two materials.



The leaves and fruits of the "Wild Service Tree" also called Checkers in the UK.

The leaves and the fruits of the "Service Tree", also sometimes called Whitty Pear.

 

[waynorth]

Thanks waynorth. But please be aware, the "trois pièces" is made out of wood from the "Wild Service Tree", botanical name: sorbus torminalis. The other one is made from wood of the "Service Tree", botanical name: sorbus domestica. The wood from both species is all but identical, you can't lkeep them apart with the eye or even a microscope. You need an electronic microscope to differentiate inbetween the cellular structures of the two materials.



The leaves and fruits of the "Wild Service Tree" also called Checkers in the UK.

The leaves and the fruits of the "Service Tree", also sometimes called Whitty Pear.

Thanks for the info, Sky!!! Are either of those fruits edible??

 

[Skyline Drive]

Thanks for the info, Sky!!! Are either of those fruits edible??

Both fruits are comestible, but you need to process the fruits in different ways in order to eat them. The fruits of the checker don't fall, once they are ripe, they stay on the sprigs until the new leaves start to open in spring. So you have to pick the fruits. The white pear fruits fall from the trees just before they are ripe. The main use of the fruits of both trees is within distillery. The Sobus Domestica has been used to make a high-class, noble, brandy for ages. In France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg. The Checkers was, as far as I know, traditionally, only made into alcohol in certain regions of Austria, nowadays you find a very few distillers who make the "Elsbeerbrand" outside of Austria.

In the medievals both fruits were among the most important medicinal plants. Otherwise the fuits were used for making marmalades, preserves and similar. Since a dozen years or so there is a Slowfood initiative in Austria that promotes the use of the checkers fruits in gastronomy, cheesemaking, baking etc....

I will post some pics I made yesterday later. I've been mashing some Service Tree fruits yesterday to make brandy in about a month time.

 

[Skyline Drive]

Fruits of the service tree that are not yet ripe, in order to mash them they need to be ripe, otherwise the fruits retain a strongly astringent taste and do not contain enough natural sugars. These fruits should be ripe enough to make a mash by the middle of next week.

Ripe fruits just before the mash is done by adding yeast, water, enzymes and blending the mixture with a huge industrial size blender.

The mash after blending, just before the vat is closed.

A week old mash.

 

[waynorth]

Fruits of the service tree that are not yet ripe, in order to mash them they need to be ripe, otherwise the fruits retain a strongly astringent taste and do not contain enough natural sugars. These fruits should be ripe enough to make a mash by the middle of next week.

I see you take this job seriously, Sky!!!

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Skyline Drive]

The third knife I picked up from Jéròme Latreille is a true masterpiece. A 15cm Laguiole "quatre pièces", "pied de bottine" made of damask with mammoth ivory handles.

Adjusting the two baldes, awl and cork screw is extremely tricky and time-consuming. Working on the split spring in particular is nerve-wracking; if you remove just a tiny little bit too much of the material, the spring breaks. All in all, the knife was assembled and disassembled 150 times.

According to Jéròme, there are currently only three knife makers in France who know how to make such "quatre pièces", Robert Beillonet, who is retired, a knife maker from Nontron whose name I have forgotten and himself.

The 15cm "quatre pièces" compared to an 18cm Laguiole made by Jérôme Latreille.

 

[kamagong]

Magnifique!

 

[Skyline Drive]

After visiting with Jérôme Latreille it was time for an "apéro"!!! I had four Ricards at the small pun in the tine village of Saint-Pierre. Then I had dinner in a restaurant at the edge of the "Trou de Bozouls" canyon.

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Will Power]

After visiting with Jérôme Latreille it was time for an "apéro"!!! I had four Ricards at the small pun in the tine village of Saint-Pierre. Then I had dinner in a restaurant at the edge of the "Trou de Bozouls" canyon.

I do like that knife you show, simple elegance, will have to source one. Admiring the landscape with the cliffs, certainly apéros are important...but here I diverge from your tastes anything tasting of aniseed or liquorice (and I live in the land of detestable Salmiakki ) is intolerable the glasses never seem to lose the taste of the stuff. Horreur ! Instead, I prefer ultra dry Vermouth- Noilly for example or this.

Fortunately, tastes are different and France caters for many fine tastes culinary & cutlery .

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Good Fry Day folks, Opinel #8 with Padauk handle, sides were ground flat to aid in controlling the knife better, very handy now.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

 

[Prester John]

 

[kamagong]

To my friend Vince, who appreciates the Opinel in its original form, fish tail and all!

 

[Prester John]

To my friend Vince, who appreciates the Opinel in its original form, fish tail and all!

It just feels--and looks--perfect to me, Christian. And best slicer I've got.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

There's no doubt that the Opinel is one of the best slicers out there, I've been using mine for meals lately and while some don't like the severe curved tip, it comes in handy when cutting up food.
Now I know that the traditional Opinel is rounded, I've owned a lot of them, but after putting flat sides on mine, it registers far better and feels a lot safer in use than before. You still have the soft curves on the spine and lower grip area so it fits well but doesn't spin when using. I imagine that the company has invested a lot into the making of those handles and to put flat sides would add a degree of difficulty that they don't need to take on, as anyone can modify the handles to their own liking and a lot of people do just that, in fact they do sell some with large handles just so you can carve your own.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2

 

[waynorth]

The third knife I picked up from Jéròme Latreille is a true masterpiece. A 15cm Laguiole "quatre pièces", "pied de bottine" made of damask with mammoth ivory handles.

Adjusting the two baldes, awl and cork screw is extremely tricky and time-consuming. Working on the split spring in particular is nerve-wracking; if you remove just a tiny little bit too much of the material, the spring breaks. All in all, the knife was assembled and disassembled 150 times.

According to Jéròme, there are currently only three knife makers in France who know how to make such "quatre pièces", Robert Beillonet, who is retired, a knife maker from Nontron whose name I have forgotten and himself.

The 15cm "quatre pièces" compared to an 18cm Laguiole made by Jérôme Latreille.

OMG, what a piece of cutlery history that knife is!! A wonderful work of art, Sky!!

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Will Power]

Barrel, le tonneau

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2