Bench scraper

When I suggested that you needed four and a half knives, it’s the bench scraper that I consider to be the equivalent of half a knife. Although the bench scraper is technically not a knife, it’s too important to be excluded. Its original function was for pastry chefs to cut and divide dough, and to scrape the sticky remains of dough off the work surface. But its everyday use has much more value than just baking. Its best use is to transfer the food you’ve just cut from your cutting board to a bowl or directly into the pan.

If it’s not your habit to use a bench scraper, then you’re probably using the side of your knife’s blade to scoop up the food off your cutting board. Or even using your hands cupped together. These methods can often lead to multiple tries to get all of the chopped food to its destination. With the flat, wide bench scraper, it’s rare that even the largest mound of chopped food needs more than two or three tries to clear the board. It turns a task that often spills food on the counter and floor into a quick and easy step. I always keep a bench scraper by the side of my cutting board whenever I’m cooking. It’s like an extension of my hand. And it almost always costs less than $10.