Rubber Ducky, You're the One!

A very merry Christmas to all my 'Eats Food, Hates You' readers. Before the epic traditional food-a-rama begins at 5pm, I thought I would show a really neat present I received and even the bag is adorable.


Here it is, it's a T Duck, tea infuser! This adorable little tea infuser comes with a little stand that you can rest your rubber duck on when your cup of tea is brewed to perfection. I know you all are oh so jealous of my little friend, so to ensure he isn't ducknapped, you can get your own at Chalet.

Damascus Steel is Dead

Photograph sourced from Nesmuk.

News.com.au reports Nesmuk have released one of the world's most expensive chef knives for a mere AUD $43,953.42. Crafted by Lars Scheidler, the Nesmuk Brilliant Knife features 800 layers of Damascus Steel and a hilt of patinated sterling silver, inlaid with eight diamonds.

I love the evocative sound of the words Damascus Steel but I do get oh so grumpy when people bandy the term around. Damascus Steel was a term used to describe the type of steel used in Middle Eastern swordmaking in the period of 1100 to 1700AD. The swords were reputed to be resistant to shattering, sharp and characterised by distinctive banding and mottling.

Unfortunately the technique was lost to mankind circa 1750 AD and several modern theories include the loss of knowledge due to secrecy, the lack of trace impurities in the metal, the breakdown of trade routes or a combination of all of the above.

All modern attempts to duplicate the metal have failed and so the Damascus blade will remain the stuff of myth. I mean really what would a chef need a Damascus blade for? A crusade on Brussel Sprouts?

Merry Christmas, Jo!

I've been such a good girl this year so brought myself a couple of Christmas presents today. I've been having a great time cooking with them this weekend and hopefully you will enjoy the results.