Dear Food Goddess:

‘This question is not about food itself but about a utensil for preparing food. In over 50 years of marriage, I have had only two nonstainless all-purpose knives. Each knife got better over the years, but now they are almost gone. I have a number of other knives, some quite expensive, but they are all stainless and none are worth a hoot. Can you help?’

JOAN KING, Sautee

Today the goddess turns over the column to her dear readers. First a follow-up to Ms. King’s inquiry on purchasing new knives.

Candice Howland of Pine Lake writes: “I was delighted to read that Joan King enjoys her carbon steel knives and your information about them. I, too, am a carbon steel enthusiast. They sharpen razor sharp! As you noted, however, they do turn dark with age and usage, and this can be remedied with a good scrubbing using a fine grade steel wool. They’ll shine up nicely. The best place to find these for me is in antique and secondhand stores. I’m lucky that my mother gave me some of hers and I add to my collection when I see one.” Another reader recommends sprinkling Bar Keepers Friend powder on a wet knife and using wine bottle cork as a scrubber to keep the knives shiny. Cathy Allen of Oxford recommends her favorite, Rada Cutlery knives, which she has used for more than 30 years and says: “They are still going strong.” She writes: “My family has always called them ‘church knives’ because for many, many years various churches sold the knives as fund-raiser items.”

Memory lane

Caroline Shepard of Atlanta responds to Pat Dowdey’s desire to share memories of the old Seven Steers Restaurant. Shepard writes: “I remember it well! There was one menu item that I was never brave enough to order, although my brothers did. It was a drink called a round-up and consisted of a mixture of every available soft drink the restaurant offered —- in the same cup. Orange, grape, Coke, Sprite, even root beer I believe were mixed together. I always assumed it was totally gross which is why I never ordered it. The round-up has entered into family lore —- we all remember it. Thanks for the chance to share this memory.”

Recipe swap

Kathy Dahlke of East Point is looking for a recipe for a lemon pound/fruitcake made in a bundt pan that ran in an Augusta paper in the late 1970s. A favorite of her mother, Dahlke remembers it had lemon juice, raisins and perhaps pecans. It didn’t have all the typical candied fruit, but she says, “It was the best fruitcake you have ever tasted, especially if you don’t like all the stuff that goes in a fruitcake.”

Barbara Reinhardt of Buford, a “Midwestern transplant,” is looking for a recipe for “St. Louis-style chiffon cheesecake.” This one is a very light and airy chiffonlike cheesecake. If anyone has one like that, please let the goddess know.

The Food Goddess wishes to answer all your food questions and share your kitchen tips and recipe requests. Write to foodgoddess@ajc.com or to Food Goddess, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sixth Floor, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303.

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