Good, sharp knives

Newcomers to the raw food scene can sometimes be alarmed by the huge range of 'kit' mentioned in the literature.

You need a blender but not just any old Kenwood cheapie from the local chainstore but a VitaMix or a Blendtec, US brands most people won't have heard of unless they work in catering.

Then, they say, you need a juicer but not just a Magimix from Comets - oh no, it's gotta masticate the heck out of the fruit or veggies for maximum nutrients. Ideally, if you're truly hardcore, a 'twin gear' masticator is the way to go, rather than the more pedestrian 'single augars'.

Of course, raw foodism is about eating uncooked food, but some of us want to push the boundaries just a little by heating food just the right side of an enzyme massacre. This means low-temp dehydration is allowed, offering a kind of slow psuedo-cooking that keep the little enzymes from popping their clogs. Now, the average Joe doesn't have a 'dehydrator machine' unless he's a devoted camper and likes drying platefuls of spaghetti for a long hike. If you're pushing the boat out you just gotta have an Excalibur. That's an expensive plastic box that enables you to makes breads (of sorts) and crackers.

I'm just going to skip the distillers and elaborate filtration systems some folk install. Filtered water? Get a cheapie Brita!

Although you can 'food process' in a limited way in a Vitamix blender, you'll probably need a food processor too but, thank God, it CAN just be an ordinary kitchen-shop model. The raw food elite haven't prescribed £600, stainless steel, 6 horsepower food processors yet! I'm sure they're working on it.

Anyway, after that ramble, this post is about knives. A good knife is more satisfying than a barrage of pricey kit. You can mince herbs with a knife, chop, slice, manipulate, carve, be creative. A good knife just feels right in your hand and it must be sharp. Some people like a European chefs knife, others an east Asian cleaver-shaped vegetable knife, but either way a sharp knife is essential and you can be perfectly raw with a knife alone.