Hockmesser

Hockmesser. Jessica Spengler / flickr / 2013 / CC BY 2.0

A hockmesser is a Yiddish word for a knife with a single, slightly curved blade, and no side handle.

Instead, the handle is on the top; you press down as you chop. In this, it is similar to a single-bladed mezzaluna.

It is used in conjunction with a wooden bowl.

It is used in preparing Ashkenazi Jewish dishes such as gefilte fish; it is also good for chopping egg for egg salad, liver for chopped liver, as well as chopping tomatoes, onion, etc.

Chopping food items down to a desired fine texture can often be a laborious task.

Modern generations have switched to using food processors for the savings in time and effort, though older cooks complain the texture isn’t right.

Substitutes

Food processor.

Language Notes

Hockmesser means “chopping knife.”

“Hock” literally can mean to “hit” or to “pawn”; “messer” means “knife.”

“Asking if our mother used a hockmesser to chop it, he replied that she hocked it in a wooden bowl.” ^[1]Sharon Mark Cohen. Roe, Anyone? P’tcha? Eggplant Relish? Teaneck, New Jersey: Jewish Link of New Jersey. 16 April 2015. Accessed March 2020 at https://www.jewishlinknj.com/food/7690-roe-anyone-ptcha-eggplant-relish