In the previous post I spoke about choosing the best kitchen knife. Now I want to examine the different types of Kitchen knives. Like I said in this post kitchen knives are used for different purposes and each knife has its own Specialty. You use knife for a purpose,The chef uses knife for a lot of purposes.
Knife is used for pairing, cutting of meat and removing bones from
meat. We also use knife to cut meat. I have mentioned that it’s important to own a basic set of knives even if you don’t cook frequently or have a small kitchen.
I have a medium sized kitchen and I consider it to be the second most important space after my bedroom. I started my culinary adventure by buying an inexpensive, basic set of knives. Then, I moved on to buy specialist knives as I explore French, Eastern, and Chinese cuisines. Knife should be a chef’s (or in my case, kitchen-loving homemaker’s) best friend. In this blog post, I’ll share a little bit more on types of kitchen knives and their uses. I’ll focus on 7 most common, often used knives (in order of importance). These are the knives you should readily own. If you don’t, make a note and get them after reading this!
I have a medium sized kitchen and I consider it to be the second most important space after my bedroom. I started my culinary adventure by buying an inexpensive, basic set of knives. Then, I moved on to buy specialist knives as I explore French, Eastern, and Chinese cuisines. Knife should be a chef’s (or in my case, kitchen-loving homemaker’s) best friend. In this blog post, I’ll share a little bit more on types of kitchen knives and their uses. I’ll focus on 7 most common, often used knives (in order of importance). These are the knives you should readily own. If you don’t, make a note and get them after reading this!
1. CHEF KNIVES
Chef knives are known as French knives.It is an all purpose knife used in the kitchen to allow the cook to easily cut. They are made with large blade so that they can easily chop the bones into pieces. Chef knives are in the range of 15cm to 30cm though 20cm are the most common form of chef knife available inthe market today. Chef knives are utility knives as they can be used for other purposes as well.
A chef’s knife (usually 15-30cm) is a multipurpose knife designed to work with vegetables and meat. It can do different tasks like mince, slice, and chop. You can improve the functionality of this knife by giving it different sharpening along the blade. Most people (including me) use the tip for mincing (which requires very sharp edges) while the middle part of the blade is sharpened for general chop-slice-cut tasks. The last part of the blade (nearest to handle) is given a thick edge for tougher cutting/chopping tasks.
The two most common blade versions are French and German. The French design is triangular, with a long, straight section of blade. This is perfect for slicing food because the knife is meant to be pulled towards you. On the other hand, the German version of chef’s knife has an upward curve design toward tip of the blade. This lets you rock the knife in an “up-down” motion, using a lot of the middle and inner part of blade. Like what I’ve mentioned in How to Find the Best Kitchen Knife, you should choose a knife that feels comfortable in your hands. This goes the same for chef’s knife.
A chef’s knife (usually 15-30cm) is a multipurpose knife designed to work with vegetables and meat. It can do different tasks like mince, slice, and chop. You can improve the functionality of this knife by giving it different sharpening along the blade. Most people (including me) use the tip for mincing (which requires very sharp edges) while the middle part of the blade is sharpened for general chop-slice-cut tasks. The last part of the blade (nearest to handle) is given a thick edge for tougher cutting/chopping tasks.
The two most common blade versions are French and German. The French design is triangular, with a long, straight section of blade. This is perfect for slicing food because the knife is meant to be pulled towards you. On the other hand, the German version of chef’s knife has an upward curve design toward tip of the blade. This lets you rock the knife in an “up-down” motion, using a lot of the middle and inner part of blade. Like what I’ve mentioned in How to Find the Best Kitchen Knife, you should choose a knife that feels comfortable in your hands. This goes the same for chef’s knife.
What is The Best Chef Knife?
Here’s what I’d recommend :
The best chef knife currently in the market is the Victorinox Swiss Army 8-Inch Fibrox Straight Edge Chef’s Knife,the best chef knife in the market today. With 5 star rating,it is an all purpose knife used for choping, cutting, mincing and many other things. This knife is one its kind. Designed and forged by Swiss Army,a pioneering Knife mnaufacturer and one of the best Knife manufacturers in the whole world. It is 8-inch long and made of high-carbon stainless steel which makes it have maximum edge retention and you won't need to sharpen it regularly. The blade is conical lenghtwise which make it less cut resistant,but ensure more power when cutting. The handle is made of patented Fibrox which is 2-inch in lenght. The handle have a slip resistant and it can be handwashed.
2. PAIRING KNIFE
This is another type of Kitchen Knives. It is a small knife with plain edge blade that is used for peeling and de-veining and skinning shrimps and mushrooms. It is used for cutting all forms of garnishes. It is similar to a chef knife but it is smaller in size. It is an all purpose knife and is about 4-inch in size. Victorinox Swiss Classic 4-Inch Paring Knife With Spear Tip is currently toping the chart as the best pairing at the very affordable price. Sometimes i wonders why Victorinox (one the world best knife manufacturers) would price a knife this cheap. The knife is made based on the highest sanitary standard. The knife is forged from high carbon stainless steel blade and Mirrored Polish Finishing. It is renowned for its sharpness and you must be very careful when using it. This knife has recieved high accolades from magazine and the entire chef world.
Regarded as a smaller version of chef’s knife, this knife has a plain edge blade and is perfect for smaller tasks like cutting garnishes. I use it frequently to peel vegetables and fruits and it’s great for trimming meat. It measures from 6-10cm.
Regarded as a smaller version of chef’s knife, this knife has a plain edge blade and is perfect for smaller tasks like cutting garnishes. I use it frequently to peel vegetables and fruits and it’s great for trimming meat. It measures from 6-10cm.
3. UTILITY KNIFE
Utility knives are knives that can be used for all purpose. It is used as a cutting tool that not only used in the kitchen. It is larger than a pairing knife and smaller than chef Knife. It is in-between th two. It is usually between 10cm-18cm long. It is used to carve but not used on the the cutting board. Some of the utility knife are retractable and this type of knife basically used as tools.
An utility knife is of medium length (10-18cm) and can be used to do many different cutting tasks. As the name suggests, it is suitable for varied uses though it may be too thin/short for heavy-duty tasks. You can either get a plain-edge or serrated blade. They can be used to prepare ingredients for sandwiches.
An utility knife is of medium length (10-18cm) and can be used to do many different cutting tasks. As the name suggests, it is suitable for varied uses though it may be too thin/short for heavy-duty tasks. You can either get a plain-edge or serrated blade. They can be used to prepare ingredients for sandwiches.
There are different utility knives in the market,the best in all is the J.A. Henckels International Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife. The knife is a 6-inch utility knife that is made from a high grade, rolled stainless steel and forged using the Henckel component technolgy. It has the capability of withstanding stress. It is specially coated in such a way that it can stay sharp for a long period of time. The handle is made from polypropylene. It is very good and dishwasher safe.
4. BREAD KNIFE
Bread knives are designed to be long and serrated to cut through food with hard/soft makeup like bread. They usually measure from 15-25cm. another version of the bread knife would be the offset serrated knife which allows you to cut all the way through food without touching the board. This useful, unique design makes the offset serrated knife quite popular with chefs.
Bread knives are serrated (teeth-like edge) knives that are basically used to cut bread, cakes and other. The edges of the knife are serrated so the bread can be cut without crushing it. The first design made was patented in the US by a man named Joseph E Burns. Bread knives are usually betwen 6 to 10 inches. There is an offset serrated knife that uses an offset handle to ensure the cook doesn't touch the surface after cutting. Of all the bread knives in the market the best of all is the OXO Good Grips 8 Inch Bread Knife.
This knife is so good that you can cut a bread without even knowing that you have cut a bread. It helps you do the job without flatenning the bread. It is made from stainless steel. It is used to cut rolls and bagels. The Knife is serrated for easy cutting. The handles are flexible and slip-proof. They are also dishwasher safe.
Bread knives are serrated (teeth-like edge) knives that are basically used to cut bread, cakes and other. The edges of the knife are serrated so the bread can be cut without crushing it. The first design made was patented in the US by a man named Joseph E Burns. Bread knives are usually betwen 6 to 10 inches. There is an offset serrated knife that uses an offset handle to ensure the cook doesn't touch the surface after cutting. Of all the bread knives in the market the best of all is the OXO Good Grips 8 Inch Bread Knife.
This knife is so good that you can cut a bread without even knowing that you have cut a bread. It helps you do the job without flatenning the bread. It is made from stainless steel. It is used to cut rolls and bagels. The Knife is serrated for easy cutting. The handles are flexible and slip-proof. They are also dishwasher safe.
5. BUTTER KNIFE
Butter knives are table knives used to spread. They are usually dull blade as it is not needed for any form of cutting.
6. Paring Knife
Regarded as a smaller version of chef’s knife, this knife has a plain edge blade and is perfect for smaller tasks like cutting garnishes. I use it frequently to peel vegetables and fruits and it’s great for trimming meat. It measures from 6-10cm.7. Boning Knife
Perfect for bone removal, it is used to separate meat from bones. This is a knife that you can add to your collection and it usually comes in knife sets. It’s 5-6 inches in length and I use the curved version (there is also a straight version of boning knife).When I first started cooking, I was fascinated that each knife is designed for a special task. What I’ve mentioned here are basic explanations on 7 most popular types of knives. I’d like to tell you more about specialty knives but maybe I’ll leave that to another post. I hope you enjoyed reading about the different types of knives! Do check out my post about Types Of Steel Used For Knives' Blade.
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