Photo: everydayaccessories.weebly.com
For everyday cooking, we only need a chef knife. However, there are many people who don’t know that there is a complete family of knives, especially meant for a specific purpose.
The knives are meant to help with the kitchen tasks. While, on a regular basis, you may not feel the need of making a collection of the most utilizable ones, but they are extremely helpful in upping your cooking.
In this content piece, we will cover different types of knives that one can use for variable purposes.
In this post:
Types of Kitchen Knives
Well, there are a lot of knives that can be used for different purposes, but the focus today is related to the ones that are used in the kitchen. We shall check out some significant ones.
1. For Everyday Cooking
There are a handful of knives that will really make everyday cooking easy. You won’t understand their usefulness till you use them all.
Chef Knife
Chef knife is an all-purpose knife. If you don’t want a collection of knives in your kitchen then a chef knife should be able to do it all.
This one has a broader profile on the blade. It is available in sizes between 6 – 12-inches. As mentioned earlier, this is an all-purpose knife and can be used to chop, mince, cut, dice, etc.
Recommend: Dalstrong Chef Knife
Utility Knife
Well, you can say that utility knife is a smaller version of a chef knife because this one is also used for all kinds of kitchen tasks like cutting, dicing, chopping, etc.
The length usually falls between 4 – 7-inches. Due to the scalloped edge, it gives you a lot of flexibility in cutting. You can use the knife to cut soft as well as hard food items.
Recommended: Mercer Culinary M23306
Paring Knife
If you like dressing up your food then a paring knife is a must-have. It is used to create beautiful shape of food while cutting salad.
The blade of a paring knife is normally between 3 – 4-inches in size. It has a very pointy tip that helps in precision cutting.
Recommend: Victorinox Swiss Classic Paring Knife
Bread Knife
Since we all use bread very commonly in the house, who can do without a perfect bread knife. These knives are purposed to cut breads, cakes, and meat occasionally.
Since you have to separate bread slices from a loaf, it is essential for the blade to be large. Well, that it is. These knives come with blades ranging from 7 – 10-inches.
The blade is narrow and have serrations/teeth on the edge to effortlessly cut the bread.
Recommend: Mercer Culinary M23210
2. Useful Knives
So, other than the everyday knives, there are some other useful knives that can be very helpful in kitchen, if you are too fond of cooking or seeking towards cooking as a profession.
Carving Knife
A carving knife is not something that you will use every day but if you like hosting Thanksgiving dinners or other treats at home then you will surely need one.
These knives are used for carving the meat hams or turkey. The length of the knife usually falls between 8 – 15-inches, giving you enough room to work your way through the meal.
Plus, they have a very sharp edge that helps in adding precision to your work.
Recommend: Mairico 8541906658
Boning Knife
The prime task of a boning knife is to separate meat skin from bones. These knives have a thinner profile and a curved blade, measuring between 5 – 7-inches. Also, it has very fewer variations in blades.
Recommen: Victorinox 47602
Cleaver
Cleaver is the bulkiest and the heaviest knives you can have in kitchen. These have stronger blades with thick spine that can be used to cut through bones and meat.
You can also use these for chopping hard skinned vegetables like pumpkin or a squash. Plus, it is also great for crushing garlic.
Recommend: ZWilling J.A.Henckels 30795-183
Santoku Knife
Santoku is a Japanese version of a chef’s knife. The name means three virtues that are dicing, slicing, and mincing.
The size of this knife is slightly shorter than a chef knife. Also, the blade is flat so that it does not rock the cutting board.
Plus, there is hollow edge that helps in cutting through meat with precision. You can also avoid tearing in this case.
Recommend: Zelite Infinity Santoku Knife
Fillet Knife
Fillet knife can be easily compared with a boning knife. However, there are evident differences between the two.
Fillet knife is used to slice fishes. Therefore, unlike a boning knife, the blade is thinner, longer and more flexible. It is used to remove skin from freshly caught fish.
Recommend: Mercer Culinary Millennia Fillet Knife
Kitchen Shears
These are basically a pair of scissors for kitchen work. They can be used for cutting veggies, sectioning chicken or snipping herbs. These have really sharp blades. They increase your speed of cutting.
Recommend: OXO 1072121
3. Speciality Knife
Photo: Wusthof
So, here is a list of the knives that you don’t necessarily need to have. But if you do, they will surely prove their resourcefulness in the best way.
Steak Knife
Well, the name of the knife will surely signal its prime usefulness. However, these are not only used to cut meat and fish but also used as a table knife to cut salad or apply butter on food as well.
These knives usually come in both, serrated and non-serrated edges and retain them effectively to not having to hone frequently.
Recommend: Cuisinart C77TR-6PSK
Grapefruit Knife
These knives come with a large, flat and dull blade and have a serrated edge. It is used to separate fruit (grapefruit) from its peal. You can also find these in a fancy version with double blades on either side of the handle.
Recommend: HIC 43146
Electric Knife
Electric knife is basically a carving and cutting knife, only that it is powered with electricity, limiting manual strength to a minimum. You can use them for carving a turkey, or meat ham, or simply slicing fish, meat, or other food items.
Recommend: Proctor Silex 74311Y
Conclusion
There are a number of knives you can have. However, it largely depends on the kind of cooking you enjoy. As you keep enhancing your cooking skills, you can keep adding better knives in your selection. Hope these are helpful in getting you to midway.
References
- Types of Kitchen Knives – The Manual
- Know Your Knives: This Guide’s a Cut Above – myBlueprint
- Types of knives: A guide to kitchen knives and their uses – Alliance Online