The document discusses different types of knives and their uses. It describes the chef's knife as the most common and versatile knife for slicing, chopping, and carving. The paring knife and utility knife are similar but smaller versions of the chef's knife for more delicate tasks like vegetable preparation. Other knives discussed include the palette knife for spreading items, carving knife for thin meat slices, bread knife for crushing-free cuts, cleaver for cutting bone and meat, and boning knife for precision bone removal.
1. The Different Types of Knife
There are loads (thousands) of knives out there. But do you actually know what they all
do? You want to be able to tell what exactly you’re buying and what you need. Let’s have a
look at some of the main types of knife you get with the sets:
Chef’s Knife
The Chef’s Knife is probably the most common. You’re nearly certain to have one in your
kitchen already! I can’t imagine how you’d survive without one. It’s a very diverse knife and
can be used for slicing, precision cutting, chopping, crushing and carving. They typically
have a long curved edge. It was traditionally used for slicing large cuts of beef. It
doesn’t necessarily excel at any one job, rather, it’s good for all jobs.
Paring Knife
This knife is around 7cm long and is designed for more delicate work. However it is similar
to a chef’s knife in many ways – just think of it as a smaller version. They are most
commonly used for peeling and chopping vegetables but can do everything really. But they
don’t excel at any one job.
Utility Knife
Another multi purpose knife. Essentially a slightly longer paring knife. Useful if you want to
cut something in half but don’t need a chef’s knife. However not as good at peeling as a
paring knife. Sometimes called a sandwich knife because they’re just the right length to cut
sandwiches in half.
Palette Knife
Can be used for apply (or spread) frosting, cream or jams onto to cakes. Also good for
sliding under items of food to dislodge them without damaging the food in question. Like
situations where a spatchula would be too big.
Carving knife
A carving knife between 20 cm and 38 cm long so it’s pretty big. It’s used to slice thin cuts
of meat. It’s quite a bit thinner than a chef’s knife which means it can cut much thinner
slices more accurately. Most commonly used on ham, beef or poultry.
Bread Knife
Bread knives, you guessed it, are used for cutting bread. But did you ever think why
they’re so good at it? They can cut without crushing the bread. They can maintain the
2. cutting motion with much less pressure. Typically they are 8-10 inches long and have a
thin, yet strong, blade.
Cleaver
The well known rectangular knife which is used for cutting meat and bone. The blade will
cut meat in one stroke without bending or breaking. It needs to be very strong in order to
do this because of the force needed to use the knife. It’s the only knife which you use like
a hammer. A cleaver isn’t always as sharp as other knives, this is because it would
become blunt very quickly.
Boning Knife
A boning knife is typically very sharp and very narrow. As you can probably guess it’s good
at removing the bones from meat, fish and poultry. It’s 12-17cm in length and perfect for
precision boning. They can either be flexible or rigid depending on the sort of meat you
want to cut.
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information. All sets are given a score and only the best stets are featured. Sets for
everyone, from pros to amateur cooks.