Cons: The serrated blade might be a little tougher to sharpen.
Whereas a chef knife is an everyday workhorse, a paring knife exists for a specific purpose. This is a precision tool meant for more delicate tasks. It's not designed for cutting through tough meat, bones, thick-skinned vegetables, or frozen foods.
A paring knife is named for the action it does best, to pare or strip away an outer material such as peel. Paring knives are usually 3-4”, and are essentially a short blade with a sharp tip that has a razor-sharp edge for doing small precise kitchen tasks.
You can go the cheap route (and there are several very inexpensive paring knives we really like) and replace your paring knife every couple years, or spend more on a nicer knife that you can actually sharpen (one of the things that makes inexpensive knives inexpensive is that they aren't likely to be durable enough to ...
While a paring knife can technically be used to cut meat, it is not the most efficient or practical tool for the job. A paring knife is typically too small and thin to handle larger cuts of meat and may not be sturdy enough to make clean cuts through bone or tougher cuts of meat.
Most are not optimally designed for cooking—the blades are closer to that of a Swiss Army blade than a kitchen tool, the handles are unsafely thin, and they don't offer much control.
Butcher knives:
This knife is designed specifically for tackling raw meats with its broad, heavy blade. Often constructed from high-carbon stainless steel, butcher knives have a curved blade that allows for a rocking motion – ideal for cutting through thicker pieces of meat or even cutting through bone.
Serrated knives are excellent for making long, straight knife cuts through larger items, but they aren't ideal for slicing small foods, peeling fruits or mincing ingredients. For finer tasks like these, it's best to reach for a chef's knife or paring knife with a smooth, straight blade.
How to Sharpen a Paring Knife. Now, we're ready to sharpen. Start by placing the stone on a flat surface with the knife flat against the stone and the cutting edge of the blade facing away from you. With the edge still on the stone, raise the blade of the spine to a 12-18 degree angle.
A serrated blade has a toothlike rather than a plain edge, and is used on saws and on some knives and scissors. It is also known as a dentated, sawtooth, or toothed blade. Many such blades are scalloped, having edges cut with curved notches, common on wood saws and bread knives.
Mince. At just 1/16 ", mincing is the smallest knife cut size without chopping food into a puree or pulp. Aromatic root vegetables like ginger and garlic are the most popular candidates for mincing. Minced vegetables are often used as a seasoning or added to stir-fries and soups where their flavors distribute evenly.
The paring knife is multi-purpose: it can slice, mince and peel with ease. Different handle colours help to add a touch of fun to your kitchen! The handle is made from hornbeam from French farms. It is a white wood with minimal grain, ideal for applying colours to without distorting them.
The trusty paring knife has been a go-to for home cooks, forever. Its shorter, straight-edge blade makes it ideal for small vegetables. Use these knives to peel, pare and cut things like potatoes, small peppers, cherry tomatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Paring Knife
While the chef's knife works for cutting hard vegetables, paring knives are great for peeling apples and potatoes, mincing small amounts of garlic and onions, and coring tomatoes. The blade will be no longer than 3.5 inches, so it's ideal for detail work like creating a garnish.
The Mini Cheese Knife is a prime example. This little guy honestly could be called a fruit knife. Its sharp Micro Double-D™ edge blade is designed for smooth cutting and the holes along the blade keep food from sticking. This knife is great for slicing lemons, strawberries and kiwi.
The paring knife receives its name from its raison d'être - it is mainly used to “pare,” meaning to peel the outer surface of an object. It is believed to have evolved from the couteau à parer, a tool used by 16th century French bookmakers to thin the edges of a book's leather binding.
A utility knife is more suitable if you require a knife that can handle various cutting jobs. Size: Think about the size of the ingredients you usually work with. If you often work with small fruits and vegetables, a paring knife's compact size will be beneficial.
Gordon Ramsay
Ramsay likes Henckels knives. This is a German brand known for their toughness and bulky blades.
The Santoku knife is an all purpose Japanese knife, adept at slicing, dicing, and mincing. The name santoku means 'three virtues' for the knife's ability to cut fish, meat and vegetables equally well.
My Favorite Butcher Knife
The heavy-duty Mercer Culinary 12-Inch Granton Edge Cimiter is my top pick, thanks to its low cost, large size, and sharp blade. It's a versatile knife for boning, slicing, and chopping almost any type of meat.