Larger chef's knives are used for cutting meat, dicing vegetables, disjointing some cuts, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. Carving knives are used for slicing and carving dense meats. Slicing knives are used for cutting thinner slices of roast, fruit and vegetables.
Common uses for a chef's knife include cutting meat, dicing vegetables, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. The flat side of the knife can even be used to crush garlic. The versatility of this multi-purpose knife makes it a must-have in any kitchen.
A good chef knife is indispensable and able to work through all parts of meal prep: dice an onion, smash garlic cloves, break down a chicken, chop a winter squash. You can also use a chef knife to carve or slice cooked proteins like chicken, pork chops, and steak if you don't have a carving knife.
Chef's knives are the workhorse of the kitchen. They can handle most vegetables and even some meats. A boning knife makes short work of de-boning a chicken or large cut of meat. A paring knife for peeling small items from a radish up to an apple. A serrated knife for breads and soft tomatoes.
There is no knife more essential than a chef's knife. The ultimate multipurpose blade, it can do just about anything that needs to be done, whether you're chopping an onion or carving a roast. If, for some reason, you have space for only one knife in your kitchen, this is the one to get.
Larger chef's knives are used for cutting meat, dicing vegetables, disjointing some cuts, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. Carving knives are used for slicing and carving dense meats. Slicing knives are used for cutting thinner slices of roast, fruit and vegetables.
There are three primary knives that every home cook should have in their kitchen: a chef's knife, a serrated knife (also called a bread knife), and a paring knife.
At its most general, a serrated knife refers to any knife that is equipped with a jagged blade. The serrations on these blades are usually deep and pointed, allowing them to slice through thick crusts and other tough foods. Like all knives, serrated knives come in a wide range of sizes.
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.
Handling a knife:
Keep fingertips curled under the hand that is holding the food. Point the blade away from your body when cutting, washing, or drying a knife. Always use a cutting board. Secure your cutting board with a damp paper towel or non-slip mat.
If you have any knives or other bladed articles that you no longer need, please do not throw them away. Instead, take them to a knife bin or to your local police station.
Never Cut On Stone Or Glass
The true enemy of sharp knives everywhere are glass cutting boards and countertops. Not only does cutting on them quickly dull and ruin the sharp edge of your blade, but they are also very unsafe.
Knives are the most important tool in a chef's kit, and they can be used for just about any food prep task from chopping onions and butchering a cut of beef to opening oysters and slicing bread. But, there are different types of kitchen knives that are designed for various purposes.
A kitchen knife should be sharpened every 1-2 months. Hone every week if you prefer a razor-sharp edge. For your professional chef's knife, you should have your knives professionally sharpened every 1-2 years.
Mostly, a bread knife has what's called a serrated blade. The edge you cut with has a series of sharpened teeth separated by sharp, scalloped recesses. The teeth are designed to split into the bread's crust, while the scalloped areas between the teeth slice softer areas like the crumb.
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.
A spatula is a kitchen utensil you can use to mix, scrape, flip, or spread ingredients. The word “spatula” comes from the Greek “spathe.” While this means “blade” in English, spatulas can be decidedly less metallic and intimidating than the original name would suggest.
A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through thick pieces of meat.
The chef's knife is perhaps the most important of my essential kitchen knives. It's a general-purpose blade, usually around eight inches long, that covers a wide range of tasks. It can do the delicate work of a paring knife, the heavy work of a slicer, and every job in between.
The last step in sharpening is removing the burr – the hide side of an old leather belt will do, or buy a strop such as this one. A bit of baby oil on the leather will help you get a nice, even covering of the polishing compound. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
Also known as a Chinese chef's knife, the cleaver is a staple of the cuisine, rivaled in utility only by the wok and chopsticks. We reach for it for every task from crushing aromatics to filleting fish—it's the ultimate do-it-all tool.
An OTF Knife, also known as an out-the-front knife, sliding knife, telescoping knife, or angel blade, is a pocketknife with a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle.
In California, it is legal to carry knives of any blade size openly, and most knives, except for illegal types like switchblades over 2 inches, allow for concealment. Ballistic knives, disguised knives, and undetectable knives are among the illegal types, with specific laws against concealed carry of dirks and daggers.
Carbon steel blades are also well-known for having high wear resistance, which enables them to keep their edges sharp for longer than stainless.