What would you use a Santoku knife for?

Author: Arturo Daniel  |  Last update: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

The Santoku knife is particularly useful for cutting and chopping vegetables, fruit and meat, and can also be used to slice fish. Its Japanese name refers to its "three virtues" or main uses: cutting, slicing and chopping.

What is a santoku knife best for?

Purposes - As general-purpose knives, both santoku and gyutou are good for similar purposes. Mincing, dicing, chopping and thin slices of vegetables. Slicing and cubing raw meat and slicing and portioning cooked proteins.

What foods do you cut with a santoku knife?

The best uses for a Santoku knife
  • Cutting meat.
  • Slicing cheese.
  • Slicing, chopping or dicing fruits, vegetables and nuts.
  • Mincing meat or herbs.
  • Scooping food off a cutting board due to wide blade.
  • Creating fine slices, particularly useful for vegetables and seafood.

What's the difference between a chef's knife and a santoku knife?

the santoku, both serve as multi-purpose tools in the kitchen, however, there are some advantages to using one over the other. The Western-style chef's knife tends to be thicker and heavier, making it the workhorse for your kitchen, while the light-weight Japanese-style Santoku is perfect for fine, delicate slicing.

What knife does Gordon Ramsay prefer?

Ramsay likes Henckels knives. This is a German brand known for their toughness and bulky blades. The Shun Classic Western Chef's Knife, handcrafted in Japan, is Bobby Flay's recommendation for the best chef's knife. He's talked about the Shun brand many times, and says he uses this particular knife for most everything.

How to Use a Santoku Knife

What are the 3 most commonly used knives in a chef's kitchen?

For most cooks, the trio of serrated, chef's, and paring knife will tackle pretty much any cutting task. Depending on what you prep frequently, though, you might want to add these other knives to your collection. Boning knife: Useful for cutting up, butterflying, or fileting meat, fish, or poultry.

What is Bobby Flay's favorite chef knife?

The Best Celeb Chef's Knife: Shun Classic Western Chef's Knife. The knife that topped our testing is Bobby Flay's favorite, the Shun Classic Western Chef's Knife. The heft and comfort of the handle, sharpness of the blade, and overall balanced proportions made it stand out against the others.

When would I use a Santoku knife?

The Santoku knife is particularly useful for cutting and chopping vegetables, fruit and meat, and can also be used to slice fish. Its Japanese name refers to its "three virtues" or main uses: cutting, slicing and chopping.

Why are santoku knives so popular?

The Santoku knife is a multipurpose knife because of which it must have a tall and clean edge. The higher edge creates more space between the food and the blade, resulting in cleaner and more defined slices. You can effortlessly use santoku knives for slicing sushi and vegetables.

What is a serrated knife used for?

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.

What is the principal use of a santoku knife?

Santoku knives are Japanese knives primarily used for slicing, dicing, and chopping vegetables, fruits, and boneless meats. The word "santoku" means "three virtues" or "three uses," referring to the knife's ability to handle three types of cutting tasks: chopping, slicing and dicing.

What should you not cut with a kitchen knife?

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.

What foods is a santoku knife used for?

Seafood: A Santoku knife is arguably, used most commonly for slicing and chopping seafood (particularly raw fish). Fruits: Santoku knives can be used to slice and chop a variety of fruits, such as apples, pears, and mangoes. To make precise cuts, try using a rocking motion with the knife as you slice.

What do you cut with a Santoku?

A santoku is super versatile. A real all-rounder! You can use it to cut vegetables, meat and fish. Although we think a santoku knife particularly excels at cutting vegetables.

What are the three virtues of a santoku knife?

Understanding the “three virtues” of the Santoku is a good start: chopping, slicing, dicing. Unlike the Chef's knife, the Santoku makes it easier to slice using a single downward cut, as opposed to a rocking cut.

Are santoku knives worth it?

Length & Edge - A Cut Above The Rest

Santoku blades may be shorter than traditional Japanese chef knives, but they boast thinner steel construction, which gives them unmatched agility during use. If your kitchen routine involves detailed vegetable prep, then this inch santoku straight-edge could become your go-to tool.

What is a 5 inch santoku knife used for?

The santoku knife excels at slicing, dicing, and chopping various vegetables, fruits, and meat (bonesless). Very versatile and can handle a vast variety of kitchen tasks, including slicing, dicing, chopping, and even some specialized tasks like disjointing poultry or finely mincing herbs.

Why do santoku knives have dimples?

What are the dimples on a santoku knife? Also known as a hollow edge or Granton edge, the dimples help food slide off the blade after each stroke. Our favorite knife from Mac has this edge, which helped it glide through food without anything sticking.

Are Henckel's knives good?

If you've ever read a Henckels knife review, you know the Henckels reputation is the epitome of world-class. From paring knives and shears to full chef's blocks, Henckels knives can be found in kitchens around the world. You might even have a few treasured pieces in your own cutlery collection.

Can you use a Santoku knife to cut vegetables?

It allows you to cut vegetables with chopping motion. It makes the rotary cutting possible, too. You can scoop up the vegetables using this part, if you like. This is how Santoku is designed to cut vegetables, fish, and meats with one knife.

What knives does Gordon Ramsey use?

Made in Solingen Germany, known as the City of Blades for the quality of their knives, Wusthof knives have been made by the same family for seven generations and are prized by the best professional chefs in the world, including seven Michelin star Gordon Ramsey.

What was Anthony Bourdain's favorite knife?

That's how I landed on this golden oldie on Reddit: Anthony Bourdain talking about and using his favorite knife, the Global G-2 Chef's Knife.

What knife does Giada use?

In an interview with CNN Underscored, Giada reveals that her go-to slicing tool is a Japanese santoku knife. "You want one that feels good in your hand," she says. The Imarku Santoku Knife was crafted with comfort in mind.

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