You don't have to be a star chef to experience what it's like to cook with top quality kitchen knives.
How cool would it be if you could surprise your friends or family with your cooking skills and knowledge of carving thanks to your new knife set .
You are only a few clicks away from giving your kitchen a professional upgrade.
Below we go through the different kitchen knives and find out which knives you need.
Which knife to use for meat?
The carving knife is a large knife with a long and narrow blade that is often used for carving (slicing) large pieces of meat. Due to the long (15 to 25 cm) and narrow blade you can easily cut nice neat slices. Many people think that a carving knife is only suitable for meat, but this is not the case. A carving knife is also perfect for cutting fish or preparing sushi. A carving knife is often also referred to as a slicing knife .
Which knife to use for vegetables?
A vegetable knife is often thinly ground. This prevents vegetables from breaking and ensures that they can be cut neatly. There are many different vegetables in different shapes and sizes and that is also the reason that there are many different vegetable knives.
A small vegetable knife with a strong blade is mainly suitable for finely cutting garlic and a somewhat larger knife is mainly suitable for cutting an eggplant or zucchini into beautiful slices. Furthermore, it is best to use a paring knife for peeling potatoes and cucumbers and a serrated knife is best used for cutting tomatoes and ginger. Smooth knives can also be used to slice mushrooms, gherkins and peppers.
Do you want to cut fruit and vegetables wafer-thin? Then a nakiri knife is perfect. A nakiri knife is a traditional Japanese vegetable knife that is very popular in Japanese cuisine. A nakiri knife has a rectangular blade with a rounded corner. With a nakiri knife you cut with a chopping movement (push-cut). The knife remains constantly in a horizontal position and the tip does not rest on the cutting board. The edge is therefore ultra-thin and razor-sharp.
Which knife to use for filleting?
A filleting knife is used for wafer-thin cutting. A flexible filleting knife is often used to remove bones from a fish very accurately or to cut the skin of the fish. Thanks to the flexibility of the blade, you can cut as precisely as possible and take as little 'waste' with you as possible. A stiff filleting knife is a lot harder and less flexible. We call this type of knife a boning knife and it is suitable for removing meat from bones.
Universal knife, a must have in the kitchen!
A chef's knife is one of the most important knives in the kitchen. It is a versatile knife that is suitable for cutting meat, fish and vegetables, but also for peeling garlic cloves and crushing a peppercorn. A chef's knife has a wide blade that ensures that the cut food can be moved easily and that the fingers are protected during cutting. Due to the convexity of the cutting edge of the knife, you can also use the cradle cutting technique, for example to finely cut herbs. The length of the chef's knife varies from 16 cm to 36 cm. The most popular chef's knife has a blade length of 20 cm, which is sufficient for most cutting tasks.
The Santoku knife is the Japanese version of a chef's knife and is used for three purposes;
- To cut
- Heels
- Carving
The Santoku knife is used for meat, vegetables and fish. A Santoku knife has a high and straight blade. The blade is the same width over almost the entire length and only tapers off at the tip. This makes the Santoku knife look like a combination of a cleaver and a chef's knife. With a blade length of 18 centimeters on average, the knife is smaller and therefore lighter than the chef's knife.
Chopping meat in the kitchen
A butcher's knife , also called a butcher's ax or cleaver, is specially designed for chopping various cuts of meat, chicken, poultry and bones. The blade is a bit thicker and wider than a normal knife, making it a bit sturdier and you can chop without damaging the blade. The blade of the cleaver needs to be less sharp because minced meat is being used instead of cutting. The weight of the blade aids in cutting through bones.
Using Japanese knives in the kitchen
Japanese knives are often handmade and generally very popular. Japanese knives are made of steel with a high hardness (HCR), so that the blade stays sharp for a very long time and can be made extremely thin. Japanese knives are often fairly lightweight, this has to do with the handle and the thickness of the blade. The light weight of the knife ensures that cutting is less tiring and you can easily cut all ingredients.
One of the favorite knives of Japanese chefs is a kiritsuke knife. This knife is perfect for general purposes: cutting vegetables, meat and fish. The knife has a straight blade that slopes at the tip. The blade's flat profile lends itself well to chopping and slicing.
Always the right knife
Often more than one knife is needed in the kitchen. Each knife has a different function and is useful for a different task. By purchasing a knife set you always have the right knife at hand.
Greetings,
Boil Giant