Choosing gourmet knives

A product designed for a specific purpose greatly simplifies the cooking process. Consider all existing types of knives for the kitchen, the list of which will satisfy even the most refined gourmet.

Chef's knife

Chef's knife

Every chef must have a chef's knife, it is also called a chef's knife. Quite often such a device can be found in the home kitchen, as the knife is convenient and multifunctional. A chef's knife has a blade length of 20-22 cm, sometimes up to 30 cm. The width of the canvas is usually 4 cm. The chef's knife is well balanced, perfectly sharp. It cuts with a single tap, which is not only pleasant, but also practical. The device can be used to carve meat, chop greens, chop cabbage and perform other operations.

Universal knife

Universal knife

The attribute of the cooking zone is a universal knife. Usually it is a cutlery with a sharp end, a blade width of about 2 cm and a length of about 9 – 15 cm. The blade can be ceramic, titanium or stainless steel. The handle is made of plastic, wood or metal.

The universal knife is used for cleaning and cutting:

• vegetables;
• meat;
• fish;
• greenery;
• bread;
• fruit;
• meat products.

The smooth straight blade is able to cut the product smoothly with minimal effort. An example of a knife No. 1 in the kitchen can be the model Tramontina Athus 23084/107 from 199 up to 509 ₴.

Bread and butter knives

Bread Knife

To make the process of cooking and serving the table simple and convenient, it is worth adding a few more to the universal knife, for example, bread knives. The blade of such a knife is evenly in width, elongated, and its end is rounded to the cutting edge.

The peculiarity of this type of knife is the shape of the cutting edge – it is made in the form of teeth or waves. This design allows you to serve bread beautifully, cutting the toasted crust and not deforming the pulp. The bread knife is great for pies, cakes and other confectionery, slicing melons and watermelons.

Butter Knife

Sandwiches are the most common dish. The time for their preparation will be reduced if you buy butter knives. Such a device happens:

• classic;
• decorative.

The classic knife has a short but wide blade in the shape of a half-arc. It is good for them to cut the butter from the common piece, spread on bread. The decorative product has a curly shape and a wavy blade, as in the case of the BergHOFF Straight 1105260 . Cutting off the top layer of butter, pate, mashed vegetables or meat with such a knife, they get unusual shapes for decorating dishes.

Slicing knife

Slicing knife

Slicing can be vegetable, meat and fish. To get neat, thin slices, you will need a special knife. Distinctive features of the product for cutting meat and fish products:

• long blade;
• smooth cutting edge;
• notches along the cutting edge.

The desired effect is achieved by performing the incision with a light movement. At the same time, sausage, fish or finished meat does not stick to the blade of the knife and does not lose its aesthetic appearance.

Cheese Knife

Cheese knives require special attention. A thin sharp blade with an edge in the form of teeth and holes allows you to cut even very soft cheese without unnecessary hassle. The cutouts in the blade will create air pockets, and the cheese plate will not stick and will not break. In a cheese knife, the handle is located parallel to the cutting edge, but above it, allowing you to conveniently cut cheese heads of any height. A two-pronged fork is provided at the end of the appliance for placing slices on a plate.

Vegetable knife

For vegetable slicing, you can use several different knives. A traditional vegetable knife is a product with a short, narrow blade, a pointed end. For cucumbers, there is a knife with a ribbed surface. With its help, the slices get an attractive wavy shape. The shaped knife is also suitable for other hard vegetables.

But for tomatoes, you will have to stock up on a separate knife, since the fruit has a dense skin, but tender, juicy flesh. Tomato knives have a long blade of medium width with a wavy cutting edge that easily divides the vegetable into slices of the desired size. With a forked tip, you can put pieces of tomatoes in any composition. A cutlery is also useful for fruits of a similar structure.

Knife-peeler for vegetables

Vegetable cutting devices also include cleaning knives. The peeler knife is very popular among modern housewives. Its blades look at each other, they can rotate, have a floating effect, there is a convenient handle. The device makes it possible to clean neatly and finely:

• potato;
• carrot;
• beetroot;
• apple.

The procedure for cleaning round-shaped vegetables and fruits is tireless and fast. At the same time, the fingers remain clean, no need to think about the thickness of the cut layer.

Meat knives

Meat processing consists of several stages, so everyone will need their own knife. For example, it is practical to use a hatchet for chopping large pieces of carcass. This is a long knife with a wide stainless steel blade and a wooden handle, like the model Tramontina Century 24014/006 from 2 090 up to 3 489 ₴.

The width of the canvas can reach up to 18 cm, since the meat is cut not along, but across. The hatchet is also convenient to use when cutting large fish with a strong spine.

A special configuration knife is provided for cutting meat from the bone:

• length 15-20 cm;
• wide, gradually tapering, base;
• the narrow end;
• curved cutting edge;
• straight butt.

They can cut off meat, both cattle and poultry, fish. With the tip of the knife, it is good to penetrate into any places and do a thorough pruning.

Sirloin knife

There is a separate knife for slicing steaks, for example, Victorinox Swiss Classic 6.7233 from 270 up to 535 ₴. Cutlery of this type has a very long, narrow and flexible blade. With one movement of the hand, you can cut thin slices of meat, fish for subsequent cooking. The sharp tip allows you to get rid of the fillet from the skin. Reliable steel is used to make the blade of fillet knives, the handle is made of wood or durable plastic.

It is worth adding that most knives are interchangeable and it is not necessary to have a knife for each purpose in the kitchen. And also I must say about the chef's knife (chef's knife), which is a universal option with an advanced structure — the centre of gravity is correctly distributed, long, sharp.

Special purpose knives

Mushroom Knife

The modern industry offers a number of unusual knives, without which, in principle, you can do without. But if there are such knives in the kitchen, then a lot of actions with products are performed much more conveniently, faster and more pleasant. For example, a pizza knife. A wheel with a sharp edge is attached to its handle. When the knife moves, the wheel rotates and cuts a pizza or pie. The wheel is often made of hard plastic so that the dough does not stick.

A knife for cutting the peel will allow you to remove the fragrant top layer from lemon, orange in a matter of minutes, and another device will help to remove the peel from citrus fruits in beautiful strips. Without loss, you can separate the pulp of grapefruit from the bitter-tasting crust using a knife with a non-flat, curved blade.

Fans of boletus and chanterelles would do well to buy a knife for cleaning mushrooms. The device of small length consists of a brush on the end part of the handle, a short curved blade, a handle that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The mushroom knife differs from the above-listed "brothers":

• The blade is made of plastic to prevent darkening of the pulp of the mushroom on the cut when in contact with metal.
• There is a brush that cleans mushroom caps from leaves, needles, etc.

If you have to cut a lot of greens, you can buy a knife-cut. The blade is made of durable steel in the shape of a semicircle with handles at both ends. Holding on to them, you can quickly chop greens in large quantities. A knife with two parallel blades will increase labor productivity. The device is more common in a professional kitchen, but it will also be useful at home if onions, dill, lettuce, parsley, etc. are bought all year round.

Every housewife will be glad to get a knife for cutting out the cavity. The blade has the shape of a tube with an obliquely cut, well-sharpened edge. Holding on to a convenient handle, it is easy to remove the core from vegetables:

• zucchini;
• eggplant;
• potatoes;
• apples.

The device for cutting out the cavity simplifies the procedure of preparing vegetables for hardware.

There are several dozen types of knives on the market that have their own structure, purpose and advantages. For home use, it is enough to purchase the devices that are most often used. In addition, as we can see from the description, the same knife can be used for cleaning / slicing different products. Well, if finances allow, and you want maximum comfort, then why not buy a variety of knives that turn the laborious process of cooking into a pleasant action.