Knives are hands-down some of the most crucial tools in the kitchen. The true value of a finely sharpened, ergonomic knife becomes apparent only once you’ve experienced its prowess in action. Once you do, it becomes an indispensable part of your culinary journey. While most folks make do with just one or two knives for almost everything, passionate kitchen enthusiasts take it a step further. They have specific knives for specific tasks, and while some might seem a bit extravagant, many of these specialized tools can seriously simplify your cooking. So, let’s dive into the world of kitchen knives, see what they are, and how they can make your kitchen adventures a whole lot smoother.
Types of Kitchen Knives In India
Chefs’ Knife
If you are one of those people who have just one knife in your kitchen, then, we recommend it be a chefs’ knife. Ideally, opt for a knife with at least 6-8 inch long blade. With a curved blade and symmetrically pointed tip, it can easily carve out potato eyes and other blemishes from vegetables. A 6-inch knife can also be used for peeling garlic, ginger and other fruits and vegetables.
Chefs knives can be used for a variety of kitchen tasks like chopping, mincing, slicing and dicing. The broad and slightly curved blade allows for rocking or slicing motions, making them efficient for various cutting techniques. These knives are usually made from carbon steel or stainless steel with high carbon content.
You may also like our article on Best Kitchen Knives In India
Santoku Knife
Santoku knife is also known as Japanese chef knife. The main difference lies in its blade design. While chefs knife has a curved edge, Santoku knives have straight edge. The blades of Santoku knives are shorter too. As a result, the slicing is always in a push-pull motion. You cannot slice in a rocking motion using Santoku knife. Further, the blades of Santoku knife are comparatively thinner than Chefs knives.
Paring Knife
Paring knives are comparatively smaller. They have thin and pointed edges usually less than 4-5 inch in length. They are ideal for peeling, trimming and for precise cutting. These types of knives are best suited for removing skins of fruits and vegetables, coring and deseeding, deveining shrimps, cutting tomatoes and so on. Paring knives are available with serrated and straight edge blades.
Butcher Knife
Butcher’s knife, as the name suggests is the apt knife for slicing fish, meat steaks and butchering whole chicken. They are also apt for deboning, trimming and chopping.
Butcher’s knife have thick blades and are usually 6- 14 inches long. They are comparatively heavier and sharper too which gives it enough strength to cut through tough bones and large meat cuts.
Bread Knife
Bread knives have serrated edges which allows them to easily slice through breads, buns and other baked goods. Its blades are thin and flexible and usually around 8 to 10 inches long. The advantage of using bread knife is that it helps preserve the crust as it is and doesn’t crumble and squish the softer insides. The serrated edges avoids the need for sawing motion to cut through the bread.
Tomato Knife
Tomato knife as the name suggests, is specifically design to slice and chop tomatoes and other soft skinned fruits and vegetables. They have fine serrations that cuts through the skin without crushing the flesh inside. The blades of tomato knives are fine, curved and around 5 to 7 inches long. They can also be used to slice and chop ripe peaches and plums. Thanks to the serration, they usually remain sharp for longer period of time.
Ceramic Knife
The blades of ceramic knives, as the name suggests, are made of ceramic material known as Zirconium dioxide. They are exceptionally sharp and lightweight. In fact, they can cut through fruits, vegetables and boneless meat with ease. The ceramic blades retain sharpness for longer too. However, being made of ceramic, they are very fragile. If you use it to cut bones, you risk chipping the edges of the blade and damaging the knife. For the same reason, they shouldn’t be used for cutting through frozen food, or dense and fibrous fruits and vegetables.