As you prep your holiday meals and struggle to work that dull blade through scores of food to feed the family and, unfortunately, the in-laws, take a moment to consider upgrading your kitchen instruments with a fine set of cutlery. Having the right equipment on hand – and a quality set, at that – can make working your way through the next meal a breeze.
To start, let’s review the different types of kitchen knives and their various uses. The workhorse of a cutlery set, the chef’s knife is a versatile knife used for chopping and mincing. Suitable for many different types of foods – from vegetables to meats – a chef’s knife carries a blade approximately eight inches long with a sharp tip. The utility knife, like a chef’s knife, can be used for multiple purposes. With a blade ranging from about four inches up to seven inches, utility knives often have a thinner blade than a traditional chef’s knife. Paring knives, much shorter than the chef’s knife, typically carry a three inch blade designed for trimming and peeling foods. Variations on a paring knife include the bird beak paring knife – with a hooked end to peel smaller fruits and veggies – and the short fluting knife, perfect for garnishes.
For meats, a slicing knife and boning knife provide the optimal blade. A slicing knife’s lengthy cutting edge (about eight inches) and rounded tip make the blade perfect for cutting thin slices of meats such as roasts, turkey, and hams. A boning knife, meanwhile, has a slight upwards curvature in the narrow blade to help cut bones out of meats, especially poultry. For fish, you’ll want to take on a fillet knife. The flexible blade of the fillet knife can easily shear the fish’s skin as well as remove those tiny bones.
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Serrated blades will be featured on a bread knife, but don’t let the name limit your use of this tool. Bread knives work well on hard crusts without damaging the soft interior. This quality also makes these knives useful for fleshy fruits with hard exteriors – thin pineapples, cantaloupes, and watermelons. Other knives, such as the Asian santoku knife, are also gaining popularity in kitchen use. Santoku knives have a tall, medium-length blade (about five inches long) and are incredibly versatile. Able to slice vegetables like a chef’s knife and take on meats like a cleaver, the santoku knife also acts as a spatula to attend to the food while cooking.
Once you familiarize yourself with the types of knives available and those most suitable for your use, it’s time to think about material. Stainless steel knives – like your typical flatware – are forged from an alloy of iron, chromium, and nickle with small amounts of carbon. Low-carbon steel is a softer metal and will result in a dull blade over time. Carbon steel, a more pure alloy of carbon and iron, provides much greater durability but also requires more maintenance. Carbon steel knives are susceptible to rust stains and must be cleaned, dried and lubricated after each use. For the best of both worlds, high-carbon stainless steel offers the durability of carbon but the ease of use of a stainless steel blade. These high-quality alloys are much stronger and will keep a sharper edge than normal stainless steel.
Aside from steel, knives can be made out of titanium or ceramic material. Titanium knives are incredibly light and wear resistant, but the softer metal won’t keep as harp an edge. Ceramic blades provide a durable, sharp edge that requires little maintenance. The blades are brittle, however, so take care not to strike anything or attempt to pry anything with a ceramic blade. Additionally, ceramic blades require special sharpening tools.
When looking for a cutlery set, look a versatile and durable set. While you may typically use only a chef’s knife, the other options available can make your cooking much easier. And as with any tool, you get what you pay for. Make an investment in high-quality knives and enjoy a sharp, durable edge.
