Kitchen knives and other specialized cutlery include chef’s, paring, boning, slicing, bread, fillet, fishing, butcher’s knives and cleavers. Manufacturers produce metal knives by either forging or stamping. Forging involves forming each knife from molten high-carbon steel and hammered into shape. The blade is then ground to form a wedge, honed sharp, and polished. Stamping involves a press cutting out the knife blades from a sheet of high-carbon steel. However, forging produces a stronger, more durable knife.
Chef’s knives are the most commonly used in both the professional and home kitchen and perform a variety of tasks. A chef’s knife, which is sometimes referred to as a cook’s knife, is one of the most important knives to have in the kitchen. It has a wide blade between six and ten inches long and is used primarily for chopping, but can be used for just about anything. The blade of a chef’s knife usually comes in two styles, a Japanese-style Santoku knife or the classic French-style chef’s knife. The Santoku style is usually shorter and has a “sheep’s foot” tip, meaning the top of the tip curves downward. The classic, French style knife curves upward toward the tip. European manufacturers of the Santoku knives add a Granton or kullenschiff edge, a row of hollow-ground pockets that prevent food from sticking.
A pairing knife is the second most essential knife for the professional and home kitchen. The paring knife looks like a miniature chef’s knife, with a blade ranging from two to four inches long. It is perfect for delicate tasks such as trimming vegetables, coring tomatoes and other delicate fruit, and are ideal for peeling onions.
A boning knife and a fillet knife are both used for the delicate task of separating raw meat, poultry, and fish from bone. A boning knife’s blade is approximately six inches long while a fillet knife’s blade ranges from six-and-a-half to nine inches long. The blade can be flexible to follow the contours of a fish or bird or can be stiff for more control when boning beef.
A slicing knife is for cutting cooked meat, poultry and fish. It should be long enough (about eight to twelve inches) to span a large roast, narrow enough to reduce drag and flexible enough to easily separate meat from bone. The primary use of a slicing knife is to cut very thin slices. The more flexible it is, the easier it will be to get a thin slice. Sushi knives are a small slicing knife are only sharpened on one side, to lessen resistance on the flat side in order to get a thinner slice.
Serrated knives are used for bread, tomatoes, and even meat. Serrated knives are most useful on foods that have one texture on the outside and another inside. Bread and tomato knives are the most popular type of serrated knives. The serrated edges of these knives are tough enough to pierce a hard crust or skin without bruising or crushing the delicate insides. Lengths are available from five to twelve inches and cannot be easily resharpened because the primary cutting edge is the curved part of each serration. Because of this, they rarely need sharpening. Choose a long enough blade to minimize sawing through the product.
A cleaver has a very broad, thick blade and is the workhorse of the kitchen. Its heavyweight makes easy work of cutting bone, splitting ribs and getting through gristle. Its thick edge will not chip easily. The heavier the weight, the easier it is to use. A Chinese cleaver should not be confused with a regular cleaver. The Chinese cleaver is more similar to a French’s chef knife than a true cleaver. The back of the knife can break chicken bones and to scrape food from a cutting board. The flat side is used for crushing things like garlic.
Kitchen shears are generally made of stainless steel, to prevent corrosion, and the blades to come apart to facilitate cleaning. They are perfect for snipping fresh herbs, mincing vegetables and meat like bacon, and if equipped with a notched and serrated blade, for cutting small bones and the skin of poultry and fish.
All cutlery and shears should never be subjected to harsh detergents and scalding temperatures of a dishwasher. The jostling of the utensils in the dishwasher is very likely to damage the sharp edge of the knife and the detergents will breakdown the temper of the blade. Get into the habit of cleaning your blade right away by laying it on a flat surface and carefully wiping it with a wet cloth. Always use a mild soap and hot water to clean any knife or shear that has been used on poultry, meat or fish.
Knife edges should be regularly realigned using a steel or a similar device in order to keep the knife at its sharpest and safest. A sharp knife is safer because it requires less effort to slice and most accidents occur because of the extra effort it takes to push a dull blade through a product. The extra effort can cause slippage of the knife and which can cut the operator.
A knife is best stored away from other utensils that might damage the edge by contact. Keep in a wooden or polyethylene block or in a sheath especially made for knife storage. In a slanted block with vertical openings, store knives with their edges up to keep them from rubbing against the bottom of the opening and dulling the blade.
