It’s hard to cook a meal if you can’t properly cut your ingredients. Here are the different types of knives every home cook needs to have in their kitchen.
58% of full-time workers still find the time to cook anywhere between 3 to 6 days of the week. If you’re thinking of joining their ranks, then you may be feeling a bit lost when it comes to what you need in the kitchen. The options available may vary from a simple bread knife to the most specific one, like the best knife for slicing brisket. You do not want to miss what are the features of each and what situation they adapt better.
To help you out, let’s start with the types of knives you should get for your home. Here are the different types of kitchen knives home cooks need to have.
Chef’s Knife
Even if you’re trying out some easy dinner ideas, you must have a good variety of kitchen knife styles available. But first off, let’s start with the most basic one: the chef’s knife.
This is a simple knife that has a blade that’s about 8 to 10 inches long. It’s curved at the bottom and can handle the tasks of other knives (like Santoku or carving knives), which means it’s quite versatile.
The types of cutting methods this knife is good for are slicing, chopping, dicing, and mincing. Before we continue, I would like to share the best place I know to get buy affordable kitchen knives with so much variety to choose from.
Bread Knife
The bread knife is serrated, meaning it has jagged edges. Its blade is usually a little longer than a chef’s knife’s, so a little more than 10 inches. A good bread knife will have anywhere between 30 to 35 serrations on the blade.
As the name suggests, a bread knife is great for cutting through large crusty loaves of bread. However, it can do so much more than this.
Bread knives are also great for cutting a cake, as well as veggies with waxy surfaces that may be too slippery for a chef’s knife. So if you like eating lots of tomatoes and peppers, then definitely get a decent bread knife for your kitchen.
Paring Knife
Paring knives are quite tiny when compared to the other cooking knife types. The blade is only 2 to 4 inches long, which makes it great for wielding when you’re dealing with smaller ingredients. For instance, if you’re cutting up fruits and veggies, use a paring knife.
Like the chef’s knife, the paring knife is not serrated. It’s best used for not only small ingredients but also lighter ones. If you find yourself hacking away and sweating, then the paring knife is not the tool for the job.
Knife Sharpener
No matter what knife you get, you should also purchase a knife sharpener. Over time, your knives will become dull because of use.
But that doesn’t mean you should just throw them away and buy new ones! You can get years and years of use by buying a knife sharpener.
There are several types available: sharpening steels, sharpening stones, electric knife sharpeners, and manual knife sharpeners. Which you choose will depend on your personal preferences and budget.
Use These Different Types of Knives in Your Kitchen
By having different types of knives in your kitchen, you’ll be better equipped to handle a variety of ingredients. If you still have questions about kitchen knives, check out this guide from Simply Fresh Dinners that will help you go through the complex world of kitchen knives. So now that you know all about the types of cooking knives, you can start shopping for your new culinary tools!
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I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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