If you want to take your cooking experience to a higher level, you need to understand the appropriate kitchen utilities, particularly the knives for specific tasks. Whether you consider the Japanese chef’s knives or other specific options, the description provided in this post regarding the varieties of knives will suit you to make the right decision. The basics of the highlighted knives are the same, but different manufacturers can choose different designs for their brands. Here are the general examples of chef’s knives you need in your kitchen.
Boning Knife
The boning knife is a common example used to remove the prominent bones that exist within cut meat. Its short and thin design makes it perfect for the task considering that you may require exerting pressure when cutting. The blade is very narrow to penetrate to give an easy time for manipulating the meat. If you require to cu bigger meat, the blade must be proportional and rigid to prevent injuring yourself from bending blades.
Cleaver
The cleaver is known for its wide blade commonly used for chopping meat, shredding, pounding and crushing ingredients, among other food materials in the kitchen. The length of the blade is approximately six inches, and it tapers to a sharp cutting edge. The build characteristics of the blade are well balanced to allow easy chopping through tough food materials and vegetables. The design features a thick blade that is somewhat heavy and very sharp cutting edge. You can use the blunt edge to pulverize meat.
Utility Knife
A utility knife is a category that can perform the general light cutting tasks in the kitchen—the blade measures about 7 inches long, which is slightly larger than the paring knife. The utility knife can work perfectly for you if you have cutting tasks that seem too large for the paring knife. Food materials that you can use with the utility knife include cucumbers, smaller squash, herbs, fruits, vegetables and large pieces of garlic. This category of the knife is available in varying designs; serrated or straight blade.
Chef’s Knife
The chef’s knife is also known as a cooks knife and is a common utility in most kitchens. It is considered an all-purpose utensil that can perfectly serve cutting, chopping, mincing, slicing and dicing tasks. The chef’s knife comes in varying lengths to ensure they are proportional to the job you handle in the kitchen. The length ranges from 6 inches to 12 inches. The longer sizes are usually referred to as the traditional chef’s knives, while the smaller ones are called mini chef’s knives. The knives can be used to handle the tough and heavy cutting of food materials like vegetables, meats, and fruits because the construction comes with a significant weight and balance.
Santoku Knife
The Santoku knife is common for preparing Asian food. Its appearance is similar to the chef’s knife when it comes to the length of the blade and the long straight edge. The difference is that the Santoku comes with a wider blade, less thin short length and provides a straighter cutting edge. The precision of the Santoku knife is designed to offer excellent balance, easy handling and control, which makes it more expensive than most categories.