The 4 Most Essential Kitchen Knives You'll Need Right Now

Knowing how to use real kitchen knives is vital for success in the kitchen, from slicing pig loin to chopping pineapple. Having the right tools is essential.

Keep reading to learn the four real knives every home cook should acquire and how to use them properly.

1. The Chef's Knife

There is no replacement for a high-quality chef's knife in the kitchen. However, a longer edge increases the utility and efficiency of the knife. "You have an extra knife to assist you with each additional blade.

A Chef's Knife's Purpose

Chef's knives are the most excellent tool for almost all culinary tasks, such as slicing and chopping fruits, vegetables, meats and fish. Even though it is known as the "king of the kitchen," you should not use it to chop or carve poultry or peel the skin of giant vegetables such as butternut squash.

2. A Paring Knife

A paring knife takes up the slack where the chef's knife leaves off. Paring knives are perfect for cuisine that requires a lot of attention to detail because their blades are small, approximately 3 1/2 inches long.

Uses for a Paring Knife

When cutting with paring knives, celery root and parsnips are the hardest to work with. To cut through food fast with smaller blades, you may need to apply more pressure or tighten your grip. 

Forced cutting might be dangerous if the incorrect edge is used since the knife has the potential to slide.

3. A Serrated Knife

Serrated knives are sometimes referred to as "bread knives" because of their regular use in slicing bread. While a chef's knife's straight blade may be more suited for some tasks, the toothed edge is more versatile.

Uses for a Serrated Knife

Slice and dice fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, pineapples, and watermelons using a chef's knife with a 6-inch serrated blade. A flat blade would glide over a smooth surface, but one with sharp edges would have an easier time grasping and piercing it. 

Slicing is the preferred method of food preparation using serrated knives, whereas chopping is not. It would be best if you did not use serrated knives for slicing tiny products like fresh herbs, garlic, or berries because the teeth on the blade grasp and cut through food when used in a sawing motion.

4. A Boning Knife

For an anchovy that's 3 inches long or a 150-pound pork shoulder, a boning knife is a perfect blade for cutting up or boning, whatever the size. Straight cuts are the primary function of most blades. In the human body, however, there is no such thing as a straight line. 

Thus an edge that can move and bend is necessary. A boning knife allows you the freedom to experiment with your technique. 

Rather than cutting through bones, it would help if you used a boning knife to cut around them. A sharp boning knife will be able to slice through joints and cartilage with ease, separating the flesh from the bone with ease. 

Conclusion

There are four essential kitchen knives that everyone should have in their kitchen. These four knives are a chef's knife, a paring knife, a serrated knife, and a boning knife. 

Each knife has a different purpose and can be used for various tasks in the kitchen. These four knives will make cooking and food preparation much easier and more efficient.

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