— Universal.
Universal models have a fairly simple design: a medium-length blade with a rounded cutting edge and, most often, smooth sharpening (although there are options with teeth). Knives of this type are present in almost every kitchen, because, in accordance with the name, they are suitable for a variety of tasks: cutting bread, peeling vegetables, butchering meat, etc. And although for some work such a knife may be less convenient than a specialized one, it is quite enough for most tasks that arise in simple everyday cooking. Yes, and professional chefs must have at least one universal model in their set.
— Chief. Outwardly, such knives are similar to the universal ones described above, they have a smooth sharpening and, most often, a rounded cutting edge, but they are massive, have a wider blade, and some models are also noticeably longer.
Chef's knives can also be used for a variety of jobs, and the size and weight make it easier to cut large and "dense" foods.
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Bunting. Deboning is the separation of meat from bone; accordingly, this is the main purpose of these knives, although the design allows them to be used for other purposes (in particular, butchering poultry). They have a long thin blade, which is quite wide at the handle, but narrows towards the tip (quite sharply at once, then smoother). Sharpening is usually smooth.
— Fi
...llet. Knives designed for cutting meat and fish into even, neat pieces, separating skin from meat and fillets from bones. The shape of the blade can be different: some models are more like boning, others are more like universal (both see above). However, all fillet knives have a long and flexible blade, which allows cutting even large pieces with a single movement of the knife (this ensures accuracy). Sharpening — only smooth. Please note that fish/sushi knives are not included in this category.
— For the cleaning. Knives designed for maximum convenience when peeling fruits and vegetables. Their main distinguishing feature is a short blade (significantly shorter than the handle). The cutting edge can be straight or concave, with the tip down; the first option is suitable for various fruits and vegetables, and the second is designed mainly for potatoes. In addition, a concave blade can be useful for decorating holiday tables. Knives of this type can be either smooth or serrated.
— Cutting. Many knives of this type practically do not differ externally from universal ones (see above); other models are equipped with a longer blade. The point in carving knives is often made almost in the centre of the blade. Their main purpose is to cut large vegetables and fruits (including watermelons and melons), as well as large pieces of meat and fish.
— For cutting. By design, such knives are very similar to boning knives, they also have a thin blade, expanded at the handle and tapering towards the tip. However, they are intended primarily for cutting meat and fish into thin slices (including in Japanese cuisine).
— For bread. Knives designed for cutting bread are distinguished by a long blade with a uniform width (only at the very tip it tapers) and a cutting edge of a straight or slightly curved shape. Most often, the blade of such a knife has teeth (see below), exceptions are extremely rare; thanks to the teeth, the knife is able to effectively cut through the crust on the bread and cut it without crushing. A similar tool can be useful for other products of a similar structure — for example, pineapples — and even, in extreme cases, as a replacement for a tomato knife (although the large length and mass of the blade may require some skill).
— For the steak. The name "for a steak" is also found. A rather peculiar kind of knives: formally they belong to the kitchen (and they have a characteristic design), but in fact they are intended for cutting the finished dish, i.e. are canteens. Steak knives necessarily have a serrated cutting edge for ease of cutting fried meat and, in most cases, are distinguished by a slightly curved tip.
— For tomatoes. Knives designed for slicing fruits and vegetables that have a hard or hard skin on the outside and a soft core on the inside. The length of the blade in tomato knives is relatively short (smaller than in utility knives, but longer than in peeling knives), and the cutting edge is most often equipped with teeth (see below). The teeth allow you to gently cut through the skin and cut vegetables and other delicate foods without crushing them.
— For cheese. Most cheese knives have a rather unusual shape: the point is bent up, often double, in the shape of a fork, and the blade has large slots and resembles a frame. The cutting edge is often equipped with teeth (see below). Thanks to this shape, the knife effectively cuts even soft cheeses, and they do not stick to the blade. However, there are other design options — for example, a knife with a wide rectangular blade resembling a hatchet (see below), or a device on a T-handle with a special limiter that allows you to cut slices of cheese of a strictly defined thickness.
— Cheese spatula. A kind of knife for cutting cheese, made in the form of a spatula with a small blade in the middle. By the principle of operation, it is somewhat reminiscent of a vegetable peeler. The spatula will help cut the cheese into equal pieces, while significantly protecting against cuts.
— For oil. A distinctive feature of butter knives is a rather wide blade with a rounded end — in fact, there is no point as such in the design. Butter knives are rather conventionally classified as kitchen knives — like steak knives, they are more like cutlery, but they are often made to look like kitchen ones.
— Santoku. The name of these knives is of Japanese origin and means "three good things", which means the ability to cut, chop and crumble. Santoku have a characteristic shape with a wide blade and a cutting edge located noticeably below the handle (straight or almost straight), due to which they somewhat resemble hatchets. Sharpening is smooth, with rare exceptions; in classic santoku — much sharper than conventional knives. True to the name, this type is quite versatile, however, it is best suited for slicing — both in cubes and quite thin.
— Nakiri. Another variety of traditional Japanese knives. Like the santoku described above, they are equipped with a fairly wide blade, but in this case the blade has a rectangular or close shape. In addition, despite the "massive" appearance, these knives weigh relatively little. Their main purpose is cutting vegetables, while high-quality nakiri is quite capable of providing thin cutting at high speed.
— Hatchet. He's a hack. As the name implies, this type of kitchen tool is closer to axes than knives: the main feature is a heavy, very wide blade designed for cutting. It is very convenient to cut large pieces of meat and poultry with a hatchet — it easily cuts not only veins, but also rather large bones.
— For pizza. Knives designed for cutting pizza into separate pieces are distinguished by their original design. The blade in such a tool has the form of a disk, sharpened along the edge and able to rotate freely around the central axis. Thus, during operation, the blade literally rolls over the product being cut, and the cutting edge practically does not slide forward or backward — cutting is ensured only by indentation from top to bottom. When cutting pizza or other similar dishes, this is more convenient than using a knife with a classic blade, and sometimes even safer. For example, if the pizza is in a cardboard box, a traditional knife could cut through it, damage the table and ruin the packaging, while with a circular knife, the likelihood of such troubles is minimal.
— Peeler. A specific type of tool designed primarily for peeling vegetables and fruits. The working part of the vegetable peeler has the form of a slit, the edges of which play the role of cutting edges (there can be two such slits). These edges are arranged in such a way that while one is active, the other acts as a limiter, preventing the blade from going too deep. Thanks to this, the peel is removed literally in one movement, while you can not be afraid that the tool will cut off an excessively thick layer of the product.
— Skinning. A skinning knife is called a skinner (from the English word "skinner"). Its characteristic feature is a short and wide blade with a smooth rise of the point. It is used for accurate skinning before direct cutting of the carcass. The short blade and rounded profile of the point allow the knife to easily and quickly separate the skin from the meat without spoiling the appearance of the carcass. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the profile of the handle — the skinning knife should lie comfortably in your hand.
— To remove the zest. A peeler allows you to thinly peel any citrus fruit, from lemon and orange to grapefruit and lime. The cutting part of the tool is represented by a sharpened scraper. The zest knife has found an unusually wide application in carving, with its help you can beautifully set the table. Additionally, you can get neatly crushed zest, which is used in the preparation of a wide range of dishes and drinks.
— To remove the core of apples. The knife has the shape of a punch. Such a blade is represented by a cylindrical hollow tube, the base of which is pointed. There are punches with a toothed profile at the base. A coring knife is used when preparing fruits for heat treatment when cooking compotes, baking, preserving and marinating). The apple cutter can handle not only apples, but also other fruits and vegetables.
— For slicing fruit. The knife consists of a multi-section blade, which is enclosed in a convenient and practical case. This blade allows you to quickly and easily cut fruit into slices. There are knives for cutting apples, which additionally remove the core. Such a knife can be indispensable when the user often has to deal with the preparation of fruit for a beautiful table setting. A multi-section blade is also used by bakers when neatly cut into even slices of fruit are added to pastries.
— For oysters. As the name implies, these knives are designed for oysters. This is not about cutting, but about opening the clam shell.
— For the test. One of the most extensive categories of knives. There are knives for cutting pizza, dough, both rolled out and simply molded in one piece. Cutters for cooking noodles and spaghetti are produced in a separate series.
— For fish/sushi. This series of knives is designed for cutting and slicing fish, squid, shrimp, shellfish and other seafood. This category also includes the yanagiba and deba knives. Yanagiba — a thin and long knife that is perfect for neat and accurate cutting of fillets, as well as steak pieces; the length of the blade can reach 40 cm, while the width of the blade is in the range of 3-4 cm. Deba is a knife with a blade of medium length, about 20-25 cm, while the blade is quite wide; the tool is designed for cutting fish, a wide massive blade can easily separate the fillet from the spine and costal bones.
— For the ravioli. The knife is designed for forming semi-finished products from raw dough (but is not a dough knife). This device consists of a handle and a textured stamp with a cutting edge. Ravioli knives can be equipped with dies with the widest variety of working profiles: round, triangular and square, etc. Ravioli knives are most often equipped with a non-removable die. But there are models whose textured stamp can be replaced. Such knives are equipped with interchangeable dies of various shapes.
— Scraper for fish. The scraper is intended for removal of fish scales. This device is indispensable when you need to prepare whole fish in the skin. Additionally, the tool is used to clean the skin detached from the fish, in which minced fish / pate or other fillings will subsequently be baked.
— For zucchini. A knife that allows you to cut the soft core of zucchini, cucumbers and many other vegetables. A characteristic feature of the zucchini knife is the arcuate profile of the blade, forming a double blade.Country of origin of the brand under which the kitchen knife is presented on the market. As a rule, it is indicated by the “homeland” of the manufacturing company or by the location of its headquarters.
There are many stereotypes associated with the “nationality” of brands and products, but most of them have no basis in our time. First, the actual place of production is often different from the brand's country of origin. Secondly, the quality of a product depends not so much on geography, but on the policy of a particular company and how carefully it controls this very quality. Therefore, you should pay attention to the brand’s country of origin only if you fundamentally want or (do not want) to support a manufacturer from a certain country. Quality is best assessed by the reputation of a particular brand and the general price category. However,
Japanese kitchen knives clearly differ from other manufacturers in their quality.
Belgian and
Swiss are famous for their reputation thanks to the brands BergHoff, Vinzer and Victorinox. But
Brazilian knives also have a place in the home kitchen due to the good price-quality ratio of the Tramontina brand.
