12 Different Types And Uses Of Knife In Kitchen
Slicing, dicing, carving, and paring are our regular job in the kitchen. They require different knives to manage. Do you have an idea about different types of uses of knife in kitchen and their uses? If not, this article is for you.
Without a knife, we can’t imagine our kitchen tasks for a single day. Everyday we should manage various tasks using the knife. So, it is extremely vital to know which knife is ideal for which task.
If you have no knowledge about the uses of knives in the kitchen properly, your task will be tougher. Plus, you can’t complete your task safely and easily.
All knives are not made equally, and their performances aren’t similar. They are designed for different shapes, sizes, and styles. For that reason, you have to have better knowledge about different types of knives and their uses.
Luckily, we are here today to make a list of several types of knives with their uses. We think this article will help you to make a new world in your kitchen from now.
Topics Covered
Types & Uses of Knife In Kitchen
There are more than a dozen of several types of kitchen knives are available in the current market. Some are versatile, and some are special for specific uses.
In our list, we have added the most popular kitchen knife, which we have to utilize for our daily kitchen tasks.
Basic Kitchen Knives
In this section, we introduce you to the most wanted, essential, and frequently used kitchen knives. From beginner level to professional, everyone needs those knives. So, read on and know the types of knives and their uses.
1. Chef Knives
Length of chef’s knife: 6 to 14 inches long
Chef’s knives are also known as cook knives. This type of knife is the most versatile knife in the kitchen. The width and super blade edge make it suitable for a variety of tasks.
Use for:
The curved blade of the chef’s knives allows cutting meat, dicing vegetables, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts properly. The chef’s knife is also suitable for chopping harder and thicker foods like onion, parsnips, and potatoes.
Avoid for:
Chef’s knife doesn’t permit you to use it for some foods. If you use it for those tasks, the chef’s knives will damage or become less sharp. Plus, it makes foods inappropriate for cooking. You can’t use the chef’s knives to cleave meat bones, slice brad, carve dense beef, and peel or mince.
2. Utility Knives
Length of Utility Knife: 4 to 7 inches long
The shape of a utility knife is similar to a chef’s knife. But utility knives are smaller plus slimmer than chef’s knives. Some utility knives have a sharper tip that tapers up to the spine to use for intricate jobs.
Use for:
A utility knife is ideal for chopping smaller foods or vegetables. The utility knives allow you to cut more effectively, like slicing meat, bagels, herbs, and buns. Many people use it for sandwich cutting.
Avoid for:
It is not perfect for cleaving meat bones, chopping large items. You shouldn’t use it for slicing loaves of bread.
3. Paring Knives
Length of Paring Knife: 2.5/3.5 to 4 inches long
Paring knives are short, slim, and straight blades with pointing tips. It is lightweight and suitable for handling delicate tasks.
Use for:
You want to love it must for making garnishing your foods. Paring knives are designed for peeling, trimming meat, and peeling fruits and vegetables. For home, a chef’s paring knife allows for deseeding fruits, cutting herbs like garlic, and deveining prawns.
Avoid for:
Though it is good for carving, you should not use it for slicing meat. It doesn’t allow you to cut larger or harder vegetables like pumpkin.
4. Bread Knives
Length of Bread Knife: 7 to 10 inches long
The bread knives are stainless steel knives that also come with serrated blades. The bread knives belong to a longer spectrum with a long blade as the best kitchen knife.
Use for:
A bread knife is designed to use for cutting softer items and also various types of bread. You can use it for slicing bread, bagels, or bread rolls. The bread knives are also ideal for slicing cakes with soft and fluffy textures. Sometimes you can use it to cut soft meat, poultry, and even kinds of seafood.
Avoid for:
Don’t try to apply it for slicing any harder foods like bones of meat or fish. Any larger foods are also not allowed it to be cut.
Knives and their uses for meat
Meat preparation is a tough task in any kitchen, and for this, the users always search for something special. This section will inform you of some particular meat carving knives that help you handle meat or beef easily.
5. Carving Knives/Slicing Knives
Length of Carving Knife: 8 to 10 inches long
Carving knives or slicing knives are ideal as meat knives that are designed with extra-long slim knives plus narrow blades. This size is ideal for sliding thicker cuts of beef easily. The carving knives are the longest kitchen knives, also known as slicing knives.
Use for:
The carving knife is constructed for serving any type of meat like beef, pork, poultry, or lamb. A carving knife/slicing knife is the best tool to tackle larger and harder fruits and vegetables like melons. For smooth cutting is an ideal carbon steel blades knife.
Avoid for:
The carving knives also aren’t allowed to cut beef or meat bones.
6. Cleaver Knives/Butcher Knives
Length of Carving Knife: 6 to 12 inches long
The cleaver knife is a thick and heavy-duty knife that comes with a sharp edge. These types of knives are suitable for home kitchens, butcher shops, and any restaurant preparing meat. The thickness of the knife can range based on the intended intention of the cut. The rectangular shape blade the butcher knives are varied in size.
Use for:
For what are you allowed to use? For cracking meat from the bone and for pork, poultry, beef, and any thick types of meat, you should choose the cleaver knives. It is perfect for dicing or splitting thicker vegetables like squash or melon.
Avoid for:
Though the butcher knives are designed for larger foods and vegetables, these types of kitchen knives are not good for small foods.
7. Boning Knives
Length of Boning Knife: 3 to 8 inches long
The boning knives are pretty varying based on blade width. The blade of the boning knife can be flexi, stiff, and semi-Flexi that the most popular for the home kitchen.
Use for:
The boning knives are suggested for separating meat from the bone, filleting fish, and also cutting meat. For peeling or trimming veggies, the boning knife is good.
Avoid for:
The boning knives aren’t good for slicing or cutting your loaves of bread.
Knives and their uses for Fish
A fish knife is any type of knife that is used to prepare seafood and is ideal for filleting and removing bones from your selected fish. Various types of the fish knife will make your methods easier.
8. Fillet Knife
Length of Fillet knife: 6 to11 inches long
The fillet knife is smaller than a boning knife. The fillet knife is designed to slice thin fish. This type of knife is thinner, longer, and flexible.
Use for:
If you like to prepare fresh fish, you have to take the help of a fillet knife in your home kitchen. This knife is ideal for deboning fish, and it helps you to make beautiful fillets.
Avoid for:
You should not use it for vegetable cutting.
9. Salmon Knife
Length of Salmon knife: 11-inches/30cm long
Fillet knife is special for fish cutting or slicing but for salmon, and you need to pick only a salmon knife. For flexible blade and double edge, this knife is specially used for only salmon fish.
Use for:
This kitchen knife is the best for slicing, filleting, and removing the skin from the largest salmon easily. Though it is designed for salmon, you can use it for other fishes.
Avoid for:
It is not allowed for other foods to be cut or handled without fish.
10. Santoku Knives
Length of Santoku knife: 6 to 14 inches long
Santoku knives are one kind of Japanese knives that is particular for three uses like cutting, dicing, and mincing.
Use for:
The santoku knives are good for vegetables and meat to make your kitchen task easier. The santoku knife is a great all-around for any kitchen.
Avoid for:
The santoku knives are not allowed for cutting harder or bone.
Knives and their uses for Vegetables
For vegetable cutting, particular kitchen knives are available in the market.
11. Nakiri Knives
Length of Nakiri knife: 5 to 7 inches long
Nakiri knife is also known as Japanese knives that are a smaller version of a meat cleaver. They are rectangular shapes with a hollow ground edge that is very sharp.
Use for:
Nakiri knife is an amazing tool for chopping vegetables.
Avoid for:
You should not use it for meat or fish.
12. Tomato Knives
Length of Tomato knife: 6 to 7 inches long
It is a very lightweight knife and easy to handle. The rounded blade with a serrated edge is ideal for tomatoes.
Use for:
Tomato knives are built for cutting or slicing tomatoes.
Avoid for:
Don’t use this knife for harder or heavy-duty tasks.
Closing Thoughts!
By reading this post, we hope you have got an overall idea about the most demanded knives for your kitchen. Now you know how to handle different foods using different knives easily. Enjoy your kitchen time with appropriate knives!
