Which Knives Should Not Be Missing In Any Kitchen?

Anyone who cooks regularly cannot avoid a professional basic set of knives. Quality equipment contributes to a safer and easier cooking experience. For starters, it is sufficient to acquire a basic set of five knives. This consists of a paring knife, a paring knife, a meat knife, a chef’s knife, and a bread knife.

For cleaning fruit and vegetables, a paring knife should be part of the basic knife equipment. This is a small knife with a short blade about five to ten centimeters long. The cutting edge is straight, the spine is slightly curved – the knife sits comfortably in the hand for peeling and chopping vegetables and other cooking ingredients, for example when preparing stews or salads.

A meat knife can be recognized by its long, narrow, and sharp blade. It can be used to cut up raw and roasted meat, fillet fish, or remove bones from a raw piece of meat. With its upwardly curved tip, the carving knife can be easily guided along the edge of a bone when filleting.

A chef’s knife is also part of the basic equipment in the kitchen. This tool, also known as a cleaver, is characterized by its slightly curved blade of up to 20 centimeters in length. The large knife can be used to chop up harder types of vegetables such as carrots or celery, and the chef’s knife is also suitable for quickly chopping herbs, nuts, or chocolate. The cutting works with rocking movements: the tip of the knife stays on the cutting board while you quickly move the cutting edge up and down.

In contrast to the other tools in the basic knife equipment, which has a smooth blade, the bread knife can be recognized by its long, sawn, or wavy cutting edge. With this grind, a bread knife easily cuts through the crust of bread but also helps to cut tomatoes and other pressure-sensitive vegetables more easily.

In order to peel apples or potatoes more easily, it is worth buying a paring knife with a short, curved blade as the last piece of basic knife equipment. Alternatively, a peeler with a movable blade and spacer can be used. In contrast to the knife, apples and the like can be peeled more evenly without losing too much flesh.