How To Choose the Right Knife

Whether you’re new to the kitchen or a seasoned chef, it’s pretty tough to whip something up without using a knife. PB&J? Uses a butter knife. Roast? Need something to carve it with! And as responsible culinary citizens, we want to make sure that you’re using the right knives for the right foods.

Hefty Chefty

• Let’s start with the MVK (most valuable knife) in the kitchen- the Chef Knife. It has a pretty large blade that curves towards the tip. And although it was originally intended for slicing large cuts of beef, people use it for basically anything nowadays (i.e. dicing large vegetables and cutting meat).
• Bread Knife. Its blade is long and skinny with deep serrated grooves for, you guessed it, slicing bread. The point of the grooves? To cleanly slice bread without smooshing it.
• If you’ve ever made a roast or corned beef then you’ve probably met the chef knife’s cousin, the Carving Knife. Instead of chopping veggies, the carving knife is great for precisely/thinly slicing meat.

 

Little, But Mighty

Large knives are great for handling large food, but things like small fruits or herbs call for smaller utensils.

• Paring Knife: When it comes time for more intricate work, get out your paring knife. It has a short blade with an edge that looks a bit like the chef’s knife and is great for peeling fruit and deveining shrimp.
• Serrated Utility Knife: Have you ever tried to cut a tomato with a chef’s knife and it kind of slips on the skin? Enter the serrated utility knife. It’s basically a smaller bread knife and its grooves are for cutting cleanly through delicate fruits and veggies, like the pesky tomato.
• Mincing Knife: If you haven’t used one or seen one before, it kind of looks like a mini version of the blade in Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (kinda creepy, we know). But, you can use it to finely mince veggies and herbs by rocking it back and forth.

 

Special, In a Good Way

Aside from the knives that are normally in household kitchens, there are plenty of specialty knives out there too! Use a Cheese Knife with perforated holes when slicing soft cheese, so that it doesn’t stick to the blade. Order a Decorating Knife if you plan on making fancy garnishes. Or if you’re a grapefruit fanatic, get a Grapefruit Knife. You’ll be surprised at how much easier prepping gets when you have the right knife!

 

Okay, you’ve been briefed. Now pick one of our many recipes,  head to your local Sparkle Market for the fresh ingredients and start practicing your knife skills!