Knives - The Bare Essentials For The Healthy Kitchen
Each knife has its uses, but most people aren’t going to have a couple dozen different kinds of knives in their kitchen. However, even the most casually used kitchen would do well to have at least the following types of knives:
Paring Knife: This kitchen utensil is a small knife with a straight, sharp blade. It’s usually three to five inches long. The blade is thin and tapers to a point at the tip. This small knife is easy to handle, and as the name implies, used for paring foods. It’s also good for cutting up small items, coring apples and such, and mincing garlic and other foods. The paring knife is one of the workhorses of kitchen utensils.
Chef’s Knife: Another versatile kitchen utensil, the chef’s knife comes in various lengths from 6 inches to 12 inches. Smaller sizes are called mini chef’s knives. People with larger hands do well with the longer blades, while a person with a small hand will find the mini chef knives balance better in their hands.
This knife picks up where the paring knife leaves off, and can cut bigger vegetables, fruits and meats. It’s an all purpose knife than can chop, dice, mince or slice foods. The bigger size makes it better suited for the heavy duty work, and making thicker slices than a paring knife.
US $65.77
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Serrated Knife: Instead of a straight edge, the serrated knife has notches in the blade. It can be anywhere from 5 to 10 inches long. This sort of knife is best used on foods that have a hard exterior with a soft inside. A perfect example is a loaf of homemade bread. The blade is also good for slicing tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.
Cleaver: You could make do with the above three, but a cleaver would be a useful addition. This knife had a wide blade, usually about 6 inches in length. It can be used to chop and shred foods like the other knives, but is also good for pounding and crushing ingredients. Additionally, this knife is good for cutting through hard materials like bones in chickens. It can pulverize meat, and the flat of the blade can be used to crush garlic. It takes up a lot of space in a kitchen drawer, but usually comes with a hole in the blade for ease of hanging which takes care of that problem!
Choose Good Quality Knives For The Healthy Kitchen
The more cooking you do, the more you will appreciate using good quality knives, and may wish to expand your selection to include more types. If you’re just equipping your kitchen, however, start with the 3 or 4 basic knives and go on from there. You’re better off having a few good quality knives than several types of knives of inferior quality.
Go for good quality paring, Chef and serrated knives to make your meal preparation easier, plus the cleaver if you can afford it. A good knife is a prized kitchen utensil.
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