Kitchen knives are an essential part of your ‘kitchen kit’. Rather than buying every knife available, start to build your collection with these five essential knives.
Cleaver knife With its thicker blade, and heavier weigh, this is your ultimate butchering knife for the not so delicate chopping.
8" Chef’s knife This will become your kitchen work horse, I use mine for everything. With it’s continuous curved blade, this knife will cut everything from slicing, dicing and mincing vegetables to trimming and carving meats.
Bread knife A serrated knife will save any soft foods from becoming crushed and squished. Use for bread, tomatoes, peaches, fatty meats and anything that has a firm skin, but is soft on the inside.
Fillet knife Use on finer meats and fish, where a little more delicacy is required.
Pairing Knife Similar to the fillet knife, a pairing knife will work in the same way on fruit and vegetables. Use to peel, slice and dice fruit and veg, as well as deveining prawns or de seeding chillies and peppers.
Tips & Tricks for keeping your knives sharp
- Using the right cutting board will help to lengthen the life of your knifes sharpness. The best choice is a wooden cutting board as wood tends to be much softer than plastic and hard kitchen surfaces.
- Always clean your knife properly - washing by hand is much more gentle on the blade than throwing it in the dish washer, which can blunt the blade, and scratch the knife.
- Always dry your knife, even if you have decided to put it through a dishwasher cycle. This will remove any washing residue, and leave your knives finely polished.
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