Types of Kitchen Knives + How to use them

Do you know all types of kitchen knives? Knives are an essential part of cooking. Even the most beginner of cooks will need to use a knife occasionally. Having a good knowledge of knives and knife care will help improve your skills and cooking!  This is a run down of some of our favorite and most commonly used knives.

This post is sponsored by Cangshan knives all opinions are our own.

WHAT KNIVES TYPICALLY COME IN A BLOCK?

A block of knifes usually has a few standard knives that are great for everyday cooking whether it is vegetables, meats, breads or desserts. You can expect these types of kitchen knives in most knife blocks:

1. chefs knife
2. santoku knife
3. pairing knife
4. serrated knife
5. bread knife
6. boning knife
7. kitchen shears

WHAT KNIFE DO YOU USE MOST?

I love using a large knife when cutting most items. The larger knife like the santoku and chef's knife, help with leverage against the food for easy cutting. However, they are not for every situation so lets get to know all the knives.

1. Chef's knife (left)
2. Santoku Knife (right)

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHEFS KNIFE AND A SANTOKU KNIFE?

The biggest difference between the two is their blades. Chef knives has more curve to the blade for easy rocking and quick chopping.

The Santoku has a more straight edge and has shallow grooves along the side. These grooves help to keep the food from sticking to the blade.

Both blade have nice sturdy, heavy handles. I love Cangshans ergonomically made shafts. Both are great for large or dense vegetables, meats, mincing, dicing and rough chopping. They guys are amazing.

BREAD AND BONING KNIFE

1. BONING KNIFE- is exactly what it sounds like. It's great for deboning meats such as a whole chicken.
2. SERRATED KNIFE- Long serrated knife is essential for cutting bread without smooshing it! The serrated edge cuts through the crust and fluffy bread seamlessly.

KNIVES FOR THE DETAIL WORK

The smaller knives are very important even if they may not be used as much.

1. serrated knife
2. pairing knife
3. tomato knife
4. peeling knife

SERRATED and the TOMATO knife both have edges that are serrated. They are awesome for foods with sooth skin. Their sharp blade catch the smoothness and slices easily with little pressure applied from you.

PAIRING KNIFE AND PEELING KNIFE have small smooth blades. The pairing knife is short and straight

Whereass the peeling knife is curved to help peel skin off easily. Both are extra sharp and really great for small foods or detailed work.

KITCHEN SHEERS

Cangshan has one of the best kitchen sheers I've owned. I LOVE them What I love about them is not only their sharpness and ergonomical design but that they separate. This allows you to clean every nook and cranny AND dry them. This helps prevent dullness and rusting.

What are some uses for kitchen sheers?

1. butchers string
2. trimming fat raw chicken
3. cutting parchment paper and packages
4. cutting herbs like chives and green onions
5. Cutting up kid foods! quesadillas, pizzas they're amazing. 
6. I personally love cutting cooking bacon instead of chopping ha ha

 

STEAK KNIVES

Depending on the block of knives you decide to purchase steak knives might be included. If you are wavering between getting them or not I recommend to defining get them. They have many more using than just for steak! I love to plate them at the table for most dinners especially dinners with guest or meals that involve meat. Even when the meat is already cut into pieces like kabobs, usually they still require smaller bites.

Whether it is meat or another need-to-cut food item on the plate you want don't want to fight with a food. Steak knives acommplish that job at the dinner table.

OTHER TIPS FOR KNIFE CARE

1. NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher. The water, detergents will dull the knives and over time bread down their construction. Hand wash your knives dry immediately.
2. How do I sharpen knives? You can take your knives to stores like Sur la Table, Williams and Sonoma or other kitchen stores for them to professionally sharpen. I like this option the best! Call around for the best price before going over. Some are more significantly priced than others. Option B is a self sharpener. Be careful not to sharpen the serrated knives yourself however unless you have a specific sharpener for that.

WHERE CAN I BUY CANGSHAN KNIVES?

You can buy them many places! My specific set is sold at Costco and we love it! It would make the perfect gift for the cook in your life. If costco is not available to you check out amazon or Cangshans webpage.

DONT MISS OUT!

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