Choosing a kitchen knife for professional chefs is a whole science with its own terminology, secrets and rules – for them a knife is almost an extension of a hand. It is not necessary for us, ordinary people, to understand all the intricacies of this science and to have a full set of tools, but everyone can learn to distinguish good kitchen knives from bad ones and make up their own “chef’s three” correctly.
Briefly about the main
If you don’t want to dive into a short course on choosing knives and you only need one high-quality multi-purpose knife, then we offer the following solutions:
The best choice for a man:
the so-called “chef’s knife” (chef’s knife, French knife) in stainless steel 20-25 cm long (universal length – 21 cm or 8 inches). This tool can do 80% of all work: cut, cut, chop, chop, beat off. Producers: the most expensive and the best – the old brands Wusthof and Zwilling JA Henckels (pictured below), the middle price category – Victorinox and Arcos, from the budget – quite worthy “Tramontina” (pictured below) and “Opinel”.
The best choice for a woman:
the overwhelming majority of female hands are best suited for universal kitchen utensils with a length of 13-16 cm (or 5-6 inches). This knife is a cross between a classic chef’s knife and a slicer, and it copes well with most types of work.
Producers: top-end – all the same Wusthof, Zwilling JA Henckels, as well as F. Dick, Shun, etc., mid-price category – Victorinox and Arcos, from the budget – quite worthy kitchen knives Tramontina, Trupperware or Opinel ”in carbon steel (pictured below is model # 102 with a 10 cm blade).
A set of basic knives “kitchen three”: a kitchen or chef three is called a set of three knives, which are most often used at home. As a rule, these are:
- A chef knife of general use – since this is the most important knife in the kitchen, we will consider the question of how to choose the right quality copy below in more detail;
- Serrated for cutting bread, as well as puff cakes, vegetables, fruits 20-26 cm long – the knife has a serrated blade and looks a bit like a saw. He perfectly cuts bread, not allowing it to wrinkle, delicately cuts the skin of tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables with a thin skin. It is not worth spending a lot of money on the purchase of such a knife, the main thing is to find one so that the teeth of the serrated blade are not too large or too small. For example, this model from Victorinox has an average size of teeth, but it will not be difficult to find more affordable analogs.
- A knife for peeling vegetables, chopping garlic and other “small” jobs 8-10 cm (3-4 inches) long – it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on buying this knife either, so take the one that you like in appearance and price.
Some more useful information
- You can buy a ready-made set of kitchen knives, or you can create your own “arsenal” yourself. As a rule, it is more profitable to buy ready-made kits than to collect instruments separately. But on the other hand, it is not always possible to find an ideal set in terms of composition and quality, besides, it is much more reasonable to spend most of the budget (80%) on buying a good chef’s knife, and you can save on the rest;
- Instead of a bread knife, you can purchase a knife with a regular blade 13-16 cm long for your “chef’s three”;
- In fact, the “kitchen three” can be replaced by the “kitchen two” as in the photo on the right – a chef’s knife and a knife for peeling vegetables;
- If even a couple of tools seem like an overkill for you, then feel free to acquire one chef’s knife, but high-quality and convenient just for you. And although it always makes sense to read reviews and ratings, you can still find an excellent chef in terms of price and quality from unknown brands. The main thing to focus on is the quality of the steel and how well the tool fits into your hand.
How to choose the right chef’s knife that can serve you for many years, read in the next chapter or watch in the video clip of the authoritative enthusiast and specialist Andrey Kozlovsky.