 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kitchen knife" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Akitchen knife is anyknife that is intended to be used infood preparation, as opposed to atable knife used when eating, as part of a set ofcutlery. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives — notably a largechef's knife and a smallerserrated blade utility knife — there are also many specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks such as atoughcleaver, a small paring knife, and abread knife. Kitchen knives can be made from several different materials, though the most common is a hardened steel blade with a wooden handle.
Historically, knives were made in "knife cities" that are noted for being the best at their production in that country with the pre-emininent, in Europe, being:Sheffield inYorkshire,North of England;Thiers, Puy-de-Dôme in theAuvergne ofFrance;Solingen in theNorthern Rhineland ofGermany; andEskilstuna ofSödermanland inSweden. Each of these produced knives in a styles particular to the city, with Thiers especially being noted for the French point ofLaguiole and steak knives. Whereas inJapan, there are many dispersed centres of kitchen knife production due to diversification that followed in wake of legislation restricting the production of sword-making. These areTsubame-Sanjō inNiigata Prefecture,Seki inGifu Prefecture,Sakai inOsaka Prefecture,Takefu-Echizen inFukui Prefecture, andTosa inKōchi Prefecture amongst a number of others. Each area have their own style of knife, with Sakai in Osaka favouring the "sheep's foot" or drop point, in contrast to the square-tipped style ofEdo, modern-dayTokyo.
Steel blades can be manufactured either by being forged or stamped.
The edge of the knife can be sharpened to a cutting surface in a number of different ways. There are three main features:
Kitchen knives generally either feature a curve near the tip, as in a chef's knife, or are straight for their entire length. The edge itself may be generally smooth or "straight" edge, or it may be serrated or scalloped with "teeth". Lastly, the point may differ in shape:
Serrated blade knives have a wavy, scalloped, or fine-toothed saw-like blade. Serrations help when cutting things that are firm on the outside and soft on the inside (such as bread or tomatoes); thesaw-like action breaks the surface more easily than anything except the sharpest of smooth blades. They are also particularly good on fibrous foods such as celery or cabbage. Serrated knives cut much better than plain-edge blade knives when dull, so they do not require frequent sharpening, and are sometimes used to makesteak knives which do not need frequent sharpening. However, they are not readily sharpened properly by a user, requiring specialized equipment, and may never be resharpened during their useful life. Serrations are often used to improve the cutting ability of a less-expensive blade not capable of taking and keeping a sharp edge, usually having a thin, polished blade designed to minimise friction. A serrated knife is more practical for a user who is not prepared to sharpen it frequently; a well-maintained and sharpened smooth edge is keener.Some companies have names for their own serration patterns and apply them to an entire line of knives. Examples are theCutcoDouble-D edge and theHenckelsEversharp Pro series.
Away from the edge, a knife most simply has either a rectangular or wedge-shaped cross-section (saber grind v. flat grind), but may also have indentations, whose purpose is to reduce adhesion of the food to the blade. This is widely found in Japanese knives, and in the West is particularly found in meat carving knives, though also in knives for soft cheese, and some use for vegetables.
These indentations take many forms:
The edge of a knife gradually loses its sharpness, which can be restored by sharpening. For many types of knives (e.g., butter knives) this is not relevant. Knives with smooth edges can be sharpened by the user; knives with any form of serrated edge should ideally be sharpened with specialist equipment, although the useful life of a serrated knife can be extended by simple sharpeners, even if they damage the edge.
The handles of kitchen knives can be made from a number of different materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
The shapes of handles differ widely between Western and Oriental knives in their traditional forms, though with the merging of these styles, this has become less pronounced. Traditionally, Western knives are bilaterally flatted on the sides, to facilitate the riveting of the handle, and have a moulded form for comfort beneath. Often there is a lip at the butt of the handle, which gives the knife a better grip and prevents slipping. Whereas Oriental knives are circular, oval, or rounded octagonal, or even D-shaped in cross-section, usually with a slight taper towards the blade, but otherwise typically with little shaping or moulding to the blade.
| A | Point: | The very end of the knife, which is used for piercing |
| B | Tip: | The first third of the blade (approximately), which is used for small or delicate work. Also known asbelly orcurve when curved, as on a chef's knife. |
| C | Edge: | The entire cutting surface of the knife, which extends from the point to the heel. The edge may bebeveled or symmetric. |
| D | Heel: | The rear part of the blade, used for cutting activities that require more force |
| E | Spine: | The top, thicker portion of the blade, which adds weight and strength |
| F | Bolster: | The thick metal portion joining the handle and the blade, which adds weight and balance |
| G | Finger guard: | The portion of the bolster that keeps the cook's hand from slipping onto the blade |
| H | Choil: | The point where the heel meets the bolster |
| J | Tang: | The portion of the metal blade that extends into the handle, giving the knife stability and extra weight |
| K | Scales: | The two portions of handle material (wood, plastic, composite, etc.) that are attached to either side of the tang |
| L | Rivets: | The metal pins (usually three) that hold the scales to the tang |
| M | Handle guard: | The lip below the butt of the handle, which gives the knife a better grip and prevents slipping |
| N | Butt: | The terminal end of the handle |
.jpg)
Achef's knife orcook's knife is also known as aFrench knife. It is an all-purpose medium to large-sized knife that is curved to allow the cook to rock the knife on the cutting board for a more precise cut. The broad and heavy blade also serves for chopping bone instead of the cleaver, making this knife an all-purpose heavy knife for food preparation. Chef's knives are most commonly available between 15 and 25 cm (6 and 10 in), though 20 cm (8 in) is the most common size. Chef's knives are more frequently longer and wider bladed with a proper heel and choil, whereas shorter and narrower ones, sometimes without a proper heel and choil, tend to be known as cook's knives.
Aparer,paring knife, orpetty knife[a] is a small kitchen knife — usually with a plain edge, though sometimes serrated — that is ideal for peeling (or "paring") fruit and vegetables, and other small or intricate work — such as removing the seeds from fruit and vegetables, likejalapeños; 'skinning' or cutting small garnishes; anddeveining shellfish, likeprawns andlobsters. Paring knives have blades usually 6 to 10 cm (2½ to 4 inches) long and without a heel and choil, having the blade edge running straight to the handle.
An alternative and safer way to peel vegetables and fruit is to use apeeler.
In book-binding, a paring knife —couteau à parer — is a tool used by 16th-century French book-binders to thin the edges of the leather binding being prepared to cover a book, in order to ensure it was neater and stuck better to the board. The knife was a large piece of steel, very thin at the cutting edge, with a wooden handle.[3]
In kitchen usage, an all-purposeutility kitchen knife oruniversal kitchen knife, falls between a chef's/cook's knife and a paring knife in size, some 10 to 18 cm (4 to 7 in) in length and it is usually without a proper heel and choil, having the blade edge running straight to the handle.
Outside the kitchen, the term "utility knife" refers to a cutting tool — also called a craft knife — with a short blade which can be readily replaced, or with a strip of blades which can be snapped off when worn.
Acarving knife is a large knife, between 20 cm (8 in) and 38 cm (15 in), that is used to slice thin cuts of meat, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife is much thinner than a chef's knife (particularly at the spine), enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices.
Aslicing knife serves a similar function to a carving knife, although it is generally longer and narrower. Slicers may have plain or serrated edges. Such knives often incorporate blunted or rounded tips, and featurekullenschliff (Swedish/German: "hill-sharpened") orGranton edge (scalloped blades) to improve meat separation. Slicers are designed to precisely cut smaller and thinner slices of meat, and are normally more flexible to accomplish this task. As such, many cooks find them better suited to slicing ham, roasts, fish, or barbecued beef and pork and venison. Another use can be for bigger fruit, likewatermelon orcantaloupe.
Aham slicer is a type of knife specially tailored to slicing slivers of cookedham — along with largesmoked fish, such assalmon andtrout — having a thinner and more flexible long blade with usually a rounded tip. The average size of the knife is between 22 centimetres (9 inches) and 38 centimetres (15 inches).
Ameat cleaver is a large, most often rectangular knife that is used for splitting or "cleaving" meat and bone. A cleaver may be distinguished from a kitchen knife of similar shape by the fact that it has a heavy blade that is thick from the spine to quite near the edge. The edge is sharply bevelled and the bevel is typically convex. The knife is designed to cut with a swift stroke without cracking, splintering or bending the blade. Many cleavers have a hole in the end to allow them to be easily hung on a rack. Cleavers are an essential tool for any restaurant that prepares its own meat. The cleaver most often found in a home knife set is a light-duty cleaver about 15 cm (6 in) long. Heavy cleavers with much thicker blades are often found in the trade.
A "lobster splitter" is a light-duty cleaver used mainly for shellfish and fowl which has the profile of a chef's knife. TheChinese chef's knife is sometimes called a "Chinese cleaver", due to the rectangular blade, but it is unsuitable for cleaving, its thin blade instead designed for slicing; actual Chinese cleavers are heavier and similar to Western cleavers.
A cleaver is most popularly known asbutcher knife which is the commonly used by chefs for cutting big slices of meat and poultry.
Aboning knife is used to remove bones from cuts of meat. It has a thin, flexible blade, usually about 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6 in) long, that allows it to get in to small spaces. A stiff boning knife is good for beef and pork, and a flexible one is preferred for poultry and fish.
Fillet knives are like very flexible boning knives that are used to fillet and preparefish. They have blades about 15 cm (6 in) and 30 cm (12 in) long, allowing them to move easily along the backbone and under the skin of fish.
Asteak knife is a sharptable knife used to cutsteak that comes in different styles and sizes. The form most often found insteakhouses usually has a partiallyserrated blade and a wooden handle. The serrations aid cutting through the flesh of the larger and thicker sliced steaks and allow for a less keenly honed blade to cut connective tissue. However, this should not be needed with a well sharpened knife and if the kitchen serves higher quality, tender steaks — such as fillet or sirloin — cooked to reflect this quality. A good smooth-edged knife should slice easily through a good steak, even if served very rare as in ablue steak.[4]
Tougher steaks with much more connective tissue should not be served rare, flash fried or grilled, as there is not enough heat or time to break down these tough fibres. These lower quality steaks should be trimmed in the kitchen to thinner and smaller pieces — even marinated for some time — and then a slower & more gentle form of cooking is needed to give the opportunity for the connective tissue to render down to tenderness. Such cooking as this does not allow for these to be served rare and ruddy pink.
Cheese is varied and often challenging to cut. Accordingly, various styles of cheese knives and cheese-cutting utensils have been developed.
A wire cheese cutter, rather than a knife, is often used to cut firm cheese, from some semi-soft to semi-hard forms.
Cheese knives for cutting very soft cheese — like a fresh whey /cottage cheese andricotta, or a fully ripenedbrie andcamembert — are typically short and broad with an exaggerated rounded tip - somewhat similar to a palette or butter knife but sharper. This is to help cutting through the rind and then to pick up and spread or 'spoon' the runny cheese on bread or a cracker.
Semi-soft cheese knives are specially designed for slicing softer and fresher firm cheese, such asPort Salut. They generally have a curved blade with holes in it to prevent the cheese from sticking.
Medium-hard cheese knives — for ones likeEdam andEmmental — are a halfway-house between the semi-soft knives and those for semi-hard. Typically, the blade is straight and serrated, with a forked tip and holes to prevent the cheese from sticking.
Semi-hard cheese knives are specially designed for slicing harder and more mature firm cheese, such asCheddar orWensleydale. They have sharp straight-edged blades, so they can cut exact slices. Often these blades are thin, narrow, and off-set, with finely serrated edge, to avoid crumbling as the cheese is sliced, and with a forked tip, allowing them to be used as a serving utensil, as well.
Cheese slicers are also used to give slices of more consistent thickness, but they require greater manual handling of the cheese itself, so are less frequently used at the table — on the grounds of hygiene — and more for preparation.
Parmesan cheese knives are specially designed for cleaving hard, crystallised granular cheese. They have very short, thick, curved teardrop-shaped with pointed stabbing tip blades, which are forced into the more crystalline form of cheese. These are then used to chisel or as a lever to fracture and break off smaller fragments, through the natural fracture lines within the block, and so revealing its natural texture and crumb.
Slicing hard cheese is considered improper by connoisseurs — along with being hard work — since the cheese, when broken apart, has more surface area, and thus more air contact, which strengthens the apparent scent and taste of the cheese.[citation needed]
Agirolle — a blade mounted on an axle to pivot over a wooden board — is used toshave cheese to produce wafer-thin curls. Hard cheese can also beshaved using an ordinary kitchen utility or cook's knife, to produce these wafer-thin curls, usually used for garnishing a dish.
Apeeling ortourné or abird's beak knife has a pointed tip that curves downward (sometimes upward) and from side to side (towards the blade), usually about 6 to 12 cm (2 to 5 in) long. It can be used to cut decorative garnishes (such as rosettes or fluted mushrooms), slice soft fruits, or to remove skins and blemishes. It is also used to make a cut known as atourné cut in vegetables such as carrots. It is a specialized type of paring knife.
Atrimming knife has a small, curved blade, usually about 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) long, that is shaped somewhat like a boning knife. Trimming knives are ideal for small tasks such as decorating and peeling.
Adecorating knife is any knife with a blade designed to make a decorative cut. The most common pattern is a simple zigzag or fluting. Decorating knives are ideal for use in making fancy cuts for garnishes, presentation, and other small tasks (such as rosettes or fluted mushrooms). Usually a small blade about 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) long.
Certain knives are specialized for a particular food. For example, oyster knives are necessary to shuck oysters (which cannot safely be opened otherwise), but are not used outside of shellfish.
Bread knives are usually between 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) with scalloped- or serrated-edge blades, which are able to cut through the firm crust and soft bread without crushing it.
In 1893, one was exhibited at theWorld's Columbian Exposition in Chicago by the Friedrich Dick company of Esslingen, Germany.[5] One design was patented in the United States by Joseph E. Burns of Syracuse, New York.[6] His knife had sections of grooves or serrations, inclined with respect to the axis of the blade, that form individual small cutting edges which were perpendicular to the blade and thus cut without the excessive normal pressure required of a scalloped blade and without the horizontal force required by positive-raked teeth that would dig into the bread like a wood saw. There were also sections of grooves with the opposite direction of inclination, separated by a section of smooth blade, and the knife thus cut cleanly in both directions in both firm and soft bread.
Anoffset bread knife 'doglegs' the handle above, but parallel to the blade — rather than in-line with it, although some are angled — providing clearance for the user's knuckles. This design makes it easier for the user to cut fully through the loaf without using an awkward grip, angling and 'see-sawing' the blade, or needing to position the knife handle over the edge of the counter or cutting board. While fairly specialized and unnecessary for most kitchens (and breads), the offset design is well-suited for high-volume/'production' work where much bread - particularly e.g. crusty loaves ofbaguette-type bread — is cut regularly and/or over long periods, to reduce fatigue. An alternative seen mostly in Europe is a baguette "chopper" or "guillotine" — not properly a knife, and prone to produce more of a "crushing" cut depending on the bread — but serving the same function.
Abutter knife is small and stiff-bladed with a broad round tip and have a dull cutting edge. They are typically thought of more as serving-ware (used more as part of atable setting), to be used by diners to serve and/or spread butter or other soft spreadable foods, i.e. soft cheeses or jams, than as a kitchen or food preparation tool.
A modern variant that is intended for food preparation is the 'sandwich spreader' orpalette knife, having a broad, flexible, almostspatula-like tool, with a rounded end and sometimes one serrated edge, similar to that used by pastry chefs to ice cakes. This is useful for spreading butter, mayonnaise, and other similar 'spreads' or dressings —pâté, ham spread, sandwich 'salad' toppings likeegg salad,chicken salad, etc. — on bread.
Apalette knife has a long, wide, and flexible thin blade with a rounded tip and is used for spreading pastes and semi-liquid food — e.g. icing over a cake. This knife can also be used to remove baked items from the baking tin to transfer to a cooling rack and in cooking, in the place of aspatula, to flip items in askillet.
Achestnut knife is used to score achestnut with an "X" cut prior to roasting, so that steam does not build up inside and cause the nut to explode. They have very shallow blades so that they can cut through the shell without cutting through the nut inside.
Adeveiner ordeveining knife is a small knife used to remove the colon ("vein") from the back ofshrimp.
Anoyster knife has a short, thick blade that is used to pry openoysters and separate their meat from the shell (shucking). Some models have a shield built into the handle that prevents the knife (and hand) from slipping and going too far into the shell. The handle is normally thick and short, with a bulbous end.
The blade is about 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 in) long and comes in either two styles, straight and club-shaped. Styles with a straight blade may have oblongguards[7] and include:
The club-shaped style has a diamond-shaped blade with the width of about 4 cm (1.6 in) at the "shoulders" and 1.3 cm (0.5 in) at the handle, occasionally with a serration on one edge or a notch to break off an edge of the shell. The head of the blade has a sharp tip. Guards, if any, are round.[7]
Agrapefruit knife has a long, fat, dull blade that is used to separate the flesh of agrapefruit from the peel and inner membranes. The blade is usually serrated, with a blunt tip. Some knives even have a different blade style on each end of the handle – one for the inner membrane, one for the peel – and some have a double blade at the inner membrane end, to cut on both sides of the membrane.
Atomato knife is a small knife with a serrated blade. Typically about the size of a utility knife, tomato knives are ideal for cutting through the tough skin and soft flesh oftomatoes.
Also known as amezzaluna (Italian: "half moon") orhachoir (French: "chopper") because of the shape, a chopping and mincing knife is a semi-circular highly curved blade, with either one or two handles, that allows the blade to be rocked back and forth repeatedly on the cutting board. This rocking motion is ideal for mincing and chopping. Some mincing knives are supplied with a wooden cutting board with a circular bowl-shaped indentation that matches the curvature of the knife. Some models have two blades that are parallel to each other to increase their mincing power.
A large mezzaluna-like knife — usually 30 and 45 cm (12 and 18 in) long — with a shallow curve are sometimes used to cutpizza in commercial premises, though the circular rolling pizza cutter is more common at home for this purpose.
Traditionally, Japan has the predominant style kitchen knives with just a single bevelled edge — a form known askataba used forShobu-bōchō (for slicing sashimi),deba bōchō, andusuba bōchō — with the highest quality blades having a slight depression —urasuki — on the flat side. These three knives form the essentials of a basic Japanese kitchen knife set. Thekataba gives better cuts and allows for the cutting of thinner slices than the double bevelryōba edged blades — used for more modern, Western-influencedsantoku bōchō,nakiri bōchō, andgyūtō bōchō chef's knife — but requires more skill to use. The sharpened side is usually the right side for a right-hand use of the knife, but knives sharpened on the left side are available for left-hand use.
Theyanagi-ba is the commonest variant of thesashimi knife, and along withtako-hiki, andfugu-hiki are long thinknives used in theJapanese kitchen, belonging to the group ofshobu orsashimi bōchō to prepare sliced rawfish andseafood.
Similar to thenakiri bocho, the style differs slightly betweenTokyo andOsaka. In Osaka, theyanagi-ba has a pointed end, whereas Edo-style thetako-hiki from Tokyo has a rectangular end. Thetako-hiki is usually used to prepareoctopus. Afugu-hiki is similar to theyanagi-ba, except that the blade is thinner and, as the name indicates, is traditionally used to slice very thinfugu pufferfish sashimi.
The length of the knife is suitable tofillet medium-sized fish. For very large fish such astuna, longer specialized knives exist, for example the almost two-metre longmaguro bōchō, or the slightly shorterhancho hocho.
TheDeba knife is used primarily for preparing fish. They have wide blades and are the thickest of all Japanese kitchen knives and come in different sizes — sometimes up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) in length and 10 millimetres (0.4 inches) thick — but are usually considerably shorter, normally between 12 and 20 cm (5 and 8 in) long with a blade between 5 and 7 mm (0.2 and 0.3 in) thick. The larger form of knife is called anhon-deba, ("true deba") whereas the smaller form is ako-deba. Thedeba bōchō first appeared during theEdo period inSakai. Following the traditions of Japanese knives, they have just a single bevel,kataba, to the edge of the blade — with anurasuki hollow back on premium blades.
Usuba bocho is a vegetable knife used by professionals. Theusuba bocho is sharpened only from one side, a style known askataba in Japanese and the highest qualitykataba blades even have a slight depression on the flat side. Thiskataba style edge gives better cuts and allows for the cutting of thinner slices than theryoba used fornakiri bocho, but requires more skill to use. The sharpened side is usually the right side for a right hand use of the knife, but knives sharpened on the left side are also available for left hand use. Theusuba-bocho is also slightly heavier than anakiri bocho, although still much lighter than adeba bocho.
Nakiri bocho is a Japanese-stylevegetableknife and a variant of theUsuba. They differ from theUsuba bocho in the shape of the cutting edge. While thenakiri bocho is sharpened from both sides, theusuba bocho is sharpened only from one side. They differ from thedeba bocho in their shape, as they have a straight blade edge suitable for cutting all the way to the cutting board without the need for a horizontal pull or push. These knives are also much thinner. While thedeba bocho is a heavy blade for easy cutting through thin bones, the blade is not suitable for chopping vegetables, as the thicker blade can break the vegetable slice. Thenakiri bocho and theusuba bocho have much thinner blades, and are used for cutting vegetables.
They are knives forhome use, and usually have ablack blade. The shape of thenakiri bocho differs according to the region of origin, with knives in theTokyo area beingrectangular in shape, whereas the knives in theOsaka area have a rounded corner on the far blunt side. The cutting edge is angled from both sides, calledryoba in Japanese. This makes it easier to cut straight slices.
TheSantoku is a generalist utility knife has a straighter edge than a chef's knife, with a bluntedsheep's foot-tip blade and a thinner spine, particularly near the point. A more modern 20th century style of knife, and its name meaning "three virtues", reflects the combination the best traits of three other Japanese knives: thedeba bōchō,nakiri bōchō, andgyūtō bōchō (the Japanese chef's knife for preparing meat). From 12 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in) long, a Japanese Santoku is well-balanced, normally flat-ground, and generally smaller, lighter, and thinner than its Western counterparts. This construction allows the knife to more easily slice thin-boned and boneless meats, fish, and vegetables. Many subsequent Western and Asian copies of the Japanesesantoku do not always incorporate these features, resulting in reduced cutting ability. Some Westernsantoku-pattern knives are even fitted withkullen/kuhlen, scallops on the sides of the blade above the edge, in an attempt to reduce the adhesion of foods and reduce cutting friction. A standard in Asian (especially Japanese) kitchens, the santoku and its Western copies have become very popular in recent years with chefs in Europe and North America.
AChinese chef's knife — sometimes referred to as acàidāo (Chinese:菜刀, lit. "vegetable knife"), a Chinese cleaver or a "chopper", is the rectangular-bladed, all-purpose cooking knife traditionally used inChina,Vietnam,Cambodia and many other Asian countries to prepare a variety of meats, fish and vegetables. The popularity of this style of knife has spread with the associated cuisines. They resemble Western cleavers in appearance, but most Chinese chef's knives are relatively thin-bladed and designed for slicing, finely chopping and mincing vegetables, fish and boneless meats. The heaviergǔdāo (Chinese:骨刀, lit. "bone knife") are produced and are used much like Western-type meat cleavers to prepare large sides of beef, pork and other boned meats. However, Chinese-style knives of this weight are not common in the West.
Caidao or so-called 'Chinese cleaver' is not a cleaver, and most manufacturers warn that it should not be used as a cleaver. It is more properly referred to as a Chinese chef's knife and is actually a general-purpose knife, analogous to theFrench chef's knife or the Japanesesantoku. The confusion arises from the fact that Chinese chef's knives are rectangular and that some (particularly older, traditional knives made of carbon steel) have somewhat heavy blades. Also, the fact that the blade is heavier toward the tip encourages skilled Chinese chefs to use a swinging or "tapping" stroke as well as a "pushing" stroke. However, the edge has the gradual bevel of a chef's knife and will most probably be damaged if used for splitting bone. Actual cleavers in China have the same profile as chef's knives but have much thicker blades with a sharp bevel and heavier handles.
Modern Chinese knives are sold under three general classifications throughout China: Caidao (slicers), choppers and Gudao (cleavers). The general distinction lies in the thickness of the blade. Choppers are the most common all-purpose Chinese knife. Choppers have thicker blades than slicers but are not as thick and heavy as cleavers. Choppers are used for slicing, chopping and mincing meat, vegetables and herbs. Choppers are suitable for chopping through thin soft bones such as fish and poultry. Slicers, referred to as Caidao (vegetable knives) by the Chinese have the thinnest and sharpest blades. Slicers may have the same shape as choppers or they may have less width and appear similar to Japanesenakiri knives. Slicers are used for cutting vegetables, mincing herbs and slicing thin strips of meat for stir frying. The thin blade makes slicers unsuitable for chopping any bones. Cleavers, which are referred to as bone choppers by the Chinese have thick heavy blades. In Chinese homes, cleavers are typically used for chopping up pork ribs or for preparing hard-shelled seafood such as lobsters.
The average Chinese home uses some variation of the rectangular-bladed knife, usually around 18 cm (7 in) and 28 cm (11 in) in length. Traditional knives had a simply-forged, carbon steel blade with a long, ground bevel, but the typical Chinese chef's knife is now a stamped blade. The traditional handle is a full-length tang that is only about 1 or 2 cm (0.4 or 0.8 in), which is passed through a metal cap, then through the center of a round, wood dowel, then bent over and hammered into the end of the handle to retain it. Newer models, particularly those made in Japan or Germany, have full-width tangs and riveted or injection-molded handles, but these handles generally retain something of the traditional, round cross-section. The wide blade of Caidao keeps the cook's fingers well off the cutting surface and the round handle gives a nice "pivot point" for the cutting stroke. The blade has a curvature or rocker along its edge that is generally uniform, improving the knife's ability to chop and mince meats and vegetables. The broad rectangular blade also serves to scoop up chopped food for transport to the wok or bowl. Although it may seem unwieldy, skilled practitioners worldwide may be observed using this style of knife for everything—even carving and fine work normally accomplished with a paring knife.[8]
Acutting board orchopping block is a kitchen utensil used in conjunction with a knife. It is a flat surface, generally made of eitherwood orplastic orcomposite material that protectscounter tops and knives from damage.Glass andmarble is not used because it severely dulls the blade and the knife can easily dangerously skid on the surface. Rather glass boards are used for decoration to cover surfaces which to cutting of food has damaged the finish. Marble boards are used for rolling out pastry as this aids in keeping it cool so it can be worked better.
Acarving fork is a long, two-prongedfork — some 10 and 20 cm (4 and 8 in) — used to hold meat steady while it is being carved. Carving forks are often sold together with carving knives or slicers as part of a matched carving set.
Ahoning steel (orbutcher's steel orsharpening steel), does not sharpen knives, contrary to popular belief, but instead straightens the blade, while asharpener sharpens the blade.[citation needed] A honing steel is a rod made of steel or ceramic, generally about 30 centimetres (12 in) long (although can be longer) and 6 mm to 12 mm (1⁄4 to1⁄2 inch) thick. It is used to hone a knife blade after sharpening in order to restore the edge and improve cutting ability.
Kitchen scissors orshears can be used for many of the same jobs as knives, such as chopping herbs.
Aknife block is a common way to store knives safely and close at hand in the kitchen. This is an angled block of wood, steel, or other material, with slots for inserting knife blades, and sometimes other accessories, like kitchen scissors.
Most commonly used in commercial kitchens,cut-resistant gloves (also referred to as cutting gloves) are used on the opposite hand to the cutting hand. They are for protecting this hand should the knife slip and slice into the user's off hand. They are typically made ofkevlar ormetal mesh. Other uses for cutting gloves in kitchens include using or cleaning meat/cheese slicers, hand mixing very hot or cold food items, and cleaning or using any type of sharp bladed machine.
