There’s at least one occasion in everybody’s life when you ask yourself whether you’ve really picked the right knives. They slice and cut but aren’t efficient or pleasing enough. If you’ve also been through an accidental cut due to unwanted effort, you must know what I mean. What are the best chef knives should you have around the house and what are they useful for?
Chef knives are the best options you can get out there as they are professionally-made for cooking specialists and restaurant personnel. Some of them are hand manufactured, while others use technology for blade precision. We have compiled a guide to help you decipher the impressive characteristics of chef knives and turn cards in your favor.
How to find the best chef knives
Maybe you’ve already walked through professional kitchen stores and examined some knives. Specialized shops and online stores are the most reliable sources for purchasing such products. According to reviews from Best10Anything, the best chef knives should be precise, well-balanced and resilient above all. Anything that goes beyond these three traits is a matter of personal taste.
Don’t fall for the cheap, street shops which sell knives. Those products are usually imitations that quickly damage and increase the risk of accidental cuts – as they lack balance and resilience.
To narrow down our discussion, there’s a difference between chef and kitchen knives. They are both cutting tools used for food preparation. Cleavers, chef and pairing knives, together with other similar tools are part of the large category of kitchen knives. The bread, utility and butter knives are different than chef knives and should be treated as such, together with the above.
How to recognize chef knives
Chef knives are multi-purpose tools used for slicing, mincing and chopping vegetables, herbs, fruit, roots and others. They are also helpful in cutting large quantities of meat – if you have non-vegan guests.
Blades are stamped or forged. For durability and efficiency purposes, they are made of stainless or carbon steel, laminated mixes of the two or ceramic. Chef knives have steel, composite or wooden handles which are shaped to provide sturdy grabbing.
Obviously, they are large (the blade has around 8 inches). This shouldn’t scare you as they are designed to minimize the risk of accidental cuts. They amaze through precision and attention to details. Choosing the right-sized chef knife is a matter of choice. You can test the knife by cutting a sheet of paper. If the line is straight and the cut was comfortable, you just found the best product.
Japanese chef knives
Japanese-style tops reviews of the best chef knives because they are resistant and lightweight. The blade is thin and shows an impressive attention to details. They are easy to maneuver and work artistically when it comes to slicing.
They are sharp and work with their own weight to ease the cutting process. The blade usually contains dozens of layers which reveal an impressive finish. Japanese knives may be fragile when it comes to blade maintenance and storage. Yet, you will chop like no other.
German chef knives
Their blades and handles are a bit heavier than the Japanese models. However, they compensate through durability and balance. You can trust them with firm vegetables and roots. They are usually ergonomic and stable during the cutting process.
Many of the characteristics of German chef knives usually focus on expanding their usage life. You will find plenty of features such as rust, corrosion and discoloration prevention. Users with smaller hands recommend German chef knives as impressive and precise.
Santoku chef knives
The Santoku is a Japanese-style chef knife which rose in recent years thanks to its prominent blade which can cut everything. It slices, dices, and minces with extreme precision. It has a blade which curves in an angle of almost 60 degrees for cutting delicate vegetables.
Santoku is one of the best chef knives. It broke recent modern design boundaries. Its blade weight and width match the weight and width of the handle and tang (the area which connects the blade to the handle).
Forged chef knives
Although stamped knives are also impressive, forged ones carry a reputation for ensuring balance and durability. They are usually made of high-quality steel.
Forged chef knives are also the easiest to find. As technology advances, forging covers more and more details regarding product quality.
Ceramic chef knives
By ceramic chef knives we do not refer to the delicate tools that damage if used on anything but strawberries and few other soft fruits. Such chef knives are made of extremely hard ceramic. Also, they are available in the Santoku version.
They are versatile and perform well if you need to ripe vegetables. They work exclusively with surgical precision for artistic-looking dishes. You can successfully use them as complementary tools for one best chef knives mentioned above.
You can prepare an impressive recipe for an event using one of the best chef knives above. All you need to focus on after purchasing them is to store such knives in a designated place, according to instructions. You will also find directions about maintenance as recommended by manufacturers. From then on, you can experiment cutting, slicing and mincing with the best chef knives.
