Cooking at home is a great way to save money and eat more healthily. But to cook like a pro, you need the right tools. For instance, you’ll need tongs, a cutting board, and a great set of kitchen knives.
But with so many types of knives on the market, knowing which ones you need can be tough. Here are six kitchen knives every at-home chef needs to have in their kitchen.
Chef’s Knife
A chef’s knife is a versatile, all-purpose knife that’s great for slicing, dicing, and mincing. It has a broad, heavy blade ideal for chopping vegetables and meat. A good chef’s knife should have a sharp, durable blade and feel comfortable in your hand.
You’ll use a chef’s knife for just about everything, so choosing one that’s the right size for you is essential. If you’re unsure which chef’s knife to choose, ask a salesperson at your local kitchen store for help.
Kitchen & Garden Shears
You can’t go wrong with a good pair of kitchen shears. Kitchen shears are durable scissors specifically designed for kitchen use. You can use these must-have multiuse tools for snipping herbs, cutting up bacon, trimming the fat off chicken, chopping canned tomatoes right in the can, cutting through any kind of meat, and opening packages of food. Keep in mind that you should sharpen or replace them when they become dull, just like knives.
Paring Knife
A paring knife is a small, sharp knife perfect for peeling and slicing fruits and vegetables. It has a short, pointed blade that’s easy to control. Paring knives are great for peeling apples, slicing mushrooms, and removing the seeds from peppers. They’re also handy for cutting small pieces of meat.
Serrated Knife
A serrated knife has a saw-like blade that’s great for slicing bread and other baked goods. The sharp, jagged teeth make it easy for one to cut through crusty bread without crushing the soft inside. Serrated knives are also great for cutting tomatoes, citrus fruits, and soft cheeses.
Boning Knife
A boning knife is a long, thin knife with a sharp point. It’s perfect for removing the bones from poultry, fish, and meat. Thai knives are great types of boning knives with sharp points; they’re great for removing the bones from chicken, fish, and meat. You can also use a boning knife to remove the skin from poultry and fish.
Cleaver
A cleaver is a large, heavy knife with a thick blade. One use for a cleaver is to chop meat and bones, but it also works well for slicing vegetables. Cleavers have wide, rectangular blades that are great for chopping large pieces of meat. The heavy weight of the knife also makes it easier for one to chop through bones.
Knife Sharpening Kit
Sharpening your knives regularly is critical. Sharp knives make life in the kitchen so much easier, and they’re also much, much safer. Most knife accidents are the result of dull knives that slip off whatever they’re being used to cut. If you haven’t sharpened your knives in a while, you’ll be amazed at the difference a newly sharpened knife makes!
You can sharpen your knives by hand using a whetstone and honing steel, but doing this method properly takes experience. You can also take your knives to a professional knife sharpener (many cookware and hardware stores offer this service for free), but it’s easy to do at home with a good electric knife sharpener. Depending on usage, you should sharpen your knives every few months.
Choosing suitable kitchen knives is essential for cooking at home. With the right tools, you’ll be able to tackle any recipe. Learn how to choose the right kitchen knives, and you’ll have everything you need to cook like a pro.
Verve Culture has a great selection of Thai knives. Find a Thai knife that fits your needs and start cooking like a professional today!
