If You Only Have 4 Knives In The Kitchen, Make Sure It’s These
A good set of knives is without a doubt the most important building block for a well-functioning kitchen. They do most of the work when it comes to cooking, and while a lot of people overlook the need to invest in good quality, sharp knives, they are the number one thing that will make your life easier and help you to enjoy spending time in the kitchen.
Whether you’re a keen cook looking to improve your setup, or somebody who finds cooking a bit of a chore, getting the right knives will make your life so much easier, and you’ll find yourself wanting to cook more often.
Good knives are also safer than a cheap set that doesn’t stay sharp. Believe it or not, the sharper the knife, the less likely you are to slip and injure yourself, so you need a blade that will hold an edge.
We understand that buying a full set of good quality knives can be a little bit expensive, so if the thought of that is absolutely out of the question, don’t worry. The good news is that you only really need a few knives to get started, and these core knives can do just about everything you need to.
Once you’re feeling confident in the kitchen, you can treat yourself to more specialised knives for certain tasks, but for now we thought we would run you through the ones that you really need.
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In this guide:
- The Intro
- Chef's Knife
- Paring Knife
- Serrated Bread Knife
- Carving Knife
Chef’s Knife
Of all the knives we are about to tell you about, the chef’s knife is the most important of them all. It can perform almost all tasks in the kitchen, and is without a doubt the workhorse of the kitchen.
Most chefs will never be too far from their chef’s knife, and home cooks should get well-acquainted with theirs too.
A chef’s knife is perfect for slicing, chopping, dicing, mincing, and much more. Almost everything you need to do to prepare a meal can be done with just this one knife, so investing in a good one will definitely hold you in good stead.
The two most important things to consider when buying a new chef’s knife are how comfortable it is in your hand, and the quality of the blade. Make sure it fits in your hand in a way that feels natural. You don’t want it to be too light or too heavy, and you want it to be balanced for you. Since everybody is different, we recommend trying a few in person to get a feel for which might suit you best if possible.
Opt for a material that will retain its sharpness for a long time, such as carbon steel or ceramic and keep on top of sharpening to retain a good edge.
Paring Knife
For delicate tasks like peeling fruit or segmenting citrus, a paring knife is a great little tool to own. It has a small blade, which makes it easy to manipulate in your hand, so you can be much more precise in what you are doing.
A paring knife is perfect for fiddly tasks like removing the veins from shrimps, or the seeds and flesh from chillis, so they are definitely one of the most used knives in most kitchens.
Serrated Bread Knife
Most people own a bread knife, as there is just nothing better for the task of cutting into bread, cakes, and anything else with a crumb. The serrated edge means that the knife cuts through the crust but doesn’t crush the bread itself.
Perhaps surprisingly, a bread knife is also very useful for cutting tomatoes, and other fruits with a thin skin such as peaches and nectarines.
Carving Knife
For meat-eaters, a carving knife is a pretty essential bit of kit. If you love a good roast dinner, there’s no other knife that will allow you to cut a nice thin slice of meat off a big roast.
They’re perfect for all kinds of meats, from roast chicken to beef, and of course for the turkey at Christmas.
So there we have it, the four most important knives to own in the kitchen. These are a great place to start when it comes to building up your knife collection and form a good foundation for accomplishing everything you need to when cooking up a storm.
Be sure to check out our range of quality knives if there are any of these missing from your own kitchen!