kitchen knifes

What Kitchen Knives Do I Need?

If you are in the process of organizing your kitchen, you may ask yourself – what kitchen knives do I need? Odds are, you may have more knives than you really need, or worse, the wrong knives.

To satisfy just about every type of food prep need in the kitchen, you really need four essential knives – a chef’s knife, a paring knife, a serrated knife, and a boning knife. The following will break down each of these knives, so you know the intended use for each. 

The Chef’s Knife

A classic chef's knife is the knife you’ll use for more than 90% of your daily kitchen tasks, so this makes it the most important knife in your kitchen. This knife is ideal for slicing and dicing fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. A good chef’s knife is 8- to 10-inches long, and most importantly, it is comfortable to hold and have enough heft to cut easily through firmer vegetables.

The Paring Knife

The paring knife blade is just about 3 1/2 inches long. This makes the knife your go-to choice for slicing and mincing items that are too small for your chef’s knife. The paring knife is also best for peeling fruits and vegetables and for doing detailed cutting work because its short blade is easier to control. 

The Serrated Knife

A serrated knife is your best choice for slicing through bread, but that’s not its only use. This type of knife is also ideal for slicing through fruits and vegetables with rounded or waxy surfaces, like tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, grapes, and more. It’s also the best knife you can choose for cutting slices of cake.

The Boning Knife

A boning knife is sleek and slim, because it is designed specifically to separate meat, fish, and poultry from the bone. The design of the knife allows it to make very straight, clean cuts. The blade is thin, so it can flex and move with greater agility, but sharp enough to slice through cartilage and joints.

A Fifth Option – The Santoku Knife

While the above four knives are considered necessities in any kitchen, they aren’t the only options you’ll want to consider. For instance, some home cooks find a Santoku knife preferrable to a chef’s knife. While these two knives can perform similar functions, they are designed differently with the Santoku knife having a granton edge, which are the small scallops along the cutting edge of the blade. A Santoku knife is also a lighter than a Chef Knife. A Santoku knife also cuts differently than a chef’s knife. Whereas a chef’s knife is designed for the blade to be “rocked,” the Santoku blade is designed to slice downward in a single cut.

Shop for Kitchen Knives by Michael Graves Design

Kitchen knives and cutlery from Michael Graves Design deliver the ultimate balance of beauty, functionality, and comfort. Featuring no-slip rubber handles, these knives are perfectly balanced and comfortable to use for any level cook. Whether you need a new knife for your kitchen or you’re looking to update your entire collection, Michael Graves Design has the products you need to equip your kitchen and make you fall in love with cooking again.

 

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