Knives are some of the most crucial pieces of equipment you use for food preparation. Having a decent knife set is essential if you want to make delicious meals, especially if you plan to use various techniques and a range of ingredients. There are many types of kitchen knives, and each knife has a specific purpose. You must have the right knives for the ingredients and techniques you use. The following is an overview of the different types of kitchen knives, each knife’s purpose, and which knives you really need if you are building a knife collection.
What Are the Most Common Types of Kitchen Knives?
Although there are many other types of knives that professional chefs use, the following are the most common types of kitchen knives you will use in a domestic kitchen. Along with the name of each type of knife, we have included a short description of its use.
The Five Most Common Kitchen Knives
The following are five of the most common kitchen knives, and they are the starting point for building your kitchen knife collection:
Chef’s Knife
What is a chef’s knife? Possibly the most versatile of all the knives is the chef’s knife, so it is one that everyone should have in their kitchen. Although it is tricky to use for peeling smaller vegetables and it will not cut through bone, you can use a chef’s knife for almost any other task.
Image credit: ProjectManhattan, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paring Knife
What is a paring knife? After the chef’s knife, a paring knife is one of the most versatile kitchen knives. It is the knife to use for peeling and preparing vegetables. It is also suitable for preparing raw fish and meat. A paring knife is one of the smallest knives, and it has a pointed tip. Image credit: JD Hancock from Austin, TX, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Utility Knife
What is a utility knife? A utility knife is smaller than a chef’s knife, but larger than a pairing knife. Although they are too large for precision tasks, they have multiple uses in the kitchen. They are great for chopping vegetables, slicing cooked meats, cutting cheese, and slicing through sandwiches and toasties. Image credit: Simon Speed, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bread Knife
What is a bread knife? As its name suggests, a bread knife is the knife to use for slicing bread. They are a long knife with a wide serrated edge. Although cutting bread is the most common use of this type of knife, you can also use them for slicing through ingredients that have a wet surface. Image credit: Beigingao Menauha, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Carving Knife
What is a carving knife? A carving knife is the knife you use for carving cooked meats, such as a Sunday roast. It is one of the longer knives, and it has a pointed tip. The blade becomes wider nearer to the knife’s handle. Image credit: Photo by PIXNIO
Other Common Knives Used in Domestic Kitchens
If you want to expand your kitchen knife collection to use various cooking techniques, then you may want to consider buying the following knives or a set that contains these knives:
Cleaver
What is a cleaver? Also known as a meat cleaver, the cleaver has a rectangular blade. It is used for chopping through meat with bones, such as when jointing a chicken. They are not a good knife to use for intricate knife work. However, you can use the flat surfaces of the blade for crushing ingredients. Image credit: David R. Ingham, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons
Santoku Knife
What is a santoku knife? A santoku knife is the Japanese equivalent to a chef’s knife, and some have indentations along the blade. Although a santoku knife is not the best knife for peeling vegetables, you can use them at other stages of the vegetable preparation. You can also use a santoku knife for slicing raw fish and meat. Image credit: user:WLU, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons
Boning Knife
What is a boning knife? As its name suggests, a boning knife is for removing the meat from a bone. They are similar in appearance to a filleting knife, but they are thicker and sturdier to give them greater force endurance. It is important to note that you cannot use a boning knife to cut through the bone. Image credit: File:Wiki Loves Mett P1020708 c-b.jpg: * File:Wiki Loves Mett P1020708.JPG: Fridolin freudenfettderivative work: Georgfotoartderivative work: Jocian, CC BY 3.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons
Filleting Knife
What is a filleting knife? The two primary uses of a filleting knife are filleting fish and thinly slicing raw meat. They are thin and flexible knives with a pointed tip. Their flexibility means it is easy to angle the knife and follow the lines of the fish skeleton. However, they do not have good force endurance, so you should not use them for removing raw meat from the bone. Image credit: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Do You Need All These Knives in a Domestic Kitchen?
If you do not do much cooking from scratch at home, then you will probably not use all these knives. On the other hand, creative and experimental cooks will probably use all of them at some point. Most people are somewhere in between.
There is a reason why many kitchen knives sets only include six knives, and that is because they consist of the knives that most domestic cooks use the most. Most people buy their fish ready filleted and their meat cuts butchered by the butcher, so they may not need to use knives for filleting and cutting through bone.
If you have a limited budget and only intend to buy a few knives, then the ones that you will probably use the most are the paring knife, a chef’s knife, and a bread knife. You can accomplish most basic food preparation tasks using these knives. However, if you opt only to buy a limited selection of knives, you should not attempt to use them for more advanced culinary skills, such as butchery and fish filleting.
What is the Best Knife?
As each type of kitchen knife has specific uses, the best knife is the one intended to complete that job. In terms of versatility, the best type of kitchen knife is the chef’s knife, as you can use this for multiple tasks. Regardless of which knives you own, sharpening your knives properly is essential.
Types of Kitchen Knives: The Final Verdict
Although most home cooks will not need every type of knife for general use, there are many different types of kitchen knives. Each knife has a specific purpose, and it is essential to use the right knife for the right job. Although we have included a list of nine knives, most domestic cooks will find that a set of six knives will meet their needs. A chef’s knife is the most versatile type of knife, so make sure you have one of these in your knife collection.