Every chef or home cook needs a good set of kitchen knives!
We have found on Cook Love Eat, that buying a great set, brings the best value. But what if you are building your great set more gradually?
Adding one great knife at a time? It's a fantastic strategy when you can't afford a set all at once. It allows you to get good quality knives, that will last you a life-time, instead of buying a cheap set, that will need to be replaced every year!
So what knives should you look for to start building your own kitchen knife set???
Read on to find out...
Great knives are indispensable tools in the kitchen. But there's no knife that suits everyone best.
The knife you love using the most will depend on the size of your hands. In addition, consider - how do you hold the knife? What you tend to do most in the kitchen?
Purchasing good quality kitchen knives means you’ll have options available the next time you come to chop, cut, slice, dice or mince.
5 Must Have Knives for Every Home Cook
1 - Chef's Knife
Chef's knives are sometimes called cook's knives. They have been specifically designed to perform a variety of the most common cutting tasks, rather than specializing at any one in particular.
They can be used for slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing, etc.
Also used on vegetables, meats, fish, nuts and most other foodstuffs as well.
Buying a good chef's knife instead of buying several cheaper other knives can save a lot of time and hassle. A chef’s knife quickly becomes a home cook’s go-to kitchen companion.
Definitely, this is the one to look for first!
Here are some tips - Chef Knife
2 - Boning Knife
A boning knife is highly flexible. It has a narrow blade with a sharp pointed tip.
This knife is ideal for separating meat from bones. Working around corners and moving in ways that other more brittle knives cannot is what it is designed for.
Its thin flexible blade is usually about 5 to 6 inches long. That length is able to reach into any tiny spaces within the meat, which makes it ideal for preparing roasts and removing tendons.
3 - Carving Knife
Carving knives are usually larger and heavier - between 8 to 15 inches. They are ideal for slicing very thin pieces of almost anything, including roasts, poultry, and hams. This is the blade you’ll pull out for special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The blade is finely honed, much thinner than a chef’s knife, and offers very little resistance. This enables it to carve thinner and more precise slices.
It is ideal for slicing very thin pieces of almost anything, including roasts, poultry, and hams. This is the blade you’ll pull out for special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The blade is finely honed, much thinner than a chef’s knife, and offers very little resistance enabling it to carve thinner and more precise slices.
The blade is finely honed, much thinner than a chef’s knife, and offers very little resistance enabling it to carve thinner and more precise slices.
"When you are not fed love on a silver spoon you learn to lick it off knives."
Lauren Eden
4 - Bread Knife
With its serrated blade, the bread knife slices through the crust of any bread with ease.
The important thing to consider here is that you do not want to be having to grip and crush the bread, in order to slice through it.
A serrated bread knife will offer you the ability to cut, without having to exert as much pressure as you would need when using a regular smooth knife.
Bread knives are usually between 6 to 10 inches long.
Searching for a quality bread knife?
5 - Utility Knife
The utility knife usually measures between 4 and 6 inches. You'll find it can be used for all kinds of small kitchen tasks.
Of course, this is normally the knife that is used for cutting and chopping vegetables or fruits. Some utility knives come with serrated blades, which works well for cutting things with soft skins like tomatoes.
The sharp point at the end makes utility knives the perfect blade for intricate cutting chores.
Bestseller best kitchen knife sets
- Home Hero Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block
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- Utopia Kitchen Knife Set with Block Cooking Knife Set 6 Pieces Stainless Steel Knives with an Acrylic Stand
- Cuisinart C77BTR-15P Classic 15-pc. Triple Rivet Block Set - Black
- Emojoy Knife Set, 15-Piece Kitchen Knife Set with Block Wooden, Manual Sharpening for Chef Knife Set, German Stainless Steel
- Cuisinart Classic Impressions German Steel 6-Piece Knife Set
- Farberware 5152501 22-Piece Never Needs Sharpening Triple Rivet High-Carbon Stainless Steel Cutlery Set, Assorted
- AmazonBasics 14-Piece Kitchen Knife Set with High-Carbon Stainless-Steel Blades and Pine Wood Block
- J.A. Henckels International Statement Knife Block Set
- Farberware 15-Piece Stamped Stainless Steel Knife Block Set
Thanks for the breakdown of essential knives. This is very helpful, as I start to slowly put a set together of high quality knives and become more effective in the kitchen. The quality of the knives truly makes a difference not only with efficiency but also with increasing the joy of cooking. Great site!
George recently posted…Best Bug Out Bag, Essential List Of Items And Why You Need One
Hi
First time visitor here. But I already fell in love with what you have here!
Thank you for sharing this knife list. It is so great.
Jennifer
Thanks, Jennifer – hope you drop by often – we have heaps of great content coming up! Let us know what you’re interested in, and we might even include that too!