The world of cutlery can be daunting for home chefs looking to increase their skill level. What can a chef’s knife do? When are more specialized knives needed? What’s the difference between a chef’s knife and a santoku knife? With more than 70 years of experience offering chefs the highest-quality knives, bakeware, cookware, recipes, and advice, CHEFS Catalog is an expert source when it comes to knives. Here’s some advice about which knife to reach for, when.
Chef Knives
One of the most versatile and useful tools in the kitchen, chef knives are used for everyday prep work. Chopping, slicing, mincing, dicing, and julienning are all in the purview of the chef’s knife. They are characterized by a wide blade with a thick spine curving to a tip that helps chefs create a rocking motion for efficient cutting. The chef’s knife or cook’s knife is typically between 6 and 14 inches long, with 8 inches being the most common.
Santoku Knives
The santoku knife is often called the Japanese chef’s knife. Like the chef’s knife, the primary use of the santoku knife is prep work. “Santoku” translates to “three virtues” or “three uses” in Japanese, referring to what santoku knives do best: chopping, dicing, and mincing. They are better at precise slicing than a chef’s knife and are used for back-and-forth slicing or chopping straight down. Santoku knives do not have a tip to enable the classic rocking motion, and sometimes only have a single bevel, sharpened only on one side of the blade for sharper, thinner cuts.
Paring
Paring knives function much like mini chef knives. Typically between 2 and 4.5 inches long, their small size is ideal for tasks like peeling, trimming, and dicing fruits and vegetables. It tackles both tricky tasks like deveining shrimp and precise tasks like coring and peeling tomatoes.
Nakiri Knives
Nakiri or nakiri bocho knives are the ultimate knives for cutting vegetables. Nakiri knives resemble smaller, thinner cleavers, with an edge beveled on both sides, and are generally between 5 and 7 inches long. Nakiri bocho translates to “cutting greens,” and the nakiri lends itself to chopping, mincing, and slicing vegetables. Nakiri knives are simple to use, only suitable for straight-up-and-down motions. The blade will cut down to the chopping board.
Utility Knives
Utility knives occupy a space between chef knives and paring knives. An all-purpose tool for chopping, mincing, or slicing, the utility knife is used when a chef’s knife is too big, but a paring knife is too small. Sometimes called a sandwich knife, utility knives excel at cutting sandwich meat, vegetables, and cheeses. After making the sandwich, the utility knife can also cut the entire sandwich.
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