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Knife Buyer’s Guide: How To Buy Kitchen Cutlery

By Raymond Weiss

The purpose of this article is to give you an understanding of kitchen cutlery so you can buy your perfect set of cutlery for the best price possible.

No matter your skill in the kitchen, you can benefit from owning high quality cutlery. The best kitchen cutlery, will make cooking safer and quicker.

Before getting in to specifics, there is one thing you must first understand. The best knives are forged. That means that the knife and the handle are one piece. Instead of being stamped together by a machine, a forged knife’s handle and blade are molded together by hand.

Not all cooks require the same set of knives. Here is a brief overview of the most important knives, in order from most used to very speciality, you will use in your kitchen.

Chef’s Knife – The chef’s knife is essential for every cook. If you plan to do any slicing, dicing, or chopping of a variety of vegetables, your cutlery set should start with a chef’s knife.

Serrated Knife – For foods that are very hard on the outside, but yet soft on the inside, a serrated knife is very helpful. Instead of a very sharp edge, a serrated knife has a jagged edge that makes cutting through foods like crusty bread or a tomato a lot cleaner.

Carving Knife – If you cook any meat at all, you will need a carving knife. A great carving knife can make slicing a turkey, chicken, or pot roast quick and easy.

Paring Knife – A paring knife is essentially a mini chefs knife. Not all foods can be sliced and diced with a long knife. Therefore, a paring knife becomes a chef’s best friend as it’s practically an extension of your hand.

Cleavers – A quality cleaver, if used frequently, is a great addition to have in any kitchen. Cleavers are used by butchers to dice through bones. Therefore, they are best used for jobs like quartering a chicken.

Boning Knife – The shape of a boning knife makes it great for to handle delicate areas. A few uses for boning Knifes are preparing fresh fish and removing meat from a bone.

Now that you know the basics of knife, you start to evaluate what knives you will need. The most important knives you can begin with are a chef’s knife and a serrated knife. 99% of chefs will use these two knives very frequently.

After you have done the basics, you can than look into the more Specialty Knives. Do you eat a lot of meat? If you don’t, than you can probably get by just buying two knives.

If you eat a lot of meat and like the harder to prepare dishes, you might find you need a whole set of knives.

Personally, I cook three meals a day at home each day. Yet, I still don’t have a set of knives because most of my cooking is vegetarian. My homemade set consists of two chef’s knife, a serrated knife, and a paring knife.

Last, even if you just have one or two knives, don’t go cheap on a sharpener. Even the best knives will need frequent sharpening.

Think of knives as as investment. The cheaper you go, the more time it takes to cook and the more chance of getting hurt. Buy a quality cutlery set, and it can truly last a lifetime.

How to buy kitchen cutlery. Focusing on creating the most efficient set for your cooking habits and skills.

My website Chef-Knives-Store.com specializes in the best knives at the best prices. With brands like Wusthof, Tramontina, Chicago Cutlery, and more.

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