Kitchen Knives Sets Guide

Making Homemade Meals Into Restaurant Fare With The Best Chefs Knives

Chef’s knives, or French knives, are used around the kitchen as cutting tools during food preparation. The best chefs knives are generally designed to slice and cut beef. However, in contemporary cooking, the chef’s knife has become a general purpose knife for most Western cooks.  Chef’s knives are classified in two groups by design: French chef’s knives and German chef’s knives. The blades of German chef’s knives are curved toward the tip, helping the knife to rock up and down to better chop food. French chef’s knives, or Sabatier kitchen knives, differ greatly from their German counterparts; these blades are mostly triangular in shape, and only slightly curved. These knives are longer in length are useful for slicing food.  Regardless of design, the best chefs knives are the knives that help the cook prepare mouth-watering dishes; they are crucial in any cutlery arsenal and for any level of expertise.

Every kitchen knife has a different purpose: some types of kitchen knives prepare food, some cut or chop vegetables, and some slice fish, chicken and meat.  In the kitchens of famous restaurants, there is always a selection of the best chefs knives, because a chef’s knife can fulfill the role of many knives with one simple tool.  It can be used for chopping, slicing, mincing or even disjointing a large cut of beef.  Currently, Japanese manufacturers are producing the world’s best chefs knives, along with other Asian and Middle Eastern countries, earning the highest kitchen knife rating.

Japanese cutlery companies recently introduced a new chef’s knife known as the Satoku, Japanese for “three good things.” This chef’s knife is designed for general use, but is intricate enough to cut and de-bone fish.  Within a few months of its release, this Japanese chef’s knife gained immense popularity in the West. This knife is a modified version of the French chef’s knife, but its blade is shorter; the Satoku is also designed slimmer and sleeker, making it perfect for thinly slicing meat. The blade, like the blades of the best chefs knives, is made of hard steel.

The blades of the best chefs knives can be composites of different materials, including carbon steel, stainless steel, ceramic and lamination.  Carbon steel knives are made of carbon iron alloys and are easy to sharpen. Some of the best chefs knives are inexpensive, but are still used by professionals because of their abilities to cut easily.  However, these knives will rust or corrode if they are not properly cared for; the user should apply lubricant after every use.  Ceramic kitchen knives are made of ceramic, and have longer blades. The knives can chip easily if dropped. They are chemically non-reactive, and they do not discolor with use. There is a special technique necessary to sharpen ceramic kitchen knives. Stainless still knives are not as sharp as carbon steel knives, but they are resistive to rust and corrosion.  High-grade stainless steel knives are regarded as the best chefs knives in Japan; but to the rest of the world, Japanese knives are considered the best knives, regardless of the style, material or size.