Having a nice set of knives is probably one of the most important things in a kitchen. A good knife set can save you valuable time and effort when preparing a meal. That’s why one of the most important things to know in the kitchen besides information on the food you are preparing is what kind of knife you should be using. Now, this can be sort of an overwhelming experience if you have never taken the time to learn this. I must admit the thing I hate worst about being in the kitchen is the chopping, cutting and mincing of all the ingredients before I get to add them to my pot or pan (that is why 9 times out of 10 I get my significant other to do it!). Unfortunately, we don’t all have a TV crew of 30 taking care of everything ahead of time like they do in the food shows we all love to watch. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were just bowls of nicely chopped ingredients waiting to be thrown into your mixtures? So there comes a point in time where you really just have to suck it up and learn the basics. So it’s back to basics here at the Gourmet Foodie Blog: Knife Class 101. Where we will walk you through everything you need to know in a series of articles ranging from what each knife is used for to how to sharpen your knives properly to different cutting techniques to help you slice and dice like the pros!

I believe that the first thing everyone needs to know is what all those knives in our drawers and blocks are used for! Most people will get used to using about 3 knives at first and then add specialty knives to their collections as they become more advanced in their cooking. The three basic knives I would suggest you starting out with are a heavy Chef’s knife or Santoku Knife, a smaller knife such as a paring knife and a serrated bread knife. These are probably the most versatile knifes so they are good to have around. However, there are many other types of knives each with a special purpose. I have compiled a list of knives that I have in my kitchen and what their main uses are:

The Bread Knife: Similar to a carving knife, it typically has a serrated edge and is used for slicing loaves of bread or other foods with a hard surface with a soft inside (hence the name). A good bread knife will have the offset serrated side and an offset handle to ensure the cook’s knuckles will not touch the cutting surface when the blade has cut all of the way through the food.

The Carving Knife aka (meat knife): Has long blades with a serrated or plain edge which can be rounded or pointed. This is typically used for carving and slicing meats.

The Chef’s Knife: Again this is probably the most versatile of all knives, it will come in different sizes and are typically very strong as the rigid blades make them suitable for a whole range of cutting jobs which include mincing, slicing, chopping vegetables, slicing meat, or even disjointing large cuts of beef or ham. The size of knife you choose should be related to the size of your hand and skill level. A larger hand and better skill level the larger the knife you can select.

Santoku Knife: This is an adaptation of the Chef’s knife. This knife is shorter than most chefs’ knives so people with smaller hands tend to like this knife a lot. The blade’s cutting edge is normally hardened above the latter and is sometimes optimized with “dimples” for cutting fish, vegetables, and smaller-boned and/or boneless meats. This blade design in turn allows a more acute angle on the cutting edge that makes the knife ideal for accurate cutting and thin slicing.

The Boning Knife: As its name would suggest has very strong blades that will not bend or break easily. The knife can be straight or curved; a stiff boning knife is good for boning beef and pork, but a very flexible boning knife is preferred for poultry and fish.

The Paring Knife: This small knife is one you will also more than likely be accustomed to using. It has a thin and slightly flexible blade made for easy hand work which includes shaping mushrooms, de-veining shrimp, removing seeds and cutting small garnishes. I look for a paring knife to be about 2.5”-3.5” in size with a smaller handle that give you the maximum control over the tip and edge of the blade.

The Meat Cleaver: Other than use in your occasional horror film this large, square blade knife is used for butchery. It can make short work of large bones and help you to chop your way through a whole pig or lamb in no time! However, there are thin blade cleavers. These that can be used for chopping vegetables. Make sure when using to chop through bones make sure that the thicker the bone the thicker the knife.

The Filleting Knife: This is a thin, flexible blade that is very sharp that is usually used to fillet fish. Its naturally flexible nature will allow you to press the blade at a 20 degree angle between the meat and skin with ease!