14 Essential Types of Knives in India | their Uses – NFCI

Knife 🔪 is a king tool in the culinary world is vast and diverse, with a wide array of kitchen utensils that help chefs and home cooks alike create delicious dishes. This blog will explore 13 essential kitchen knives, their uses, and how they contribute to culinary success.

Here are the 14 essential types of knives in India!

1. Chef’s Knife

A versatile tool for chopping, slicing, and dicing.

A chef’s knife is a big, multi-purpose kitchen knife used for slicing, dicing, and chopping food. It is sometimes referred to as a chef’s knife or a French knife.

Features: A sharp tip, a noticeable edge with a slanting curve, and a broad, hefty blade.

Uses | Chef’s Knife

• Slicing, dicing, and chopping various meals.
• Preparing fruits, veggies, proteins, and other meals
• Transferring sliced food from the board to the pan
• Using a bone cutter rather than a cleaver

Typical dimensions

• Most often available between 15 and 25 cm (6 and 10 in), however the most common size is 20 cm (8 in).
• Longer and broader knives are more commonly termed chef’s knives.

2. Paring Knife | Types of Knives

A paring knife is a small, sharp knife with a slim blade that’s used for precise cutting tasks in the kitchen. It’s a kitchen essential that’s ideal for peeling, trimming, and shaping fruits and vegetables.

Uses | Paring Knife

• Peeling: Use a paring knife to peel fruits and vegetables, such as apples and citrus fruits.
• Trimming: Use a paring knife to trim fruits and vegetables
• Coring: Use a paring knife to core fruits, such as apples and citrus
• Deveining: Use a paring knife to devein shrimp
• Scoring: Use a paring knife to score meat or bread, which allows steam to escape or creates patterns
• Segmenting: Use a paring knife to segment citrus fruits, also known as supreming.
• Removing fat and skin: Use a paring knife to remove excess fat and skin from meat.

Characteristics

Paring knives are small and compact, making them easy to handle.

Paring knives have a sharp edge and a pointed tip.

Paring knives are ideal for detail work and when working with small or tender vegetables.

3. Bread Knife

A bread knife is a kitchen knife with a serrated edge that’s used for slicing all kinds of bread, soft fruits and vegetables, and cooked meats.

Uses | Bread Knife 

• Bread: Slice crusty loaves, soft breads, and specialty loaves without crushing them
• Fruits and vegetables: Cut soft fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, oranges, and strawberries without crushing them
• Meats: Cut thick-crusted roasts and other cooked meats
• Pastry: Slice through any kind of pastry
• Winter squash: Peel winter squash
• Citrus: Slice off citrus skin

Functions of Bread Knife

It is used for chopping onions

Cutting Beef Meat

Slicing the breads from baguettes to Bagels

4. Boning Knife | Types of Knives

A boning knife is used for removing bones from meat and fish. It has a narrow, flexible blade that allows for precise cutting around bones.

Uses | Boning Knife

• Deboning poultry, meat, and fish.
• Trimming fat and connective tissue.
• Separating meat from the bone with precision.

5. Santoku Knife

A Santoku knife is great for slicing, dicing, and chopping. It has a shorter, wider blade compared to a chef’s knife and is often used in Japanese cuisine.

Uses | Santoku Knife

• Slicing vegetables, fruits, and proteins.
• Dicing onions, herbs, and other ingredients.
• Chopping meat and vegetables.
• Making paper-thin slices of meat and vegetables.

6. Utility Knife

A utility knife is a mid-sized knife for general tasks. It’s smaller than a chef’s knife but larger than a paring knife, making it versatile for a variety of kitchen tasks.

Uses | Utility Knife

• Cutting sandwiches and paninis.
• Slicing small fruits and vegetables.
• Trimming excess fat and sinew from meat.
• Cutting cheese and charcuterie.
• Peeling and segmenting citrus fruits.

7. Cleaver Knife

A cleaver is a heavy-duty knife for chopping through bones. It has a broad, rectangular blade that provides the strength needed to break down large pieces of meat.

Uses | Cleaver Knife

• Chopping through bones and tough cuts of meat.
• Slicing large vegetables like pumpkins and squash.
• Crushing garlic cloves with the flat side of the blade.
• Splitting poultry into parts.
• Mincing meat for ground meat preparations.

8. Fillet Knife

A fillet knife has a flexible blade for filleting fish. Its thin, flexible blade allows for precise cuts and easy removal of bones.

Uses | Fillet Knife

• Filleting fish with precision.
• Removing skin from fish.
• Slicing delicate proteins like fish and poultry.
• Trimming and preparing seafood.

9. Butcher Knife

A butcher knife is used for butchering and breaking down large pieces of meat. It has a thick, strong blade that can handle tough cuts.

Uses | Butcher Knife

• Breaking down large cuts of meat.
• Slicing through bones and cartilage.
• Trimming and portioning meat.
• Preparing primal cuts for cooking.

10. Carving Knife

A carving knife is for slicing cooked meats. It has a long, narrow blade that allows for thin, even slices.

Uses | Carving Knife

• Slicing roasted meats like turkey, chicken, and beef.
• Carving large cuts of meat at the dining table.
• Creating thin, uniform slices of cooked meat.
• Slicing large fruits like melons and pumpkins.

11. Nakiri Knife

A Nakiri knife is a Japanese vegetable knife for clean cuts. It has a straight, rectangular blade that’s perfect for chopping vegetables.

Uses | Nakiri Knife

• Chopping, slicing, and dicing vegetables.
• Creating thin, uniform slices of vegetables.
• Cutting through dense vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
• Preparing vegetables for stir-fries and salads.

12. Peeler

A peeler is used for peeling fruits and vegetables. It has a sharp blade that easily removes the skin without taking too much of the flesh.

Uses | Peeler

• Peeling potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables.
• Removing skin from fruits like apples, pears, and peaches.
• Creating vegetable ribbons for salads and garnishes.
• Shaving chocolate or cheese for decorations. 

13. Grater

A grater is used to grate cheese, vegetables, and more. It has multiple blades that allow for fine or coarse grating.

Uses | Grater

• Grating cheese for toppings and recipes.
• Shredding vegetables like carrots and zucchini.
• Grating citrus zest for flavouring dishes.
• Creating fine or coarse gratings for salads and slaws.

14. Mandoline

A mandoline is for slicing vegetables thinly and uniformly. It has an adjustable blade that allows for consistent, even slices.

Uses | Mandoline

• Slicing vegetables like cucumbers, potatoes, and radishes.
• Creating uniform slices for salads and garnishes.
• Making thin slices for chips and gratins.
• Preparing vegetables for stir-fries and sautés.

Here are the 14 most essential knives for every chef or well-equipped kitchen is incomplete without the right set of knives. Each knife serves a specific purpose, enhancing efficiency and precision in culinary tasks. From the versatility of a chef’s knife to the precision of a paring knife and the strength of a cleaver, these essential tools empower chefs and home cooks to bring their culinary creations to life with ease.

Mastering the use of these knives is a fundamental skill for anyone passionate about cooking. If you’re eager to elevate your culinary expertise, NFCI offers professional culinary courses where you can learn knife skills, advanced cooking techniques, and industry insights from expert chefs. Enroll today and take the first step toward becoming a culinary maestro.

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