The blog of cooking-ez.com
The 3 essential knives
You must have heard a chef or cook say: "There’s no good cooking without good ingredients". This is very true, of course, but for any amateur or beginner it is equipment that really counts to start with.
What I mean is that you should not skimp on kitchen equipment, good utensils, a food processor or other machines – the right tools are vital if you want to cook well.
What I mean is that you should not skimp on kitchen equipment, good utensils, a food processor or other machines – the right tools are vital if you want to cook well.
19K 14 5
Last modified on: May 30th 2018
Keywords for this post:KnifeKitchenChefTypesEssentialChoiceThe 3 essential knives
In other words, your recipes stand a better chance of success, and will be easier and more enjoyable, if you have the right tools to begin with.
And when it comes to tools, the first and foremost, without which you can do nothing, the kitchen’s alpha and omega, is the knife.
It’s what cooks do: we cut, trim, slice, chop, peel, and a whole host of other verbs that describe everything that can be done with a knife. Let’s be clear, without a knife you would be hard pushed to do anything well, apart from a bit of baking. Even then, just for lining a simple tart tin, you would need to trim around the edges.
So you will need a knife, and a good one. No, on second thoughts, you will actually need three. With these, an amateur can do everything (or almost). Here they are in order of importance:
- Top place goes to this small knife with a blade of a similar length to the handle, about 3.5 to 4 inches (8-10 cm). This is very useful for cutting up small any food that is neither too large nor too hard. It’s the all-purpose knife that we reach for very often. The small blade makes it ideal for fine cutting or fancy details. Typical tasks: dicing a shallot.
- In second place is this medium-sized knife, about twice the size of the paring knife. The blade is a little thicker and longer and the handle is wider, which sits snugly in the hand. This is also a general work-horse knife, but not for cutting small, as the blade is too large. Typical tasks: Jointing or cutting up meat.
- In third place is this hefty chef’s knife, used for chopping. It is about three times the size of the small paring knife. The thick blade and solid handle allow cutting that requires an element of force. This is the specialist tool for chopping vegetables, but not only that. Typical tasks: chopping up a celeriac or cutting leeks into large chunks.
With these three you will be able to do everything you need, or almost, I would say. You will also need a vegetable peeler to make life easier and, if possible, a honing (or butcher’s) steel or whetstone to keep your three knives well sharpened. There’s nothing worse than a knife that doesn’t cut because it’s been badly sharpened.
While we’re about it, just a word about quality. As always, you should invest a decent amount, but without going over the top. There is no need to buy really expensive Japanese knives (OK, they’re classy, I know); you would be better off with decent French knives, with stainless blades and handles in something other than wood, as these are not extortionately priced. They will last you for many years. Meryl Streep, the American actress, once said on a TV show that every time she goes to France, she can’t resist buying French chef’s knives for their exceptional quality.
To sum up: To cook well, you will need 3 knives: paring, medium and large chef’s knives. Stainless steel blade, handle not in wood. And good quality – de la qualité!
And when it comes to tools, the first and foremost, without which you can do nothing, the kitchen’s alpha and omega, is the knife.
It’s what cooks do: we cut, trim, slice, chop, peel, and a whole host of other verbs that describe everything that can be done with a knife. Let’s be clear, without a knife you would be hard pushed to do anything well, apart from a bit of baking. Even then, just for lining a simple tart tin, you would need to trim around the edges.
So you will need a knife, and a good one. No, on second thoughts, you will actually need three. With these, an amateur can do everything (or almost). Here they are in order of importance:
Paring knife
- Top place goes to this small knife with a blade of a similar length to the handle, about 3.5 to 4 inches (8-10 cm). This is very useful for cutting up small any food that is neither too large nor too hard. It’s the all-purpose knife that we reach for very often. The small blade makes it ideal for fine cutting or fancy details. Typical tasks: dicing a shallot.
Medium chef’s (or utility) knife
- In second place is this medium-sized knife, about twice the size of the paring knife. The blade is a little thicker and longer and the handle is wider, which sits snugly in the hand. This is also a general work-horse knife, but not for cutting small, as the blade is too large. Typical tasks: Jointing or cutting up meat.
Large chef’s knife
- In third place is this hefty chef’s knife, used for chopping. It is about three times the size of the small paring knife. The thick blade and solid handle allow cutting that requires an element of force. This is the specialist tool for chopping vegetables, but not only that. Typical tasks: chopping up a celeriac or cutting leeks into large chunks.
With these three you will be able to do everything you need, or almost, I would say. You will also need a vegetable peeler to make life easier and, if possible, a honing (or butcher’s) steel or whetstone to keep your three knives well sharpened. There’s nothing worse than a knife that doesn’t cut because it’s been badly sharpened.
While we’re about it, just a word about quality. As always, you should invest a decent amount, but without going over the top. There is no need to buy really expensive Japanese knives (OK, they’re classy, I know); you would be better off with decent French knives, with stainless blades and handles in something other than wood, as these are not extortionately priced. They will last you for many years. Meryl Streep, the American actress, once said on a TV show that every time she goes to France, she can’t resist buying French chef’s knives for their exceptional quality.
To sum up: To cook well, you will need 3 knives: paring, medium and large chef’s knives. Stainless steel blade, handle not in wood. And good quality – de la qualité!
Lasts posts
Wipe meats and fish before cooking
When you want to cook meat or fish, there's a very simple yet very important step to take before you even start: It's to dry, or wipe, each side of the meat or fish, sometimes called "dabbing" or "sponging". But why? And how? Let me explain.6215 April 14th 2024
Toss the salad
When you've finished preparing a salad, green or otherwise, it's usually time to add the dressing and toss. It's often said to "toss the salad", which means to season and mix. Is it easy? Not so easy...2,3145 March 8th 2024
Half milk, half cream
In a multitude of recipes, savoury or sweet, milk is used as the main ingredient, or at least as the main liquid ingredient. Milk is used instead of water, for example, because milk contains a proportion of fat, which adds roundness and softness to the recipe. This mellowness is very pleasant on...2,248 February 27th 2024
Cutting soft cheeses
As you may have already noticed, when you have to use a "soft" cheese in a recipe - their exact name is "soft cheese" - such as Camembert, Munster or Mont d'or, it's not easy to make anything other than thick slices.2,3975 February 20th 2024
It's spinning too fast!
When you need to grate or slice vegetables, you generally use an electric machine that does all the work: a food processor, a mixer with a "slicer" extension or similar. Are these machines really suitable? Generally speaking, yes of course, but there's one criterion that often poses a problem,...5,2775 November 12th 2023
Other pages you may also like
The march forward
When professionals get to work in their kitchen, lab or bakery, they are (if they are conscientious) very sensitive to hygiene and cleanliness. It is impossible for a good baker for example to do a day's work without regularly cleaning the table where he or she works, and it is even more...13K5 June 30th 2021
The bitterness of endives
As I write these lines, we are entering the endive season, and if you like it, it's time to enjoy it, if possible with your local producers. Endive is good, but the reproach that is often made of it, and children in particular, is: "It's bitter! And it is (somewhat) true of course, endives...8,7744.9 February 9th 2019
In praise of the whetstone
Have you ever seen a butcher or a chef sharpen his knife before using it? Usually he uses a special tool, a long thin cylinder made of very hard metal. And in a smooth and elegant gesture, he very quickly passes the edge of the knife against the rifle, which makes a very characteristic noise,...5,7804.8 June 5th 2021
In praise of slow cooking
You will no doubt have noticed that in cookery, it's often the actual cooking process that gets neglected. This is understandable; it comes at the end of the recipe and getting the dish in the oven is something of a relief (ah, that's done!), which frees us to cope with what's left: tidying the...36K4.2 February 9th 2011
Artichoke stalks
When preparing artichokes for cooking, you may well already know that we often need to remove the first round of leaves, if they are tatty or dirty, as well as the inedible stalk. The operative word here is “remove” , rather than “cut off”.47K4.3 October 25th 2016
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.