Having a good set of kitchen knives is essential for any home cook, as it can male preparing meals much more enjoyable and certainly easier. A good quality knife set when cared for properly can last a lifetime. As always, you get what you pay for. So if you are serious about cooking, buy the best knife sets you can afford. It can save you more money in the long run because you will never need to replace your knives every year or two. Also, buying a set is less expensive than purchasing several knives individually.
A high quality knife set usually includes the ‘basic’ knives plus a nice and sturdy knife block for storage. You can certainly buy them all at once, but you can also buy just a couple and then work up to completing the entire set:
Chef’s Knife This features a triangular blade and can be anywhere from 6 to 12 inches in length. A chef’s knife is perfect for dicing, chopping, and slicing. You need this—it will be the knife you will use most when preparing everyday meals.
Paring Knife Approximately 3 inches long and 0.75 inches inch wide, the paring knife is used to take the skin off vegetables and fruits. You can also use it to dice, chop, and slice food items that may be too small to slice with the chef knife.
Serrated Knife These knives are primarily used for slicing bread neatly.
These three knives make up a great kitchen knife set, perhaps with the addition of a food utility knife (usually 6 inches long and very versatile). As you get better in the kitchen, you can add specialty knives over time.
Serious cooks and professional chefs typically use ‘fine edge knives’ because of the superior feel and weight. The blades on these types of knives are very sharp and ideal for precision cutting, but they require steeling. For home cooks, knives that do not require sharpening often good enough. They won’t make precision cuts the way fine edge knives do, but these knives (especially those that were made by reputable manufacturers) retain their sharpness for a long time.
