How to choose a good knife for the kitchen

Kitchen knives - this is what determines the quality of the cooked food, because even cutting plays an important role both in the cooking process and in the course of use. Sharp and high-quality knives - a real gift for any hostess. After all, working with them is a pleasure. But not everyone knows exactly how to choose a good knife for the kitchen. We are in a hurry to fix it.

What and how many knives should be in the kitchen

In the olden days, hostesses used two, well, maximum three knives for all operations in the kitchen. But this is fundamentally wrong. For starters, you should not cut ready-made and raw foods, meat and bread, etc. with the same knife. That is why in the arsenal of the modern hostess there must be a large assortment of knives. There are so-called basic sets, the number of knives in them varies from 4-5 to ten. But first you need to have at your disposal the following types:

1. Universal - it is convenient to do almost anything with this knife, it has great functionality. Its size is about 13 cm, which is convenient for cutting and cleaning products.
2. The chef - this knife is longer, its length varies from 20 to 23 cm. It is most often used for cuts: diced, chopped, chopped meat.
3. Vegetable knife is used for cutting and cleaning vegetables. A length of about 8 cm, with its help it is convenient to cut and peel small vegetables.
4. The bread knife has characteristic cloves for the convenience of slicing even the freshest product. It can also be used for cutting pies or baking, fruit, tomatoes.
5. Sliced ​​meat is ground (but the pieces will be quite large), its mini-copy is often used in slicing. And more specifically, in the chop greens.
6. Thinning (boning) - it can be used to easily separate fish fillets or meat from bone. The main quality is flexible and thin blade.
7. Knife for cutting - with it you can get even and thin slices of fried poultry or meat.
8. Cheese knife - with it you can not only chop, but also serve the cheese. This knife has a special feature of the blade structure: it has holes that prevent the product from sticking to the knife blade and thus give an even and beautiful cut, without crushing the cheese.

Of course, in order to keep the knives always sharp, it is worthwhile to have a tool for sharpening, and it is important to use it correctly. For example, a standard bar for steel knives is absolutely not suitable for a ceramic knife.

If you need all these knives, it is advisable to look at the sets: first, it is cheaper, and secondly, you will not need to run around in search of a sharp kitchen assistant. But here, too, has its own nuances. If you buy a whole set at once, it is likely that one of its copies will be inconvenient to lie in your hand, and as a result, you will not use it. And when choosing each one individually, you can compare and choose the one that will best cut the meat, bread or peel the vegetables.

Manufacturing material

To date, there are only two types of materials on the market from which knives can be made - steel and ceramics. Steel knives have long been known and widely used. When choosing this type should pay attention to the steel itself. Almost all modern knives are made of steel grade 18/10.Remember these numbers, and if the manufacturer does not have a mark on the kitchen product, then almost 100%, that it is of poor quality, and he is just ashamed to show it. Such knives are better to avoid. Steel knife can not be cheap, so do not be fooled by advertising about the super quality of steel knives for 1000 rubles per set. There will be no particular difference in the blades of modern products, they differ in the material of the handle, and if it is a set, then the number of units in it.

There are also titanium knives or with titanium coating. These are ordinary steel products coated with a thin layer of titanium, which makes it possible to prolong their service life, and it is not often to sharpen them, since such a material has high strength. But the knives are not made entirely of it: it is a durable, but rather soft metal, so it will not work to achieve the necessary rigidity, and besides, it is very expensive.

If you want to buy a knife with a ceramic blade, you need to pay attention to the blade itself. Inspect it in good light, there should not be chips and scratches. Just like steel, a good ceramic knife will not be cheap. Also note the presence of covers for such knives,because if they are stored in a drawer for kitchen supplies in bulk, their blade will quickly become unusable.

Inspection and feeling of the knife (general recommendations)

When you have decided what kind of knife, and for what purpose you need, take it in your hand. You need to feel how comfortable it is to manage it. The knife should be comfortable and soft in your hand. But one should not focus only on oneself, especially if several people often cook in the kitchen, for example, the husband is not averse to pampering the whole family with a delicious dinner.

A knife is almost a thing of individual use. The one that is convenient for you may absolutely not fit your second half and vice versa. So, it is better to choose a knife individually. Another tip: do not entrust the purchase of a knife to someone else, because you use it.

Pay attention to the signs of joining, welding. Especially near the handle: this particular place is the weakest in any products. If the connection is weak, then the knife is likely to bend or break. The best are products that are made of a single piece of steel, but, firstly, they are quite expensive, and secondly, they are very difficult to find on domestic shelves.You should be alerted if the handle is completely “tightened” with plastic, since under it is likely a thin strip of iron, which at the first pressure will bend or break.

Take the knife in hand - its weight will be the determining factor for the intended use. So, lightweight products are great for quick and precise slicing, with heavy ones it is better to exercise when slicing meat. This type is perfectly suitable for cutting nuts, ginger and similar products.

The important point is the balance of the cutting device. If the knife is of high quality, the weight of its handle and blade will be approximately the same. You can check this figure right at the place of purchase. To do this, take the knife at the junction of the handle and the cutting blade, the sharp section should look down. Do not hold him firmly, and so that he can freely lean in one direction or the other. If this happens, then the knife is not balanced, if it remains in a balanced position - then this is a sure sign of quality.

You ask, why do we need a balance, what does it affect? And here everything is simple: it facilitates the work with the device. It takes less effort to cut something.At its core, this is a point of leverage, like a child’s swing: it should be placed in a certain place and not otherwise. If the knife has the right balance, then efforts for monotonous actions, such as cutting, will be much less.

Handle as an important element of the knife

Take a look at the handle, it should be quite solid, easy to wash. Do not neglect the quality of attachment. The handle must be the hardest part of the knife, since it is the one that imports the movement energy to the blade. If you notice that the pen is too thin or there are clearly visible traces of welding, refuse to purchase this representative of the cutting fraternity. Also, the presence of one or several gaps in it is not a very good signal, since it weakens the whole knife design and will become a breeding ground for microbes, since food pieces that will be difficult or even impossible to extract from there will surely fall into this place.

The material of the manufacture of the handle is important: it is imperative that it does not slip. These requirements are fully met by the handle of wood, plastic, hardened resin. The once popular bone handles are now justifiably considered not only impractical, but also dangerous.Bone tends to break down over time. That is why the cases of injury with such a knife were often recorded, since the handle just crumbled. Extremely undesirable material for it is loose and soft wood.

What should be a good blade

Pay special attention to the blade, its thickness and smoothness. Regarding the latter, it is better to choose options with a surface that does not have any dimples and microglobes. The surface of a good knife as if polished. It is important that the cutting part runs along the entire length of the knife, from the tip to the base. Often you can find such products, in which the cutting blade does not reach the handle by 1-1.5 cm, they are absolutely not suitable for cutting hard products.

It is better not to buy a knife-file for cutting meat and vegetables, they are often sold at an attractive price. Why is that? Jagged knives can not be sharpened, they are more likely to saw and tear products than to cut them, and this can be fraught with cuts. Such products can be cut bread or baked products and nothing more.

Note that the wider the blade of the knife, the more beautiful and more even the cut will be, but it is difficult to cut it.If the blade is narrow, less effort is needed for cutting, but the quality of the cut will probably suffer from this. That is why pay attention to the average option, although it is better to have both one and the second in reserve.

Self-sharpening knives: myth or reality

Surely when choosing a knife, the sympathetic seller will offer you a knife that does not need to sharpen. But do not be mistaken: there are none. Well, imagine how you can sharpen a knife about bread, vegetables or meat. The answer is simple: no way. If you need a knife that requires not very frequent sharpening, then you can search for this option.

So, the slowest blunt option is the knives, which are sharpened by laser technology. You can recognize them by looking at the cutting part of the canvas: on it you will see small transverse stripes. Of course, such knives are more expensive. Also good characteristics have knives made of ceramics. Their blade itself is very thin, and does not require frequent sharpening. But if such a knife still reached the condition when sharpening is needed, it is better to entrust it to a professional, since in this case the standard methods will not work.

It is quite realistic to choose a good knife, but its further operation will depend not only on the initial quality.It is important to properly store kitchen products: for this, use special wooden coasters or magnetic tapes. It is necessary to sharpen them in a timely manner using tools that are suitable for a particular type of knife. It is necessary to use each kind according to its intended purpose. It is also very important to use precisely selected devices: then you can avoid cuts and injuries, because according to statistics, most of the troubles happen precisely because of the use of the knife, which is unusual for you to work with, and not because it is sharp.

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