My word, I am so over the amount of knives I own. We keep accumulating more somehow!! I have a knife magnet that fits about 6-8 large knives, and I'd like to keep it at that.
I have a BUTCHER KNIFE... WHY?!
So if you had to pick 6 knives and that's it, which one's would you keep?
I do know I want 1 nice one for veggies, 1 for meats, and 1 serrated one... not sure about the rest of them!!
So pick 6: what are your favorites and what are the used for?
I think the number of knives is dependent on number of potential annoying guests. Better to have extras. :p
I am not the person to ask, I have two butcher blocks on the counter and more knives in the drawers. I am telling you if I get rid of one you can count on its twin dying a horrible death the next day. Yes I have managed to break knives, ceramic tile and all that. :(
8" Chefs knife... It get's used for nearly everything
6" Chefs knife... It's what my son uses for nearly everything
Bread knife
Small bread knife... it rocks tomato slices, and is what my son uses on bread
Fillet knife... I cook a lot of fish
Paring knife... for everything the chefs knife doesn't do
You need alot..........at least 4-5 of all different sizes to threaten the hubby with. :)
actually I miss my knives. When we moved into an apartment we didnt bring all of our kitchen things. I will be sooooo glad when we move and i can have more space and get my knives back......I am always looking for one for different things and curse at my small kitchen. :)
All I need is one really good chef's knife. One really good paring knife, and one really good serrated knife.
THey are all Wusthof and pricey, but so worth it.
( I actually WOULD like a cleaver, butcher's knife though. I buy whole chicken wings and cut off the tips which I freeze and use for stock. A butcher's knife might be easier then the (Wusthof) kitchen scissors I use.)
So I guess that's four.
:)
Eight inch Chef's knife - I use it for just about everything
Small paring knife - things the above doesn't work for
Bread knife - yes, for bread
Santuko - it's probably 6 inches - multi purpose knife
Cleaver - for meat and veggies. Also invaluable for chopping through a lobster shell (don't love my kitchen shears)
I have duplicates of some since DH and I cook together and I will cook with my mom when she visits.
I also have a 10 inch Chef's knife (use if the 8" is dirty), several smaller thinner knives (don't remember what they are for), a meat cleaver (in addition to the all purpose), a filleting knife (never use it) and a selection of various others. I could give them all up without blinking.
I use 4. A chef's knife 6 inch for most chopping, slicing, dicing, a serated for bread products/bakery type things, small paring knife and a skinny boning knife. Haven't ever touched the rest I own and never been at a loss of how to cut.
The only two I use on a regular basis is my cleaver and my paring knife. I don't like the long blade of a chef's knife, I feel I have more control over the cleaver. We have a serrated knife which my husband likes for tomatoes, but I still prefer my cleaver over that one. My husband has a set of four knives he uses for work, cleaver, long serated, paring, and boning.
Well, steak knives and butter knives are just part of place settings, so they depend on how many people you set the table for/feed.
As far as food prep goes - I have a 5 " ceramic knife I use a lot for cutting up chicken breasts and most fruits/veggies.
I have a large serrated knife which gets used for slicing bread and carving turkey.
I also have a large straight knife that I use to cut up melon or butternut squash.
I have some other funny shaped knives I've inherited but they live at the back of of drawer and don't get used.
I've got several place sets that were also inherited (stainless steel - no one in the family bothers with silver) and we use them for picnics or for my husband to take to lunch at his office.
It's great to have a few spoons/forks/knives you don't care what happens to so my pattern/favorites don't get lost or go missing.
One Santuko knife, used for just about everything
One bread knife...for bread (duh)
One good quality small serrated knife for tomatoes (I have a set of steak knives that fit the bill for this)
I have more but those are the ones I actually use. Add in a vegetable peeler, microplane grater and pizza wheel and those would cover all of my slicing/chopping/peeling needs.
Hi R. - you probably know by now that I'm an avid cook and I also sell Pampered Chef. Having said that - you're right - you don't need dozens of knives. I have a butcher block full of hundreds of dollars of knives but I could live without most of them. Personally, I need a small paring knife (I've found that most people under the age of 35 have no idea what a paring knife is or how to use one to say, pare an apple). I use a 5" Santoku for every day slicing and dicing - everything from chopping veggies for salads, stew, etc to cutting up a roast. I need a serrated bread knife. I also like a boning knife - that's the one with the thin blade. Great for cutting skin off filet of fish or carving. How many is that? Four? I could get by with just those if I had to. Of course, they have to be razor sharp or they're not worth a darn. Good question.
The cleaver would be useful if you make chicken stock or if you chop up poultry on a regular basis.
Riley has other fine suggestions, although many people wouldn't need the small chef knife, fillet knife, or small bread knife (a steak knife could be substituted for the small bread knife).
That leaves you with 3 knives that are really, really useful (8" chef, paring, and bread). Add a fillet knife if you fillet whole fish. Add a cleaver if you chop up poultry.
Why would you want a different knife for veggies vs meats?
