Chef's knife
Type of kitchen knife From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Type of kitchen knife From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general utility knife for most Western cooks.
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A European chef's knife generally has a blade 20 centimetres (8 inches) in length and a broad 4 cm (1½ in.) width, although individual models range from 15 to 36 centimetres (6 to 14 inches) in length and may be as slender as 2 cm (¾ inch). Longer and wider knives are more frequently called chef's knives, whereas shorter & more slender knives have a tendency to be called cook's knives. The shortest and narrowest knives overlap into the general utility kitchen knife category that are too narrow to have a heel to the blade, like the smaller paring knife.
There are two common types of blade shape in Western chef's knives: French and German.
Japanese kitchen knives differ from the European style as the latter typically have a thickened heel at the base of the blade where it meets the handle at the bolster. This heel is often shaped into the handle's form at the bolster. This can clearly be seen in the photograph above. The handle is typically bi-laterally flatted to allow for it to be rivetted together through the tang, whereas the oriental style typically has an off-circular cross-section. In Japanese kitchen knives, the blade and tang has little difference in thickness throughout it length, except at the tip when sharpened - there is no bolster - it is inserted into the handle with a separate collar to hold the assembled knife together.
With modern kitchen knives, these distinct styles have merged to a degree and particular characteristics have been swapped between the two regions, as can be seen in the photograph of the kitchen knife below.
Japanese kitchen knives have come under Western influence since the Meiji era, and many hybrid versions are available. The gyuto (牛刀 ぎゅうとう, gyūtō) 'beef knife' is the Japanese term for a French (or Western) chef's knife. The gyuto were originally, and sometimes still called yo-boucho 洋包丁 meaning 'Western chefs knife'.
The santoku 'three-virtue' knife is a style hybridized with traditional knives for more functionality. It is smaller, lighter and sharper with a different blade shape.[1]
The Chinese chef's knife is completely different and resembles a cleaver. It is, however, functionally analogous to the Western chef's knife in that it's a general-purpose knife not designed for breaking bones.
A modern chef's knife is a multi-purpose knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular. It can be used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts.
Chef's knives are made with blades that are either forged or stamped:
The blade of a chef's knife is typically made of carbon steel, stainless steel, or a laminate or folded sandwich of both metals, otherwise it will be a glass-like ceramic:
Handles are made of wood, steel, or synthetic/composite materials.
The edge may be ground in different ways:
In order to improve the chef's knife's multi-purpose abilities, some users employ differential sharpening along the length of the blade. The fine tip, used for precision work such as mincing, might be ground with a very sharp, acute cutting bevel; the midsection or belly of the blade receives a moderately sharp edge for general cutting, chopping and slicing, while the heavy heel or back of the cutting edge is given a strong, thick edge for heavy-duty tasks, for example disjointing beef. This differential sharpening suits European chef's knives with the heavy heel of the blade at the base at the bolster.
Technique for the use of a chef's knife depends on how well the knife is balanced as well as an individual stylistic preference. For more precise control, especially with longer heavier knives, most cooks prefer to grip the blade itself, with the thumb and the index finger grasping the blade just to the front of the finger guard and the middle finger placed just opposite, on the handle side of the finger guard below the bolster. This is commonly referred to as a 'pinch grip'.[5] Those without culinary training often grip the handle, with all four fingers and the thumb gathered underneath.[citation needed]
For fine slicing, the handle is raised up and down while the tip remains in contact with the cutting board and the cut object is pushed under the blade.[6]
Another technique is to hold the food being cut with one hand and to run the flat of the blade along the knuckles, utilising them as a guide. This enables the efficient use of both the curvature and the length of the blade's edge to execute the cut.
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