A modern kitchen can only work with a good cutting knife. They are important for professional and home cooks who want their food presentation and flavours to be on point. What makes the best cutting knives, and who offers them for modern cuisine?
We will tell you in this article!
The Hallmarks of High-Quality Cutting Knives
In search of the perfect set of cutting knives, here are some key points to look out for:
Material: Cutting knives should ideally be made from high-carbon stainless steel to remain sharp and unbreakable for long periods.
Craftsmanship: Superior craftsmanship can be observed in a knife’s balance and accuracy of fit.
Asymmetrical: Making a knife an extension of your hand is enhanced by an asymmetrically styled handle. A good knife must be sharp so it cuts easily and is easy on the hand.
Australia’s Contribution to the Cutting Edge
Today, although the country might not be top of mind when you think of great cutting knives, Australia is home to two of the most innovative and best-cutting knives available – a simple concept of putting bold, cutting-edge designs into traditional hand-forging techniques to make stunning kitchen and fine cutlery.
Cutting Knives Australia: A Blend of Style and Substance
The Best Cutting Knives Set for Your Kitchen
You will get a full tool line when you buy the best cutting knives set. Normally, the set will comprise the following items:
A chef’s knife for versatile cutting tasks.
A paring knife for delicate work.
A serrated knife for bread and tomatoes.
A utility knife for all-purpose use.
Finding Your Perfect Match
So many options could make you think that the best cutting knives for you won’t arrive until years from now. Consider the type of food you’re working with the most and maybe the size of your hands!
Elevate Your Cooking with Australia’s Finest
Whether dicing vegetables, slicing meat or carving a roast, a good knife can make a world of difference. Knives Australia can help you turn those cuts into everyday, easy-to-make precision with the sharpest knives for any occasion. A good knife is no luxury – it is an investment.
Mastering the Art of Knife Handling
It is all about a knife wielded by a proper hand, the point about proper use being that with proper grip, one is exerting more control over the business end of the blade.
The most frequently recommended is the ‘pinch grip’, hands clasped around the base with thumb and forefinger giving way to the blade.
While this can be too twitchy for some uses, if you take the rest of your hand and alight on the back of the blade, looping around the handle with a firm but not rigid grasp, you effectively govern every aspect of the cutting action.
Knife Maintenance: The Key to Consistency
A good knife is a pain for a cook when it’s blunt. That’s why we frequently hone and sharpen your blades to keep them razor-sharp. Honing – where we realign the blade’s margin (its edge) – and sharpening – where we remove material from the knife’s blade – distort and grind respectively to create a new blade each time you use it.
The Art of Chopping: Techniques for Efficiency
Chopping is one of the most fundamental of all knife skills. It can be broken down into two main techniques, the ‘rock chop’ and the ‘cross chop’.
The rock chop moves the knife in a rocking motion, with the tip of the knife acting as the fulcrum. It is good for herbs, vegetables, or any finer chop ingredient.
Cross-chop is a more powerful technique, where the knife is lifted and driven down forcefully on top of the ingredient to give a cross-chop action across the ingredient.
Slicing: A Test of Precision
Slicing is an exercise in steady nerves and good eyesight. It’s better to shimmy the blade into a long stroke and let the knife take over rather than sawing with no defined beginning or end. The thing to do is make uniform slices – whether cutting fondue-perfect carpaccio medallions of potatoes or diced carrots for a mirepoix.
Dicing: The Cornerstone of Knife Skills
Dice to cut food into pieces that look like cubes. Dicing takes good knife control, and you will have different dice sizes based on the dish, but the way you cut is the same: Precise, even cuts that end up looking like cubes.
Filleting: The Delicate Dance
One of everyone’s favourite uses of a flexible cutting knife is filleting fish – the delicate sawing motions required to remove the flesh from the backbone delicate ribs and filleting bones without damaging the delicate flesh as either cutting knife and fish move across each other.
Butchering: The Blend of Strength and Skill
Cutting is a more delicate knife work, requiring lightness of touch and restraint. A cutter must learn to understand the grain of meat so that when he or she holds the knife, they know how to go with it.
With a knife in hand, the artisan’s eye notices the natural planes in the meat and follows them with the blade, pressure and speed.
Butchering is more of a bludgeoning process. Where the cutter’s eye discerns natural divides, the butcher must know how to make them. He or she must ram the blade through lumps of flesh and through connective tissue. A butcher must know the animal’s anatomical divisions and how to split them.
Safety First: The Non-Negotiable Rule
Far more important than style is safety. This means storing your knives out of the way, using a stable cutting board beneath what you’re working on, and never cutting towards yourself. You should keep your fingers tucked away so they can’t interfere, and always be aware of where the cutting edge is located.
Conclusion: The Symphony of Skills
Hold your cutting knife correctly. Allow it to sing. Cultivate the skills and techniques and turn humble carrots or beef shank into a symphony of culinary design. Great cooks bring knives, food and skill into balance. The cutting knife is more like a partner for the chef or butcher.
