A Guide to Professional Knives
To match the number of cutting and chopping jobs that occur in a kitchen, knife manufacturers now provide a wide variety of knives is varying shapes and sizes. Chefs at home rarely need such a range and the majority of chopping and cutting can be done with one great quality knife. Further than this, a home chef may require a bread knife and a small fruit and vegetable knife for safety reasons.
High quality professional knives are made from either ceramics or stainless steel. Plastic knives are also available but these should never be used when preparing food. The majority of professional chefs will use a high quality stainless steel knife unless they can afford the price tag on ceramic knives.
The most widely manufactured and distributed knives are made from stainless steel. The overwhelming majority of kitchens both private and professional will make use of stainless steel knives thanks to their availability and reasonable pricing. While stainless steel knives aren’t as sharp as ceramic knives they can survive many different cutting jobs such as chopping and cutting through hard materials. However if a knife makes use of cheap brittle steel, it will begin to chip almost instantly, leaving potentially dangerous shards of metal in food.
Ceramic knives are by far the sharpest and this is evident their price. Ceramic knives can slice through the majority of food as if it was butter. Due to the hard nature of a ceramic and the materials used, the knives will barely lose their edges and are very strong. They can only be re-sharpened using a material that is harder than the knife, which is usually and industrial diamond coated sharpening tool.
When purchasing a high quality knife it makes sense to learn how to maintain and care for the blade. Professional knives cost a lot more than any standard knife so failure to do this could potentially waste a significant amount of money. With proper care and maintenance a professional knife will be the best investment that a chef can make.
Find out more about a professional knife set such as Wusthof Knives, or the ever popular Global Kitchen Knives.
