Types of kitchen knives – an overview for professionals
Kitchen knives at LUSINI
Types of kitchen knives – the essentials
Some types of kitchen knives are used almost daily in the catering industry and are therefore essential for chefs. These knife types are among them.
Chef's knife – the all-purpose knife for meat and vegetables
The chef's knife is a true all-rounder with a double-edged blade. It is an all-purpose knife for cutting, slicing, mincing and chopping ingredients such as meat, fish and vegetables.
Carving knife for cutting up meat
Carving knives have a long, narrow blade. The back of the blade is curved and tapers towards the tip. This type of knife is particularly suitable for carving roasts and large cuts of meat.
Carving knife with a smooth blade
Carving knives are ideal for carving and portioning roasts, meat, ham or cakes. The smooth blade prevents the food from fraying as it is cut.
Filleting knives for wafer-thin slices of meat
Filleting knives have a flexible blade for filleting fish or cutting wafer-thin slices of meat.
Boning knife for removing bones and skin
This type of knife has a narrow, very pointed blade and a curved underside – perfect for removing bones and skinning meat and poultry.
Cleaver for cutting up meat
Cleavers typically feature a rectangular blade with a blunt back and a sharp edge, and are used for cutting up meat. When held sideways, they can also be used as a meat tenderiser to flatten meat.
A bread knife for crumb-free slices
Traditional bread knives have a long blade with a coarse serrated edge. The blade cuts easily through loaves of bread, whilst the serrated edge helps to prevent crumbly, flaky slices.
Pastry knife (pastry saw) for cutting cakes
This type of knife has a serrated edge that prevents food from tearing. This all-rounder is perfect for cutting cakes and tarts, as well as bread, meat crusts or hard fruits such as pineapple.
Larding knives for clean cuts
Larding knives have a tapered blade that allows you to make deep cuts without damaging the meat fibres. This is why these knives are often used for larding roasts, for example with bacon or garlic. However, thanks to their shape, larding knives are also ideal for cutting and peeling fruit and vegetables.
Peeler for quick peeling
Peelers feature a spacer to adjust the thickness of the peel, allowing fruit and vegetables to be peeled quickly and efficiently. The movable blade adapts perfectly to the shape of the food being peeled.
Peeling knife
Peeling knives have a very sharp, curved blade that follows the contours of fruit and vegetables perfectly. This makes it easy to peel, cut and carve them.
Vegetable knife – the all-rounder
Vegetable knives have a straight cutting edge and a curved back. This makes them ideal for cutting fruit and vegetables.
Decorative knife
With its wavy or zigzag blade, this type of knife creates decorative wavy or crimped cuts in fruit and vegetables.
Carving knives for decorating and carving
Carving knives are ideal for creating particularly decorative fruit and vegetable displays. They feature a blade with a hole in the centre and a raised cutting edge. This allows fruit and vegetables to be artfully decorated and carved.
Specialist knives – knife types for specific requirements
In addition to the basic set, there are a wide variety of other knife types that can be used in a professional kitchen. Here is a small selection.
Oyster knife for opening shellfish
Thanks to this knife’s pointed blade, oysters can be opened with ease. The protective sleeve guards against sharp edges on the shell, which could cause injury when opening the oyster.
Orange peeler
These knives have a coarsely serrated edge for peeling the fruit. The notches in the blade help to score the peel for decoration.
Intestine knife or gutting knife
These knives are used for gutting intestines, offal or fish roe. The rounded tip of the intestine knife prevents the offal from being damaged during gutting.
Cheese knives for cleanly cutting soft cheese
Cheese knives have holes in the blade so that soft cheese can be cut without sticking to it. The serrated edge at the tip is designed for serving.
Hard cheese knives for attractive cheese slices
Hard cheese knives are sturdy and solid, with a pointed, sharp blade. This makes it easy to cut or break off slices of cheese.
Special Parmesan knife
Parmesan knives feature a compact, almost triangular blade. This makes it easier to slice and break off pieces of cheese from a large wheel of Parmesan.
Herb knife for quick chopping
Herb knives feature a strongly curved blade. With a quick rocking motion, herbs, nuts and seeds can be chopped easily, gently and cleanly.
Salmon knife
With a long, narrow and very flexible blade featuring a rounded tip, these knives are perfect for cutting salmon.
Ham knives for prosciutto and other cured meats
Thanks to their long, narrow blades, these knives slice ham and meat into wafer-thin slices.
Cake servers for multi-layered dishes
Cake servers help you cut neat slices from dishes consisting of several soft layers. As well as cakes, they can therefore also be used for serving quiches or lasagne.
Tomato knives for perfect tomato slices
The blade of a tomato knife has a serrated edge that cuts easily through the skin without crushing the flesh. These knives are also suitable for cutting other vegetables.
Mushroom knives for harvesting and cleaning
Mushroom knives have a short, folding, sickle-shaped blade designed to lift mushrooms out of the ground. Some models feature a brush at the end of the blade for cleaning the harvested mushrooms.
Pizza cutters for easy slicing
Pizza cutters, also known as pizza wheels, feature a blade in the shape of a small wheel, making them perfect for cutting pizza and other flatbreads. The small wheel ensures minimal contact with the food, so that as little topping as possible sticks to the blade.
Chopping knives
Chopping knives have one or two curved blades and typically two handles – one for each hand. This makes it easy to chop ingredients such as herbs or nuts.
Kitchen Knife Guide – Speciality Knives from Overseas
In addition to the knives typical of European cuisine, models from other cultures are a valuable addition, particularly in professional kitchens. Japanese knives in particular, such as santoku and sashimi knives, are popular worldwide because they can be sharpened to a very fine edge and retain their sharpness for a long time.
Japanese Santoku knife
Santoku knives are also known as ‘knives of the three virtues’, as this type of Japanese kitchen knife is a versatile tool for meat, fish and vegetables. The Santoku blade is wide and ground on both sides.
Japanese sashimi knife
Sashimi knives are single-edged filleting knives designed for professional fish preparation. This type of Japanese kitchen knife is used to cut paper-thin fillets of fish and meat.
Japanese Usuba knife
This type of Japanese knife has a rectangular blade that is sharpened on one or both sides. Usuba knives are mostly used for chopping vegetables.
Chinese cleaver
The cleaver is a classic tool in Chinese cuisine and is popular for chopping vegetables, herbs and salad, or for cutting up poultry.
Chinese chef's knife
Chinese chef's knives have a large, rectangular blade that is sharpened on both sides. Chefs typically use them for chopping and mincing herbs and vegetables.
Indian knife
This knife is a locally distinctive variant of an all-purpose knife. It is used as an everyday kitchen knife, but is also suitable for chopping hard foods, such as coconuts.
Inuit ulu knives
Ulu knives were traditionally used by Inuit women to skin or cut up game, fillet fish, and prepare and chop food.
Discover different types of knives – at LUSINI
At LUSINI, you’ll find a wide selection of versatile knives for all areas of professional catering. Take a look at our knife guide and find the right kitchen knives for your business!