Know your Knife

A sharp knife is a braai & kitchen tool you can’t live without, however blunt that statement may be, this tool is sometimes overlooked. Cutting clean through a steak or tomatoes with a good knife can make this dull task become instantly satisfying again. Yet knowing which knife to use is just as important and that’s why we have compiled a small list so you can always dice, mince, chop and slice with the best knife choice. 

We have sliced up the the knife categories into two sections, namely the Dailies and the Meatlover essentials. We will also  discuss what different knife edges are used for.

CHEF KNIFE

This is your everyday workhorse. Invest in a decent one and your future self will thank you.
Chopping | Slicing | Dicing | Mincing
Size: 150-200 mm

SANTOKU knife

This is japanese version of the Chef knife. A great multipurpose knife with a wide blade for scooping food and a curved end for a better swaying motion when chopping.
Chopping | Slicing | Dicing | Mincing | Crushing | scooping
Size: 120-180 mm

UTILITY KNIFE

This is an all rounder and highly versatile, being smaller makes it suitable for cutting vegetables and fruit along with smaller cuts of meat.
Chopping | Slicing
Size: 120-180 mm 

Bread knife

We know you know the answer but we will explain anyway. This knife has a long and strong serrated blade perfect for cutting slices of you guessed it…bread. It is also useful for cutting soft foods with tougher skins like tomatoes.
Slicing | Cutting
Size: 200mm-300mm

pARING knife

This is smaller than the Utility knife with a fine blade.Perfect for peeling, de-seeding of fruit and vegetables and potatoes. 
Mincing | Peeling | Coring | de-seeding
Size: 50mm-100mm

 

CLEAVER KNIFE

This large rectangular shaped blade is sturdy and is used for splitting large cuts of meat and boney cuts like ribs.
Slicing | Cutting
Size:150mm-250mm

SLICING KNIFE

Great for carving the straight edge stops juices from escaping meats.This comes in a serrated version too.
Slicing | Carving
Size: 350mm-450mm

BONING KNIFE

We know you know the answer but we will explain anyway. This knife has a long and strong serrated blade perfect for cutting slices of you guessed it…bread. It is also useful for cutting soft foods with tougher skins like tomatoes.
Slicing | Cutting
Size:100mm-170mm

STEAK KNIFE

This makes short work of any steak as the name suggest. Slim and sturdy it will help any hungry human devour their steak with ease.
Slicing | Cutting
Size:100mm-150mm

Side note: There is an even larger variety of knifes, many with highly specialized purposes. The knives we showed are some of the more common ones used.