Kitchen knives are essential in any kitchen. At first glance, they seem to have the same use as a chef’s knife. It is true that they are identical in structure to a chef’s knife and the only visual difference is that they are smaller. But kitchen paring knives aren’t meant to be used as a smaller version of the chef’s knife.
Due to the size of the paring knives, they fit comfortably in the hand. This is by design so you can have greater control and precision. The blade of kitchen paring knives is about 2 1/2 to 4 inches. This makes the vegetable knife ideal for slicing, detailed chopping, peeling, and other kitchen jobs that require a steady hand and precision. With a chef’s knife, a cutting board is often used. With kitchen paring knives, you hold the knife in one hand and the object you’re cutting in the other.
A kitchen knife is most often used for fruits and vegetables. To remove the skin, a seed, create garnishes and designs. Smaller items and jobs are ideal with a paring paring knife. You can use it to cut the skin off an apple, deflower a shrimp, or use the tip to remove the eyes from a potato.
There are different types of kitchen knives available. The best thing is that the type is forged and made with stainless steel. The different groups of kitchen knives for vegetables include:
The Clip Point Parer: Effective to remove unnecessary pieces of fruits and vegetables.
The Spear Point Parer: Good for a light snack.
The Miniature Boning Knife – When you need to debone the meat of small birds.
The bird’s beak peeler: used to cut vegetables in the shape of a sphere.
The Peeling of Sheep’s Feet: Commonly used for peeling and skinning.
To effectively use kitchen paring knives, you must first learn how to hold the knife and the object you want to cut. Hold the knife in your right hand if you are right handed or in your left hand if you are left handed. With the knife in hand, hold the handle firmly, but loose enough for it to move. Make sure your thumb is free. Have the blade facing you. In the other hand, place the object in the palm of the hand and hold it firmly. If you’re cutting something small like a jalapeno, hold the item with your fingertips.
To peel, with the hand holding the knife, place your thumb on the item. Carefully press the blade of the knife over the item and slowly peel it off. When peeling, pull the blade in the direction where your thumb rests and use the hand that is holding the item to rotate.
To shell the strawberries, use the tip of the paring knife to remove the stem and carve out the core. If you want to cut a lemon or orange, first get a container to catch the juice that drips. Peel the skin off the fruit first, then cut between each piece of white membrane to divide the sections.
