Why You Need to Buy a Good Kitchen Knife and Best Chef Knife under 100
Want Faster Better Food? Buy a Faster Better Knife!
Want speed and excitement right in your kitchen? Buy a brand spankin’ new knife!
Walk around any department store or designer cookware store and you’ll see huge knife blocks full of specialty tools that can easily cost you $300, $500 or more than $1,000 per set. If you’re like most home cooks though, you walk right past them. You’ve already got knives, right?
Unless you’ve got high-quality knives though, you could be bringing the quality of your cooking and the experience of cooking down. Whether you know it or not, buying a new knife, or maybe even two, could be exactly what you need to improve your time in the kitchen.
A Good Chef’s Knife
Chances are, if you’ve done any cooking, you already own a knife for chopping and slicing food. The comparison between an OK knife and a good-quality chef’s knife is like that of hamburger to prime rib. Once you’ve held the better of the two in your hand, you’ll never go back.
The key to a great knife is finding one that fits you. Chef’s knives come in a variety of lengths, styles and weights, and finding the right one for you means getting out there and experiencing them for yourself. Find a local kitchen supply store and ask to test drive some of their knives. The right knife should have proper balance, meaning the balance point is where the handle meets the blade. This makes possible a much smoother motion when cutting and chopping, requiring less effort on your part. A good knife should also allow you to chop in that rocking style that you see so often on cooking shows.
Weight is another factor when choosing the right chef’s knife. Some prefer a heavy knife, its weight helping with the downward, cutting motion while others find too much weight a burden. See what feels comfortable based on your hand size and strength.
Safety First
A lot of people think that a brand new knife that’s really sharp is going to take the tip of their finger off if they don’t have the knife skills of a Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali or Martha Stewart. The fact is that sharp knives are a lot safer than dull ones, even for chefs that don’t have professional training or years of culinary experience.
When you slice, chop, cut or dice when a dull knife, you’re a lot more likely to slip and cut yourself. Sharp knives make exact cuts and get through tough items like carrots, onions and meat a lot better than dull ones.
Faster Food Preparation
If you ask the average home chef what they like least about cooking, chances are they’re going to say they dislike the amount of time preparing a meal takes. For the most part, what they really mean is they hate the amount of time it takes to prepare food for cooking.
Chopping onions, cutting up lettuce, slicing tomatoes and filleting fish, among other kitchen tasks, can be slow work. With a sharp knife, you’ll make much faster work of those same onions.
You’ll also improve your knife skills by using effective tools if you’re new to cooking.
Fine Cuts, Fine Food
Many home cooks are frustrated with how their food looks once it hits the plate. Food that’s cut poorly is also going to cook unevenly, resulting in food that doesn’t taste quite how you would like it to.
Buying a better knife can help you make more exact cuts, producing better quality food. From cooked foods like roasted potatoes to chopped ingredients for salads and stews, fine cuts equal fine food.
Good Knives Last Much Longer
Knives can be expensive, and if you like to cook regularly, you probably have to replace yours once in a while. When you buy high-quality knives with a sharp blade, made of the best materials, you won’t have to replace them nearly as often.
That means that good knives will pay for themselves over time, even if they’re more upfront. Quality knives don’t need to be sharpened as frequently either. That’s something busy home cooks should be concerned about, especially since a good sharpening is going to cost you each time you drop off your tools.
What to Look For
If you’re going to buy one high-quality knife that you can do almost anything with, you need to look for an 8-inch chef’s knife with a fine tip. The blade is big enough to handle meat and large vegetables, and the tip will be pointed and delicate enough to score foods like chicken skin or orange slices.
A 4-inch paring knife is also an ideal tool to keep in your kitchen, especially if you spend a lot of time slicing small vegetables and doing tasks like hulling strawberries. If you spend a lot of time with bread and hard to cut items, a nine-inch double serrated bread knife is ideal for crusty loaves, peeling pineapple and cutting paper thin slices of tomatoes, eggplant or zucchini.
Look for knives made with quality materials like ceramic, carbon steel, stainless steel or a mixture of carbon and stainless. You also want to look for knives forged from one piece of steel if you can afford the cost.
If not, look for knives that have substantial amounts of steel in the handle. They’re a lot more durable than knives with plastic handles, and offer a smooth, powerful cut that you won’t get with a cheaper knife.
Any Particular Brands?
Brands aren’t as important as you might think when it comes to high-quality knives. Companies like Mac can charge nearly $200 for a knife, but you’ll be able to keep it for years to come. Bigger brands you can find at department stores like Wusthof and Henckels are good choices too, and you can buy a decent set around the holidays for $200 to $400.
The brand you buy doesn’t matter that much though. Find something that feels comfortable in your hand and has good balance when you hold it. You don’t want a top-heavy knife, or one where the handle is a lot heavier than the blade.
Want to get truly excited in the kitchen? Buy some new knives!
Buying quality knives might seem expensive, but they’re definitely worth it, even if you only cook at home. You’ll find that you enjoy cooking more, that your food is better, and most importantly, that you’ll have fewer cuts and nicks on your fingers.
Here is Our Pick for Best Chef Knife under 100!
HENCKELS Classic Razor-Sharp 8-inch Stainless Steel Chef Knife, German Engineered Informed by 100+ Years of Mastery
About This Awesome Chef Knife Under 100
ULTRA-SHARP BLADES: Superior professional-level sharpness that ensures precision cutting.
STAYS SHARP LONGER: Professional, satin-finished blade boasts precision cutting and is finely honed for long-lasting sharpness.
EFFORTLESS CUTTING: Enjoy easy meal prep with minimal effort with this lightweight, easy-to-use knife.
KITCHEN TASKS: Slicing, chopping, and mincing vegetables, fruits, and herbs, to cutting through large slabs of meat and disjointing bones, and more.
QUICK CLEAN UP: No-fuss cleanup, in the dishwasher or by hand. Stain and rust-free blades.
WORTH THE SPLURGE: HENCKELS knives start out razor-sharp and stay sharper longer, even with minimal care.
DURABLE BLADE: Fully forged construction offers durability and a seamless transition from blade to handle .
THE LAST CHEF KNIFE YOU’LL EVER NEED TO BUY: German Engineered Knife Informed by over 100 Years of Mastery. HENCKELS knives are built to last.
Conclusion –
For the price, these knives are indeed a great bargain. They’re sharp, safe, durable, and easy to handle. All in all, the 5-Piece Top Chef Basic Knife Set will spruce up your kitchen experience by making any cutting task enjoyable and effortless.
