Without a knife, no food production is possible. It's a basic tool for everyone in the kitchen. In every kitchen we will find more than one knife - their sizes, shapes, blade thickness and many other details differ. Probably only chefs do not have questions about which one is for whom and how to choose it. So what should a person who cooks at home have?
We will start our acquaintance with the most frequently used and mandatory universal knife in every home.
In European and Western cuisine, the main dish is called so "chef" knife, whereas in Asia, the master kitchen tool varies slightly in size and shape. And you probably already guessed that its name - "Santoku". This is the name of a Japanese-style chef's knife. Lately Santoku knives are becoming more and more established in the European kitchen. This is influenced not only by the increasingly popular Asian cuisine, but also Santoku, as a basic knife, advantages.
Both of these knives are similar in purpose: they are designed for many purposes: cutting meat, chopping fruit, chopping spices and herbs. However, they have enough distinct differences, starting with shape and design, ending with cutting style and technique.
Vegetable, Chef and Santoku Knives / Style de Vie VG10 Forged Collection
CHEF'S KNIFE
The boss knife it got its name for a reason: it is the main tool of every cook, without which work in the kitchen would be impossible.
The length of the blade of a Western chef's knife, which is common to us: 20 - 30 cm. The blade is tapered on both sides of the blade, at a rather sharp angle. The blade of the knife descends towards the point evenly, almost at the same angle from both the side of the blade and the top (shoulder).
Chef's Knife / Style de Vie Olive Forged Collection
Such a shape of the knife is designed to perform a repeated chopping motion, so called rock chop. The essence of this technique: the end of the knife remains close to the table, while the handle of the knife is moved up and down while moving it easily back and forth. The ingredient to be cut is held in the other hand and pushed further under the blade after each stroke. After mastering this technique, there is no sound when cutting.
Chef's Knife / OLEIO Zayiko Japanese Damascus Collection
Different the chef knife parts do their job: the part of the blade near the handle is strong, designed to cut through thick cuts of meat, hard fruits and vegetables. The tapered front of the blade is designed for more delicate work such as cutting meat and trimming fat. Meanwhile, the central part is left for all other cutting work. The plane of the blade is used to easily compress and crush ingredients such as garlic cloves.
Chef's Knife / Style de Vie VG10 Forged Collection
When talking about this knife, we will not avoid explaining the name of the Japanese chef's knife. Santoku translates as "three values". Some say it means 3 different uses for the same knife: slicing, chopping and chopping. Others say it means the ability to comfortably cut 3 different foods with the same knife: meat, vegetables and fish.
Whatever the interpretation of the name, Santoku can replace or even be superior to our usual, western the chef a knife.
Santoku knife is lighter and shorter: its blade length varies from 14 to 18 cm. In addition, the shape itself is different: the "back" of the knife is smooth and bends down almost at an angle of 90 degrees, while the blade only slightly bends towards the point.
Santoku knife, 18 cm / Style de Vie Olive Forged collection
This shape of the blade was chosen for a reason: it is more convenient to chop with this knife, and not to cut with a sliding motion (as is the case with our usual Western chef's knife). The smooth back of the knife makes it much more convenient to push the chopped ingredients into a pile on the table or scrape them off the surface. In this way, the most important part of the knife - the blade - is not blunted unnecessarily.
Santoku knife, 14 cm / Style de Vie Olive Forged collection
Another noticeable difference: Santoku knives often have vertically arranged depressions. They are made to allow air to pass between the blade and the ingredient to be cut and thus ensure that the pieces being cut will not stick to the knife or at least easily slide off the blade. This is essential for cutting fish into perfectly even pieces for sushi or sashimi.
Santoku Knife / Style de Vie Laguiole Luxury Line Collection
The main movement made with this knife is chopping by moving the knife up and down.
Traditionally Santoku sharpening from one side, but in recent years, knives that are sharpened from both sides of the blade have become popular.
WHICH TO CHOOSE?
Both the one and the other knife have their advantages: traditional western chef's knife is heavier, stronger, so it is more convenient for chopping and slicing harder ingredients; meanwhile Santoku much better suited for delicate slicing or more convenient shredding.
Another noted difference: Santoku for the knife it is usually preferred by people with smaller hands: it is lighter, shorter; it is more comfortable to hold and balance in the hand.
Santoku Knife / Style de Vie VG10 Forged Collection
HOW TO CUT CORRECTLY?
And finally - short videos illustrating how to grind comfortably and quickly with the chef and Santoku knives:
Chef:
Santoku:
