Chef's knife

A chef's knife.

In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a French knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife is an evolution of the butcher knife, and was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most Western cooks.

A chef's knife generally has a blade eight-inches (20 cm) in length and 1 ½ inches (4 cm) in width, although individual models range from 6 to 14 inches (15 cm to 36 cm) in length. There are two types of blade shape, French and German. The far more common German design features a pronounced curve towards the tip of the blade which allows the knife to be rocked up and down, chopping the food with the belly and heel of the blade. The French design is more triangular, with much less curve at the tip and a longer straight section of blade; it is designed to be pulled towards the user, slicing the food instead. Neither style is inherently superior; personal preference will dictate the choice.

A modern chef's knife is a utility knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular. It can be used for mincing, slicing, chopping vegetables, slicing meat, or even disjointing large cuts of beef or ham. In order to improve the chef's knife's multi-purpose abilities, some owners employ differential sharpening along the length of the blade. The fine tip, used for precision work such as mincing, might be ground with a very sharp, acute cutting bevel; the mid-section or belly of the blade receives a moderately sharp edge for general cutting, chopping and slicing, while the heavy heel or back of the cutting edge is given a strong, thick edge for such heavy-duty tasks as disjointing beef.

Recently, a Japanese development of the chef's knife, the santoku (literally: "three good things"), a general-purpose utility knife, has also gained popularity in the West. The santoku is primarily designed for cutting fish, vegetables, and boneless or lightly-boned meats such as chicken. The santoku features a sheepsfoot blade with a spine that drops sharply to meet the hardened, acutely-ground cutting edge.

Physical description

Materials

The blade of a chef's knife is made from one of these materials:

• Carbon steel: An alloy of iron and approximately 1% carbon. Most carbon steel chef's knives are simple carbon iron alloys without exotic additions such as chrome or vanadium. Carbon steel blades are both easier to sharpen than ordinary stainless steel and usually hold an edge longer, but it is vulnerable to rust and stains. Some professional cooks swear by knives of carbon steel because of their sharpness. Over time, a carbon-steel knife will normally acquire a dark patina, and can rust or corrode if not cared for properly by cleaning and lubricating the blade after use. Some chefs also 'rest' their carbon-steel knives for a day after use in order to restore the oxidizing patina, which prevents transfer of metallic tastes to some foods. While some cooks prefer and use carbon steel knives (especially in Asia and the Middle East), others find carbon steel too maintenance-intensive in a kitchen environment.

• Stainless steel: An alloy of iron, approximately 10-15% chromium, possibly nickel, and molybdenum, with only a small amount of carbon. Lower grades of stainless steel cannot take as sharp an edge as good-quality high-carbon steels, but are resistant to corrosion, do not taint food, and are inexpensive. Higher grade and 'exotic' stainless steels (mostly from Japan - as used by Global, Kasumi and others) are extremely sharp with excellent edge retention, and equal or outperform carbon steel blades, but they are expensive.

• Laminated. As noted above, all materials used in blades represent various compromises. A laminated knife tries to use the best of each material by creating a layered sandwich of different materials -- for instances, using a softer-but-tough steel as the backing material, and a sharper/harder - but more brittle - steel as the edge material.

• Ceramic blades hold an edge the longest of all, but they chip easily and will break if dropped. They also require special equipment and expertise to resharpen. They are sintered to shape with zirconium oxide powder. They are chemically nonreactive, so will not discolor or change the taste of food.

The handle may be made from:

• Wood
• Plastic
• Steel

Or any of a number of synthetic/composite materials.

The edge may be ground in different ways:

• V-shape
• Beveled edge.
• Hollow-ground.

Manufacturing

For a steel knife, there are two ways to fashion the blade.

• Hot-forged: A hot-forged blade is made in an intricate, multi-step process, often by skilled manual labor. A chunk of steel is heated to a high temperature, and beaten to shape the steel. After forging, the blade is ground down and sharpened. Forged knives are usually also full-tang, meaning the metal in the knife runs from the tip of the knifepoint to the far end of the handle.
• Stamped: A stamped blade is cut to shape directly from cold rolled steel, heat-treated for strength and temper, then ground, sharpened, and polished. Stamped blades tend to be inferior to forged knives.

Buying a chef's knife

Someone in the market for a chef's knife will make a choice based on price, the cost of maintenance, and how the knife feels in the hand (often called the balance). Considered qualities may include cost, maintenance, cutting efficiency, edge geometry, corrosion resistance, and balance. Knife origin and culture also come into play. Typically, a Japanese chef's knife (gyuto) will possess different edge geometry and harder steels (60-62 Rc) than those of most Western manufacturers, thus allowing a more acute cutting angle.

Technique

Technique for the use of a chef's knife is an individual preference. Nevertheless, professional chefs commonly follow certain practices.

Holding a knife by its bolster.

Perhaps the most basic difference in technique has to do with how the cook physically places his or her hand on the knife. Some prefer a grip around only the handle, with all four fingers and the thumb gathered underneath as in a clenched fist. Others prefer a grip on the blade itself, with the thumb and the index finger grasping the blade just to the front of the finger guard and the middle finger placed just opposite, on the handle side of the finger guard below the bolster. The size and shape of the particular knife, and the job it is being used to do, are also important considerations.

Actually applying a chef's knife to different kinds of food in an effective way is a matter of demonstration and experience. For example, a good chef's knife can be used to dice both tomatoes and onions, but the characteristics of each vegetable require different motions with the knife which may not be immediately obvious without instruction. Some techniques seen on fast-paced cooking shows should likely not be attempted by anyone without professional experience.

Regardless of how the knife is being used, the cook should be mindful of their own comfort, safety and confidence when using a chef's knife: a knife in hurried hands can cause a nasty cut. A good motto is "Know where the sharp part is pointing," the sharp part being the entire edge from point to heel. Knowing how to hold the food that is being cut is equally as important as knowing how to hold the knife, as the hand not holding the knife is in a subtly obvious way the most likely to be cut. For example, when holding large items such as a head of lettuce, the thumb of the hand not holding the knife should never be tucked underneath.

Professional chefs may develop very close affiliations with their knives and may not allow others to use them under any circumstances. Knife preference, in terms of length, weight, brand, and nearly any other criterion, is often hotly debated in restaurant kitchens, but even cooks at home should carefully consider a potential knife. A good chef's knife can be a family heirloom as treasured as a cast-iron pan.

Extensive, ongoing use of a chef's knife may lead to a hardening at the base of the index finger sometimes called a "knife callus."

See also

• Japanese cutlery
• Kitchen knife
• Santoku

References

• Brown, Alton (2003). Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen. Stewart, Tabori and Chang. ISBN 1-58479-296-5.
• Wolf, Burt; Aronson, Emily; Fabricant, Florence (2000). The New Cook's Catalogue. Alfred Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40673-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Lee, Matt and Lee, Ted (December 15 2004). When a Knife Is the Gleam in a Cook's Eye. New York Times.
• Cooking For Engineers - Examination of Parts of a Chef's Knife and what to look for when buying a kitchen knife.

External Links

Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 1 A podcast episode that talks all about chef knives and knife skills.