You can't be a good anything if you don't have the right tools of the trade. Here's a pictorial guide to the knife set you should invest in if you consider yourself a kitchen wizard Meat knives Cleaver A meat cleaver is a large, most-often rectangular knife that is used for splitting or "cleaving" meat and bone. A cleaver may be distinguished from a kitchen knife of similar shape by the fact that it has a heavy blade that is thick from the spine to quite near the edge. The edge is sharply-bevelled and the bevel is typically convex. The knife is designed to cut with a swift stroke without cracking, splintering or bending the blade. Many cleavers have a hole in the end to allow them to be easily hung on a rack. Cleavers are an essential tool for any restaurant that prepares its own meat. The cleaver most often found in a home knife set is a light-duty cleaver about 6 inches (15 cm) long. Heavy cleavers with much thicker blades are often found in the trade. This is the best type of kitchen knife when it comes to cutting through meat and bones. This knife can have straight or curved edges and resembles the Chinese chef knife. With a thick, heavy blade, a cleaver doesn't cut ufffd it whacks through the bones and joints of meat. Exceptions are the Asian (or Chinese) cleaver and the Japanese usuba knife. These lighter instruments have blades heavy enough for whacking through a duck's bones but thin enough to slice a bitter melon. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/jan/suri.jpg" border="5" /> Boning A boning knife is used to remove bones from cuts of meat. It has a thin, flexible blade, that allows it to get in to small spaces. A stiff boning knife is good for beef and pork, while a flexible one is recommended for poultry and fish. Carving A carving knife is a large knife that's good for slicing thin cuts of meat, including poultry, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife is much thinner than a chef's knife, enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices. It's shorter and wider than a slicing knife. Chef's knife It's also called the cook's knife or a French knife. It's an all-purpose tool that's curved to allow you to rock the knife on the cutting board for a more precise cut. It has a broad and heavy blade that also serves for chopping bone, making it an all-in-one, heavy knife for food preparation. A good chef's knife has a bolster, a thick band of metal between blade and handle. For control, you should grip the handle of the chef's knife behind the blade between forefinger and thumb. The bolster helps anchor your thumb and prevents the knife from slipping. Bread knife This knife is serrated so that it's able to cut soft bread without crushing it. A good, hard crust can withstand the repeated sawing of a non-serrated blade, but a bread knife is essential for anything like soft-crusted sandwich breads. Paring knife A paring knife is a small knife with a plain edge blade that is ideal for peeling and doing other intricate work (such as de-veining a prawn). It is designed to be an all-purpose knife, so it's similar to a chef's knife, except that it's smaller. These are mostly used for peeling fruits and veggies. They can also be used to trim meats and carry out other type of cutting that does not require too much force. Maintaining knives in 5 quick steps &gt;&gt; It's best if you store knives in a wooden or polyethylene knife block. Try and keep them away from other metallic utensils to avoid damage to their blade. &gt;&gt; A blunt knife is more likely to cause injury than a sharp one because it requires more effort when using it, leaving a greater chance of slipping and causing injury. &gt;&gt; Use a wood or polyethylene cutting board since it offers less resistance to knives than ceramic, metal, or plastic cutting boards do. &gt;&gt; Wipe knives clean immediately after you use them. This will help prevent discolouration of the blade, and prevent foods from hardening on to the blade, allowing for easier cleaning. &gt;&gt; If you wash your knives by hand, you will extend their life. Harsh detergents dull the blade's edge. Never place it in a dishwasher. You will damage it if it's knocked around by other utensils in a dishwasher. Cheese knives For hard cheese Hard cheese knives are sharp enough to cut exact slices, and come with a forked tip, allowing them to be used as a serving utensil too. For soft cheese Soft cheese knives have holes in the blade to reduce adhesion, and prevent the cheese from sticking to it. For Parmesan cheese These are designed for slicing very hard cheeses. They have short, thick blades that allow extra pressure. Test for sharpness Never run your finger along the edge of the blade to test for sharpness. Try running the blade along a tomato. If it'su00a0 sharp, it should slice the skin with hardly any effort.

You can't be a good anything if you don't have the right tools of the trade. Here's a pictorial guide to the knife set you should invest in if you consider yourself a kitchen wizard  

Advice for cutting up

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