Paring and Peeling
Knives
- A standard paring knife looks
like a small version of a chef’s knife, with the same slightly curved
cutting edge. The blade is 6-10 cm long.
- The best paring knives are
forged (rather than stamped) from high-carbon stainless steel. They can
take and hold a sharp edge and recover from bending without breaking.
- A paring knife is used to cut,
peel, shape or decorate foods held in the other hand It may be may be used
for chopping, but is not primarily an impact tool.
- The handle should be
constructed from a durable and sanitary material like plastic, rubber,
stainless steel or impregnated wood.
Standard paring knives have the same curved,
or tapered, cutting edge as a chef’s knife. Although the shape is similar, a
paring knife has a different purpose. It may be used for light chopping or
slicing, particularly of small items like garlic or parsley, but it is not an
impact tool.
A paring knife functions like an extension of your
hand, for cutting or peeling food that is held in your other hand. You can use
it to peel an apple or to shape or decorate ingredients such as turnips or
mushroom caps, to scoop out potato eyes, and to trim green beans or brussels
sprouts.
Blade
The best paring knives have high-carbon stainless
steel blades, which hold a sharp edge and resist rusting. The blade should be 6-10cm
long.
Paring knives are used so frequently that you’ll
find it handy to have a few of them. You might be tempted to choose inexpensive
ones in order to save money. That’s a mistake. Cheap knives are usually stamped
from a single sheet of metal. The blades are thin and hard and quickly become
dull. Because the blade is lighter, the tool is back-heavy and requires more
forward pressure to cut. But stamped blades are acceptable for simple tasks
like eyeing potatoes.
A forged knife begins as a single rough bar of
red-hot metal. The bar is hammered into a shaped die to make the blade and the
tang, which will form part of the knife’s handle. This one-piece construction
makes an extremely strong knife with a heavy blade that can withstand strenuous
cutting and slicing tasks. A forged paring knife makes paring and peeling tasks
easier because it is well balanced.
Handle
Because a paring knife functions like an extension
of your hand, it should have a comfortable, well-secured handle. Handles are
made of natural and impregnated woods, plastics, synthetic-rubber compounds, or
stainless steel and vary in their degree of durability. Natural rosewood
remains the most popular for its beauty and resistance to splitting and
cracking. The most durable and sanitary are plastic, rubber, or stainless
steel.
Care
Keep your knives’ edges as sharp as possible.
Resharpen them every time you use them. Dull blades are not only difficult to
use, they are dangerous. More cutting accidents occur with blunt blades than
with sharp ones because of the added pressure used to bear down on the food.
This is especially true of paring knives because, most often, the food you cut,
peel or trim is in your hand, not on a cutting board.
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