Every kitchen has stocks of all categories of knives depending on the slicing, dicing, peeling, and filleting among others. Some knives such as chefs and paring knives are used in most kitchens but then there are others that are just collector’s items in most kitchens. However, how needed a knife is will depend on how often one cooks and what that person likes to prepare. There are some knives that are specifically crafted for specific uses and may go many years without being used in a typical home kitchen. To determine the knife in a kitchen that is practically useless, one has to understand the typical tasks that are handled and the tools that are rarely if ever used. This article will help you understand those specialty knives that are least useful in most kitchens.
Bread Knife
A bread knife would be handy if you regularly work with bread, but in case you do not often deal with bread loaves, this knife could be considered as less significant as other types of knives. It has a long, sharp serration which is meant to easily separate the hard-outer layer and soft inside of bread without compromising either. For instance, in the case of homes where pre-sliced bread and other baked products are often used, the bread knife may not be frequently used. Over time, it can easily turn into one of the most neglected knives in the kitchen, outshined by an all-around knife such as the chef’s knife or the utility knife.
Paring Knife
For those who rarely engage in intricate slicing such as depigmentation or carving small fruits and vegetables, pairing knives gets minimal usage. This is a small, quick knife, ideal for operations where delicacy is needed, such as when skinning a shrimp or a fruit or when preparing citrus fruits. However, if your use of knives is more in line of the amount of chopping and slicing done, then the paring knife may be displaced. In such instances, the all-rounder chef’s knife overrides the need for the paring knife, and thus, the paring knife is one of the least used tools in the culinary arena.
Filleting Knife
A filleting knife that is used in cutting fish’s Flesh from the bone is very unique. If once in a while you control preparing fish then this knife could not be of much help. It is narrow and very rigid to allow easy cutting through the muscles and removing the bones from the fish which makes it a must-have for anyone dealing with whole fish often. Nonetheless, in households and restaurants that do not frequently cook and prepare fish, the appliance that is the filleting knife may remain idle for a long time. The duties it fulfills can sometimes be dealt with with other knives, including the specific chef’s knife, so the filleting knife can easily be one of the most valuable tools for a home chef as minimal as that.
Cleaver
A cleaver with a thick blade is perfect for slicing bones and large chunks of meat. The specific type is a professional utensil utilized mainly in slicing and deboning of meat or in the process of carving joints of meat. But if you do not use the knife a lot for elaborate butchering, where you must chop bones, or when dealing with hard pieces of meat, you might not necessarily require a cleaver in your kitchen. Its weight and size also limit its usability for some general cutting and slicing jobs where lightweight and more all-rounded knives like the chef’s knife or santoku can be sufficient. Therefore, for most home cooks who do not frequently deal with large bones or bones-in-meat portions, the cleaver continues to occupy the position of one of those least-used kitchen tools.
Steak Knives
They are usually blade knives with serrations to be able to serve best in slicing cooked meats at the dining table. However, if your restaurant does not provide steaks or other forms of meats that need to be cut on the plates, steak knives may not feature often. They are more fixed in use as compared to a kitchen knife that is used in food preparation.
Utility Knife
A utility knife refers to a knife that is in between a paring knife, a small knife used in cleaning vegetables and cutting small items, and a chef’s knife which is a long knife that is broader at the heel than at the tip and is used broadly in cutting operations. A kitchen may deem its necessity as unnecessary in that the tasks it can handle are also executable by knives like the chef or paring knife.
Tomato Knife
A tomato knife is a knife with a special notched edge and a designed shape of the blade to cut the tomatoes without bruising it. The main advantage of this knife is its serrated edge, which is helpful when cutting delicate fruits and vegetables that are easily damaged; thus, if you rarely chop tomatoes or other such produce, this knife is not necessary.
Decorative Knives
There are knives with specific forms or patterns; these knives are common with people because they feature novelties. These knives might be just for decoration more than they are utilizable in actual cooking and slicing of foods.
Cheese Knife
Cheese knives can be small, and their shapes are highly varied because they are meant to be used specifically on cheeses without becoming stuck into the product or leaving it crumbly. These knives in comparison to other knives may not be used that often if you regularly do not deal with cheese in large blocks or serve it often in that state.
Boning Knife
Like a filleting knife, a boning knife is used for cutting meat from bones but the knife is more slender and can navigate in tight places. It is convenient to use this knife when deboning is necessary but if you seldom deal with cuts of meat that need deboning, you probably won’t need this knife.
Conclusion
Despite these drawbacks, these knives not only can still be used occasionally and possibly in some forms of cuisine, but they may also be less versatile than the chef’s knife or santoku knife. These knives are therefore said to be useful in light of general cooking practices but are highly subjective to the owner’s use.