Home Kitchen Knives
There are many kinds of knives used in home cooking. Here we'll introduce you some of them: Santoku, Gyuto, Nakiri, Petty, and Funayuki knives.
Santoku Knife: Japanese All-Purpose Knife
While most professional chefs have a collection of kitchen knives for each purpose, home cooks are looking to maximize use, practicality, and space. This is when the Japanese-style all-purpose knife comes into its own. The Santoku is the most popular kitchen knife in homes across Japan. It is perfectly designed to cut meat, vegetables, and fish and is the most gifted knife type. Across Japan, you will find Santoku being passed down through the generations.
Gyuto Chef Knife: A narrow blade that can cut into food smoothly
Essentially a Chef's knife with a thinner and narrower blade profile, the Gyuto is a powerful kitchen tool, able to cut meat and vegetables with ease. The most popular blade length is 21cm and unlike European Chef's knives, it features a more subtle and flat curve to the blade edge, encouraging smoother cuts.
Nakiri Knife: The Vegetable Chopper
Nakiri means "cutting vegetables" in Japanese. It is a traditional style Japanese knife with a straight edge, eliminating the gap between the cutting board and knife. This promotes straighter and cleaner cutting of vegetables than the curved blades of Santoku and Gyuto knives. Typically, Nakiri are between 16cm - 18cm.
Nakiri vs Santoku vs Gyuto Chef Knife
Petty Knife: Easy to handle small knife
It is a small knife that is mainly used for cutting fruits and vegetables.
Funayuki Knife: Good for filleting small fish
Funayuki means "Boating" in Japanese. This kind of knife has a shape that looks like a Deba Knife, but is much thinner. Fishermen use it as an all-purpose knife to cook simple dishes on their boats. It is single bevel with a little curve at the back, making space between food and blade to prevent the food from sticking.
Suitable for cutting fish and also meat, It has a length of 15cm - 18cm.
How to Choose a Japanese Kitchen Knife for Beginners
Japanese kitchen knives are famous for their design, history, and cutting performance. This guide will help you select the best knife for your needs.