Potato knives: types of knives, materials of manufacture, main manufacturers

"He who has not eaten potatoes does not know pleasure!" - we sang in childhood. And it is true. Many people like to eat potatoes every day. Of course, because you can cook a lot of dishes from it, so we will never get tired of it. But in order to cook it, you need to peel it thoroughly. And here we are faced with a dilemma - which knife to choose for this, because now the industry offers such a wide range. And this already depends on the dish you plan to cook.

A potato peeler makes preparing dinner much easier.

Content

What You Need to Know About Potato Cutters
Types of knives for cutting potatoes into shapes
Materials from which knife blades are made
- Stainless steel.
- Ceramics
Unusual knives
Japanese knives
How to cut potatoes into fancy shapes
Rules for the care and use of knives
Main brands of knives for cutting and peeling potatoes
VIDEO: Spiral Potato Slicer.

What You Need to Know About Potato Cutters

The most famous is the universal kitchen knife. It is ideal for both cleaning and shredding. The handle is long, tapering towards the end. The blade is straight, the width is from 2 to 4 mm, the length is from 100 to 150 cm. Therefore, it is very convenient.

utility knife — Manufacturers offer a variety of models.

With a huge variety of knives, the most basic is considered to be the chef's knife. It chops and carefully cuts vegetables - it copes with everything perfectly! And experienced chefs have as many as three of them: with blades of 45, 35 and 25 cm.

For precise cutting, the fine-cutting knife is the best. Where precision is needed, it is a must.

thin slicing knife — It is difficult to navigate them without experience.

Types of knives for cutting potatoes into shapes

Curly wave potato knife.

Wavy cutting device TESCOMA PRESTO. Made of plastic and steel materials. Washes well. Ideal for French fries.

wavy knife — The slices are ribbed and neat.

Spiral cutting of potatoes

Special knife for cutting potatoes in a spiral. Fruit and vegetable cutter type. Made of plastic. Has 4 skewers for baking and frying potatoes.

spiral potatoes — The first potato knife appeared in 1929.

Knife with a curved blade

Necessary for economical cleaning. The cutting blade is curved inward. Here the handle is rounded, that is, it does not rub the hand. The edge on the blade saves from cuts.

potato knife — Special tools with cutting surfaces are produced in several types.

Peeler knife

Nobody knows that our home potato peeler is actually a knife. It's called a "vegetable peeler". There are two blades facing each other. And they peel the skin very thoroughly.

Knife with a floating blade

It repeats any shape of the vegetable, because it can turn in any direction.

Attention! The vegetable peeler has 2 different blades. So, for potatoes you need a smooth one to avoid losing juice.

Materials from which knife blades are made

Stainless steel.

Stainless steel knives are made from steels with high corrosion resistance. To prevent a chemical reaction from occurring when in contact with food, the steel is coated with an almost transparent oxide film.

metal knife — The tool perfectly grabs the peel and removes it in a thin layer.

Many knives are made of steel. Not all of them are considered ideal in terms of consumer properties. Only four meet all the requirements.

12C27 (Sandvik company);
AEB-L (Uddeholm company);
DD400 (Minebea company);
AUS

If we ask professionals what steel they consider the best, the answer will be: “There is no better than Damascus and Bulat!” Previously, in order to note the excellent qualities of the blade, they said that it was made of Damascus steel. The quality of Bulat knives depended on the professional qualities of the blacksmith, the quality of heat treatment and grinding. If we compare a Damascus blade with a Bulat one, the first one surpasses the second in strength. When the question of cutting properties arises, the qualities are equal.

knife with silicone handle — This potato knife is comfortable to hold in your hand and the handle does not rub.

Ceramics

Ceramic knives are special. They are made using a single technical process and a single material. Since zirconium oxide is used in the process, they can be either black or white. They are hard and heat-resistant. Zirconium oxide does not react chemically with many active substances - acids, alkalis.

ceramic knife — Ceramics is an environmentally friendly modern sintered composition used for the production of kitchen tools.

Their merits.

Hardness. Due to the strength of the blade, scratches are not a problem, so the attractive consumer appearance remains for a long time.
They are not subject to rust and are easy to clean.
The blade is very smooth.
Ecologically clean. No unpleasant taste remains after cutting.

ceramic peelers — The components of ceramics are inert, they do not destroy vitamins and do not absorb aromas.

Please note! They can serve for a long time without sharpening!

Flaws.

Sharpening is done only with special sharpeners.
They do not like impacts, so washing in the dishwasher should be done with care.
Please note! They can only be cut on special cutting boards - wooden or plastic.

Unusual knives

If you like cooking and are not afraid of experiments, you can try working in the kitchen with other unusual types of knives. They are not so popular, but they will make your kitchen life much easier.

The European knife has long been widespread in our country. The butt is level with the back of the handle. This position provides comfort when working.

Made from medium hard steel.

Please note! Frequent straightening of the product is necessary! But it has enormous strength and can withstand solid loads. Very versatile - crushes, separates, chops.

Based on the unusual configuration of the blade, a distinction is made between French and German knives.

The "German" one has a uniform bend on the cutting edge.

The "French" has a straight edge, slightly curving towards the tip.

french knife — French knives are extremely popular not only in France, but all over the world.

Please note! The cutting technique depends on the shape of the knife - linear or rocking.

A knife for cutting out a cavity. Many experienced housewives value it. After all, it allows you to stuff eggplants, peppers and zucchini.

coring knife — The pointed oval blade efficiently removes pulp from vegetables.

Chinese - rectangular blade slightly widened. It is very light and thin, so it is not recommended to chop hard products. But it is very convenient for the process of cutting and shredding.

Chinese hatchet knives are very convenient to work with.

Japanese knives

Gyuto is made from the highest density steel possible.

The only downside is that it is extremely brittle, so it can only be used for cutting.

Japanese Gyuto Knife — Gyuto is the equivalent of a European chef.

Please note! Does not require sharpening!

The Japanese santoku knife has not really caught on here. Yes, this twenty-centimeter and very convenient wide knife is not used by our chefs. But the American ones have had their eye on it for a long time and have switched to this model.

The blade is 16-20 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. The triangular shape of the blade allows you to use the edge of the blade 100%. To reduce the sticking of products to the metal, there are special grooves on the blade of the knife. Thanks to the sharpening angle from 6 to 10 degrees, it perfectly copes with its functions.

Application area:

cutting and slicing meat;
shredding fruits and vegetables;
cutting fresh herbs;
slicing seafood.

Please note! It can cut even the softest bread!

Material: high carbon steel, high temperature hardened.

Please note! Some models are made of stainless steel.

Nakiri is a knife for vegetables and greens with a thin and light blade. It is very convenient for slicing and chopping. Length – 16–18 cm, width 5–6 cm. Made of stainless steel, which is resistant to corrosion.

nakiri knife — Nakiri is a medium-sized utility knife designed for use on a cutting board.

The chopping knife is a new and original model. It requires two hands to operate. It consists of a semicircular blade and two handles on top. Although it was originally intended only for quickly chopping meat, it can also be used for vegetables. You just have to get used to it!

Knife for vegetables and fruits. All knives can handle chopping large vegetables. But if you need to do small jobs, then problems begin. The dimensions lose out here. That's why these knives are so popular. Their blade is 7-12 cm. The blade is straight or concave. It is easy to work with.

vegetable knife — The vegetable and fruit knife differs from the standard model by its small blade.

How to cut potatoes into fancy shapes

The appearance of sliced potatoes not only affects their aesthetics. It also affects the taste of the dishes: if the pieces are the same shape, they will be fried or boiled evenly.

Simple cutting methods are those that are performed using a regular knife:

bars,
circles,
straw,
slices,
cubes,
shavings,
wedges.

potato cutting — Potatoes are cut into shapes manually.

Please note that it is better to use a regular shredder to cut the strips.

When slicing in a restaurant, circles of approximately the same size are specially selected, which are taken from the very center of the tuber, and the others are sent to the soup.

Rules for the care and use of knives

To ensure that the knife works for many years, you need to follow certain operating rules.

Learn proper cutting techniques. This will save time and minimize injuries.
Keeping your knives sharp. It turns out that it's much easier to cut yourself with a dull tool.
European knives require regular sharpening before each cooking process.
Sharpening is appropriate when editing no longer helps.
Avoid hard surfaces. It is better to use wooden and plastic boards for work.
After finishing work, the knife is washed, wiped dry and put away. Long stay in the sink is the road to rust. Storing it in a box is not the best solution. It is better to get a stand.