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Kitchen knives

Because kitchen knives can be among some of the most expensive items you have in your kitchen, you will want to make sure that the knives are well taken care of to protect your investment.

Some of the things you can do include:

• Clean them. Kitchen knives need to be cleaned each time after they are used. They should be washed in warm, soapy water and dried with a paper towel to avoid water spots. They need to be completely dry before you store them. If they are not, there is a chance that the moisture could damage the blade. It is best to keep the knives out of your dishwasher because many detergents are simply too strong for sensitive knives.

• Store it well – You will not want to keep your kitchen knives out where it can be damaged by being dropped or by having something rub up against it. Many people choose to set up a knife block on their countertop. Others use sheaths to protect the knife blades and simply place them in a kitchen drawer. There are some chefs who take protecting their knives very seriously. Some chefs even have their own storage cases.

• Be smart and use your kitchen knives properly. You wouldn’t use a butter knife to cut through a roast and you shouldn’t use a paring knife to cut your roll in half. Remember that small, slender paring knives are best used to peel fruits and vegetables or slice small foods. Serrated bread knives are best utilized for slicing loaves of bread. Using kitchen knives for the purposes they were intended for can help elongate the lives of these knives.

• Lastly, remember that sharp kitchen knives are also safe kitchen knives. If the blade of a knife is dull, you as the cutter are required to exert more energy to cut through the food. This increases the risk and likelihood that an accident could happen. If you do not feel comfortable sharpening your own knives, perhaps it may not be a bad idea to take them to a professional once a year.

The kitchen knives you use will be able to stay sharper longer if you use a wood or a paper cutting board as opposed to a marble or glass one. These cutting boards cause the knives to become dull much more quickly.