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Cooking Tools for a Chef

The tools of a Chef and/or cook are very important. The tools you use will make or break the job you are given to do, which is feed people. Chefs and cooks use different types of tools, but I can just about guarantee one thing they all have in common, a hotpad (a thick towel for grabbing hot pots and pans), a knife of some sort and a pair of tongs. Those are the basic tools needed to create a great meal.
The knives that you use in the kitchen is very important, kind of like your best friend. I believe that if you take very good care of your knife, he/she (whichever you should call your knife) will take good care of you. She won't hurt you or let you look bad unless you hurt or make her look bad, like a relationship. But you have to make sure you use the right knife for the right job. There are hundreds of different types of knives, but some of the most common are chef's knife, paring knife, utility knife, bread knife and fillet knife. Each knife has it's own uses. Case and point, you wouldn't use a paring knife to cut bread, would you? I would hope not.

Types of Knives Used in the Kitchen

 Chef's Knife 
Also known as the cook's knife or a French knife, this all-purpose knife is used for a number of reasons. This is possibly the most important knife you can own, as a chef or cook. Normally has an 8 to 12 inch blade, used for a variety of chopping, slicing, and mincing. Some blades come as small as 6 inches long. 8 inch is the most common used chef's knife.

Paring Knife
This short multi-purpose kitchen knife, is necessity thatevery kitchen should have. Perfect for paring and trimming small fruits and vegetables. With a blade length of 2 to 4 inches, this knife comes in a few different varieties such as, the
tourné knife, bird's beak, trimming knife, and fluting knife.

 Utility Knife
This knife is like smaller, lighter version of a chef's knife and a larger, heavier version of a paring knife. With this knife being 4 to 8 inches long, it is normally excluded from a lot of kitchen usage. It's basically too short to do a chef's knife job and too long to do a paring knife job. Not always needed, but a very good tool to have.

Bread Knife
Now, this knife has a serrated edge, designed to slice through soft breads without crushing it. Not much to say about this knife except, be careful while using. With a 6 to 10 inch serrated blade it is also great for cutting certain fruits and vegetables. This is also a must have knife in your kitchen.

Fillet Knife
Also known as the fish knife (one of my favourites), this knife is great for filleting fish. With it's flexible 6 to 11 inch blade, this knife is great for moving along the backbone or underneath the skin of a fish.

This is just a few very important knives that can do just about any cutting job in your kitchen. As you continue to cook and work more in the kitchen, you will accumulate more interesting and different knives. There are several different varieties and sizes of knives out there, my favorite is the Santoku knife.

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