Why Do You Need a Paring Knife?
A chef’s knife is extremely useful in the kitchen when you are slicing through root vegetables, breaking down a chicken, and portioning fish filets. This essential knife accomplishes a lot of the heavy lifting in the kitchen with ease; however, when it comes to slicing smaller and more delicate items, you need a knife with a little more finesse. For pinpoint accuracy, a paring knife is that perfect tool for those times when your sizeable chef’s knife feels awkwardly large to use. With only a few inches of blade, the paring knife is the best tool to use when completing tasks that require up-close attention. Peeling oranges and apples, hulling strawberries, or deveining shrimp are the types of job you want to save for your paring knife. A smaller knife is easier to maneuver when you’re dealing with foods you don’t bust out a cutting board for—i.e. when you go old-school and do your knife work with the ingredient right in your hand. (Raise your hand if your mom cut almost everything like this.)
A paring knife should be lightweight, comfortable to grip, and most importantly...sharp. You want to be able to grip the knife with ease and cut without needing to apply much pressure. Paring knives are typically included in knife sets; however, if you opt to purchase your knives separately, there are a few affordable options on the market. A decent paring knife should have a blade length between 3 to 3 ½ inches long with a very sharp tip.
The Victorinox 3.25-Inch Paring Knife is the best value paring knife that the Internet has to offer. The knife has a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon with over 1,900 reviews and its price really seals the deal. Get the tool that will change your knife skills for the best at a modest price of $8.58. Thus proving, one of the great things about paring knives is that you don’t have to splurge on them to get a decent quality knife. It’s nowhere close to the same level of investment as a good chef’s knife, so don't fret over the blade becoming dull with time. These knives are cheap enough to replace as necessary.
WATCH: How to Hull Strawberries
So once you have your paring knife, put it to work. Set up the ultimate cheese board for a casual night in with friends, and bust out your paring knife to effortlessly slice through hard cheeses. Slicing dainty cloves of garlic will be a seamless task using a small, sharp knife. Deseeding and removing the ribs of peppers is a stress-free ordeal when a paring knife is involved. Don’t forget about removing the rough ends and outer layers of Brussel sprouts as you prepare dinner. The paring knife is also ideal for serious bakers. It makes cutting through fondant a breeze, and it can help release a cake or baked good from the pan when you run the knife along the edge. It can also be used to check the doneness of a cake or to check the doneness of a baked potato (or spaghetti squash), for that matter.
There will be so many random tasks that you will find to make good use of your handy paring knife. It’s arguably the most important knife in your arsenal after the chef’s knife, and most definitely a must-have tool—so don’t be caught without one!