The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 57

•Pros:Averysharpblade,comfortablehandle,andeasy
maneuverability.
•Cons:Thebladeistoughtosharpen,andat6½inches,
it’stoosmallformanykitchentasks.It’sgotneitherthe
heft of the Misono nor the granton edge and solid feel
oftheWüsthof,butit’sagreatknifebymoststandards.
2.A3-to4-InchSheep’sFootParingKnife
Formanyyears,Iusedaclassiccurved3-inchparingknife
fromWüsthof, and at first glance, the shape of the classic
paringknifeseemstomakesense.Abigcurvedchef’sknife
isforcutting,hacking,andchoppinglargethings,sotocut,
hack, and chop small things, you’d want to use a small
version of a chef’s knife, right? Thing is, there’s a
fundamentaldifferencebetweenhowyouuseaparingknife
and how you use a chef’s knife—so why would you want
thembothtobethesameshape?Therealproblemwiththe
common paring knife is the curvature of the blade.With a
chef’sknife,thiscurveisdesignedtoallowyoutorockthe
knifeformincing.Butforaparingknife,itmakesnosense:
nobodyisrockingaparingknife.
The key to a good paring knife is precision, and that
meanshavingasuperthinbladeandtheabilitytomakecuts
withminimalhandmotion(themoreyouhavetomoveyour
hand, the more uneven the cut becomes). A flat sheep’s
foot–shapedknifeisidealforthistask.Withasheep’sfoot
knife, it’s possible to make contact with the cutting board
with nearly the entire length of the blade while the tip is
firmly inserted into the food: the straightness of the cut is
defined by the straightness of the blade. Quicker, more

precise, and less chance for user error are all pluses in my
book.
Thesamereasoningappliesevenmorestronglyifyouare
using the knife to peel small things, like little potatoes or
grapes.Whenusingacurvedparingknife,thecurveofthe
blade and the curve of the object you are peeling run in
opposite directions, so almost none of the food actually
comesincontactwiththeblade,requiringyoutodigdeeper
andremovemorefleshthanisnecessary.Thoseofyouwho
are used to using santoku knives in place of chef’s knives
willimmediatelyrecognizetheseadvantages.
The 3-inch Kudamono Hollow-Edge Paring Knife from
Henckels($50)isoneofthecheapestdecentknivesofthis
kind you can get, with the added advantage of having a
hollow-ground granton edge. You can get the 3-inch
Sheep’sFootParingKnifefromWüsthofforthesameprice.
Itlacksthegrantonedge,butitisslightlyheavier,sturdier,
andfeelsbetterinthehand.IfyouwantwhatIconsiderto
be the ultimate paring knife, tack on another $5 to get
yourself the sameWüsthof but with a granton edge.That’s
theonemyknifekitpacks.
3.A10-to12-InchSerratedBreadKnife
I’mfarlesspickyaboutbreadknivesthanIamaboutchef’s
knives. For one thing, I don’t use them often. For cutting
soft breads like burger buns or sandwich bread, my chef’s
knife is more gentle than a bread knife. In fact, just about
the only thing I use my bread knife for is cutting crusty
bread,likeabaguetteorarusticItalianloaf.Ifyounevereat
these, you have no need for a bread knife. That’s why I