A kitchen knife can be your best friend in the kitchen if you select the right one. Chef Nancy Waldeck of Thomas F. Chapman Family Cancer Wellness at Piedmont shares her top tips for selecting the best knife to make cooking easier and faster.

Chef’s knife

Probably the most famous of kitchen knives, the chef’s knife has a curved-edge blade that rocks back and forth, allowing you to slice and chop food quickly. A kitchen staple, it comes in several sizes, so choose the one that feels right to you.

Santoku knife

The Santoku knife is a cross between a small chef’s knife and a cleaver. The “dimples” on the blade release thinly-sliced or sticky foods easily from the knife. The straight-edged blade allows you to chop with the entire blade. This knife also comes in several sizes, so choose the one that works for you.

Paring knife

The small, but mighty paring knife is excellent for:

• Trimming meat
• Peeling fruits and vegetables
• Deveining shrimp
• Light slicing and chopping
• Removing pineapple or potato “eyes”
• Sectioning citrus fruit

Ceramic knife

Made out of ceramic, this knife stays sharp much longer than its steel cousins. The catch: it is slightly more fragile than steel, so avoid using it to cut bones or frozen food. That said, its sharpness makes chopping and slicing easier and more precise.

“I hope I’ve shown you some of the options out there and the best knife for you to use in your healthy kitchen,” says Waldeck.

For more cooking tips and demonstrations, click here.

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