How Often Should You Sharpen Your Kitchen Knives?
How many times should one sharpen their kitchen knives? What are kitchen knives in the first place? These are questions that are pertinent to this topic and as such, we should be able to define what kind of knives these are so that we can tell how often they should be sharpened. Well, we can define a kitchen knife as being any type of knife that is used in the preparation of food. The fact that the knives are known as kitchen knives does not necessarily mean that they have to be used strictly inside the kitchen! So, how often should these knives be sharpened? Should you acquire a self sharpening knife set so that you do not have to sharpen the knives?
What are the different types of kitchen knives?
Now that we know that kitchen knives are used for food preparation, what are the different types of kitchen knives? How are these kitchen knives categorized? Well, here are the different kinds of kitchen knives:
Chef’s knife
This is one of the most common types of knives. It is used to chop vegetables, fruits, herbs, and so on. It can also be used for cutting other ingredients such as poultry, meat, and fish. Usually, these are 8 to 10 inches long.
Santoku knife
This one has a straight blade. It comes with small indentations so that foods can easily slide off as one uses it. They are also good for chopping, mincing ingredients, dicing, slicing cheese, and so on.
Carving knife
These are used for cutting meat that is already cooked in large chunks. These kinds of knives are narrow for precision. They are longer to make it easy to slice wider pieces of meat.
Other kinds of knives
There are other kinds of kitchen knives used for various other purposes. We have bread knives, utility knives, boning knives, paring knives, and steak knives. We also have steak knives, kitchen shears, and so on.
Why should you sharpen a kitchen knife?
- A sharp knife is better at work. When you want to cut your foods conveniently and without brute force, a sharp knife is necessary. It also becomes easier to cut delicate ingredients with a sharp knife.
- It is safer to use a sharp knife. When the knife is sharp, it is easy to control the blade. It won’t slip and easily cause cuts on you.
- Sharpening your kitchen knives gives you better control of the knives. It’s also cheaper to sharpen your knives as this does not need you to pay for the service.
- Sharpening your knives is a quick and easy process.
How often should you sharpen your kitchen knives?
This is a commonly asked question. Many factors can influence how frequently one needs to sharpen their knives. Depending on the kinds of foods one cuts with the knives, they may either need to sharpen them frequently or less frequently. The best thing to do is to sharpen knives after every few months, based on how often you use these items.
You can have all your knives sharpened professionally after every 1 to 2 years. To keep your knife’s edges straight, honing steel should be used daily. You can also buy a pull-through sharpener or an electric sharpener for sharpening the knives.
