The Knives Every Home Cook Should Have in The Kitchen

Good knives are absolutely essential for any cook, but you may be surprised to discover that you don’t need very many to excel in the kitchen. Before you click the “buy now” button on an expensive set of kitchen knives you may never use, take a minute to read up on the most important types of knives every home cook should keep on hand.

Chef’s Knife

Sometimes referred to as a cook’s knife, a chef’s knife is the first knife you should purchase if you can only buy one at a time. Measuring between 6 and 10 inches long with a wide blade, these are essential for chopping just about anything you want. There are a few different styles to choose from, such as the classic French or Japanese Santoku. While there are a handful of notable differences (such as the Santoku’s shorter and downward-tipped style versus the French upward-tipped design), they both perform beautifully and work equally well in just about every kitchen.

Because the chef’s knife is really the cream of the crop when it comes to your collection of kitchen tools, aim to invest in a solid, reliable brand that will last a lifetime. Don’t shy away from prices above and beyond $100 because a high-quality knife can (and should) last forever.

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Paring Knife

A paring knife will resemble a miniature chef’s knife. It’s much smaller – anywhere from 2 to 4 inches long on the blade – but perfect for smaller tasks like peeling fruits and vegetables, coring tomatoes and strawberries, or chopping garlic. It’s worth noting that some professionals suggest reserving your paring knife for softer fruits and vegetables while using your chef’s knife for tougher ones like carrots and parsnips since the smaller paring knife may not be heavy enough to easily slice through tougher skins.

While paring knives are obviously an important item to keep in the kitchen, you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a nice one. Look for metal blades from reputable brands, but don’t feel like you need to spend more than $40 on one.

Serrated Knife

The impressive-looking serrated knife is often called a bread knife, and for good reason. Its toothed blades make slicing crusty bread an easy task. But you can also use them for a variety of other purposes. Roughly 6 inches long (although you can get them in longer lengths), these knives make easy work of slicing anything with a waxy or tough exterior (such as watermelons or tomatoes). They are also a must for cutting cake layers, which is crucial to consider if you fancy yourself a baker.

Good quality serrated knives can run the gamut in price points, going as low as $30 and as high as $200.

But one important thing to consider before making your purchase is how often you’ll need to have it professionally sharpened or replaced. Serrated knives are a little tricky to sharpen at home, but many of the higher-end knife manufacturers will actually sharpen your knives for free. That could swing your decision to invest in a higher-quality item versus buying something cheaper that you’ll need to replace more often.

See more: 10 Sustainable Kitchen Swaps for a More Eco-Friendly Home

Bonus Items

If you have a little extra room in your budget to splurge on bonus items, consider adding these extras to your collection:

A boning knife is a handy little tool to keep around if you regularly purchase whole chickens, boned fish or other bone-in meat products. As the name suggests, this knife helps cooks separate the meat from the bone. They are often about 6 inches long, thinner than other knives and flexible enough to work around the curve of animal bones.

If you want to keep your knives in good condition (and trust us, you should), a honing steel is a worthwhile investment. It’ll help keep your knives sharp and ready for any recipe you want to tackle. To keep your knives in pristine condition, hone them often – or plan to have them professionally sharpened each year.