Paring knives – a chef’s best friend to carve his way to a man’s heart

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A chef has a quaint little box of tools that is meant only to be used by him. Take for example the collection of knives that he must carry when preparing food outdoors. He has a neat little set of carving knives, peeling knives, mincing knives, paring knives and the chopping knives, which are also known as French knives. Paring knives are made of superior quality stainless steel and are small. These knives are used exclusively for very minute cutting requirements that are detailed and very small in nature.  Deveining shrimps, making small garnishes and making a cut on the fish fillet to let the sauces soak in while cooking are some of the uses of these knives. They are made of small blades and are extremely sharp, so that just a small abrasion can produce the desired effect. 

Paring knives are not of the normal length as other kitchen knives. They are usually between 2 to 5 inches long and require very skillful handling. These knives are never to be used to cut hard substances, since the purpose of these knives are for making the small cuts on soft surfaces and to a certain extent for making decorative designs of vegetables and fruits. Peeling an orange or making an apple cone is best done by a paring knife. If you want to chop mushrooms or make a garnish onion and cucumber, you would need a paring knife for the job. Blades of paring knives were earlier made of normal steel and were soon replaced with stainless steel, since normal blades when exposed to water or moisture gathered rust on oxidizing and was a constant source of botheration to the chef. Rust in the food paved the way to a number of other complications apart from the fact that the job of the chef was at a big stake. 

It is essential to learn the use of a paring knife since it requires a lot of patience while operating the instrument. Most of the jobs of a paring knife are intricate in nature and therefore needs lot of skill and expertise in handling. To carve out a design from a simple tomato to make it look like a football in action, is by no stretch of imagination a simple job, and to help the chef in tossing up his designs better, is the work of a paring knife.

You cannot use a paring knife to chop bones or prise open a walnut if you do not have the correct instruments handy; it will only spoil the knife. Without a paring knife, a chef would be literally handicapped since the intricate cutting jobs would have to be done by the normal chef’s knife with a large handle and a large blade. 

Most hotel management institutes and schools imparting training in the culinary world offer detailed courses in cutting and chopping and advice on how to use a knife. Paring knives have no replacement and a chef cannot simply do without them.

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