Who wouldn’t enjoy cooking? It is a fun and exciting activity that challenges your creativity, and to make it even more interesting, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor as you take your first bite on your dish. With the hundreds of food recipes around the globe, we can say that cooking is a continuous learning experience. And if you want to become a better cook, you have to do more than simply practicing and studying your recipe book; you also have to invest in kitchen equipment to make your job a lot easier. Some of the most common equipment you need is a stove, cooking pan, and of course, a knife.
Kitchen equipment often comes in various designs. While there is food that’s great for cooking with your electric stove, some dishes are better off with traditional stoves. The same thing goes with your kitchen knife. The diversity of knife designs has been a common cause of confusion to new and aspiring cooks; they don’t know which knife is the best to use when preparing food.
There are many different types of knives you can buy on the market, which vary from simple cheese knives to chef knives, and each of them serves a specific role in the kitchen. One of the most common uses of your kitchen knife is dicing, which is a cutting technique typically done in potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. While using any knives allows you to dice vegetables, there are certain types that work best for dicing. Just like a fillet knife allows you to easily fillet a fish, using a specific knife for dicing could also significantly help cut your favorite vegetables into small pieces.
What is Dicing?
Before we look into the types of knives to use, let us first know – what exactly is dicing? If you are new to cooking, dicing is a cutting style that aims to cut food into small cubes, also known as “dice.” This is a common technique done by chefs to make the dish more appealing and have a uniform size in its ingredients. You can usually see this technique in vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, wherein they are cut into small cubes.
Dicing is not as simple as it seems. It requires skills to ensure even cuts on your vegetables, and to do this; you have to make sure you have a good knife to use. Just like in cutting other ingredients, having a decent knife is essential in making your cuts more even, making it easier to cook, along having the right amount of flavor and texture.
What Knives To Use For Dicing?
Chef’s Knife
When it comes to dicing vegetables, one of the most basic knives you can use is a chef’s knife. A chef’s knife is a fundamental type of knife used in the kitchen. It is also known as a cook’s knife, wherein you can use this knife to perform a variety of cutting styles used in food preparation. It is a multi-purpose kitchen knife that helps you perform different kitchen tasks. Because of its long and sleek design, along with versatility, the chef’s knife is often recognized as the chef’s primary knife in the kitchen. You can use it in cutting meat, disjointing some cuts, slicing, chopping, and of course, dicing vegetables. The broad and sharp blade of the chef’s knife is what makes it best for dicing vegetables; not to mention, it is a relatively light body, making it easier to hold. Chef knives vary in size; some can be as small as six inches, while other span up to fourteen inches long.
Vegetables Knife
From the name itself, a vegetable knife is a cutting tool primarily used for vegetables. While this knife is sharp enough to cut other ingredients, such as meat, it only works best for cutting veggies. Thanks to its incredible design, cutting vegetables has never been so easy. It is mainly used for food preparation, wherein you can cut, chop, slice, and dice various veggies a lot easier. Its simple design showcases an edgy shape with a straight blade. This design helps make the vegetable knife more compatible with cutting veggies down into smaller pieces.
Paring Knife
If you are a fan of fruits, then you would probably have an idea of what a paring knife is. While a paring is knife is commonly used to peel fruits and vegetables, you can also utilize this knife to cut, mince, and dice them. Unlike the chef’s and vegetable knife, a paring knife is relatively smaller, which could range from three to four inches in size. This small size is what makes it best for peeling vegetables, but its sharp and precise blades are what make it suitable for dicing. Just like the chef’s knife, a good paring knife is capable of performing various kitchen tasks, making it a well-rounded tool to use for cooking.
Cleaver
If you have been cooking for a long time, having a cleaver should definitely be on your list. A cleaver is a must-have for any kitchen as it could help perform various tasks, which other knives could not do. It has an appearance that resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet but sometimes varies in shape. The cleaver, also known as the butcher knife, is a kitchen knife usually used to cut meat, chopping and splitting up bones. It is a kitchen knife designed for power, which is why it is an essential cutting tool. Besides cutting large chunks of meat, you also can use the cleaver to dice vegetables and fruits. This kitchen knife comes in different sizes, which range from six to twelve inches. Preferrable, the small variation of the cleaver is used to dice veggies, while large butcher knives are used to chop meat.
Conclusion
Having a variety of kitchen knives is important in the kitchen. Especially if you are looking forward to work on various dishes, using different kinds of knives could help you get the job done easier. As for dicing, there are different types of knives you can use, including the chef’s knife, vegetable knife, paring knife, and cleaver. So it is just up to you which knife you prefer and comfortable to use. But if you are looking for the ideal knife to dice vegetables, then make sure to own at least one of these knives.