At the request of our friend, Carlos, we are going to do a little rundown of the knives Jesse uses and how he uses them. While he does own a few 'designer' knives he does end up using the ones he had to purchase for culinary school most of the time which are shown in the picture above.
Top left - Slicer: Used for slicing meat. It's length allows for longer strokes, more control and cleaner cuts. It also has depressions down the sides of the blade which reduce friction resulting in a smoother cut.
Second down on left - Bread Slicer: Obviously used for slicing bread, its length and serrated edge makes it great for slicing bread without crushing it.
Third down on left - 8" Chef's Knife: Jesse uses this for pretty much everything else. Chopping, slicing, dicing, etc. It's really Jesse's "go to" all purpose knife.
Bottom left - 8" Santoku: Similar to a Chef's knife but has depressions like the Slicer for smoother cuts and a blunt edge. This means the cuts must be less in a rocking motion like the chefs knife and more in a repeated down and forward motion.
Right blade facing down - Boning Knife: For fileting fish. We don't use this knife often.
Right facing up - Paring Knife: Used for smaller kitchen tasks. Jesse rarely uses this but I do all the time. It's great for prepping fruits and vegetables and growing up we didn't have fancy knives so I have pretty much learned how to use it for everything much to Jesse's chagrin. He typically uses the Chef's knife to do these tasks.
I asked Jesse that if he were to suggest one knife that everyone should have on hand. His response was the 8" Chef's knife stating that, "you could get through anything with that." As far as brands go, if you're looking for something expensive there are plenty at Williams Sonoma to choose from but he has really enjoyed the Mercer's he was issued for school.
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