Japanese kitchen knives are known for their sleek designs and superb sharpness. They are almost comparable to Japanese swords that can seamlessly cut through almost anything. Japanese knives are known as 'WA-bocho' in their homeland, and they originated from the time of the Samurai in the Feudal era. Genuine Japanese kitchen knives are still made following the tradition of making swords: hand-forged and carefully crafted to ensure the finest cutlery. These 10 qualities of Japanese knives should demonstrate their uniqueness and versatility in food preparation:
Japanese kitchen knives that are manufactured in Japan are made using the best kinds of steel in the country.
There are many kinds of Japanese kitchen knives, but each of them is exceptionally versatile for a wide range of food preparation applications. One particular knife to consider is the Santoku, an all-purpose knife that can cut large vegetables like pumpkins and cabbage, as well as potatoes. The Santoku is great for quick cutting, slicing, and dicing. A typical Santoku blade measures five to seven inches long and it is well-balanced for an equal weight distribution throughout the knife. Santoku can be a better knife for precision chopping.
Many Japanese kitchen knives are made of carbon steel, high-quality steel that offers the best sharpness for cutting. Aogami (blue paper, steel) in particular is a type of carbon steel with superb wear resistance, outstanding edge holding, and high hardness. Shirogami (white paper, steel) is a popular high-end Japanese cutlery with Honyaki blades. Japanese steel has the highest carbon content that provides better sharpness and hardness.
Japanese stainless steel knives contain high amounts of carbon to make them harder and more durable.
Japanese knives contain various alloys to make them versatile and differ in performance. Carbon increases tensile strength and improves edge retention and hardness. Cobalt enhances hardness, strength, and resiliency of the knife in high temperatures. Chromium improves toughness and resistance to corrosion and wear. Nickel makes the knife tough, molybdenum improves resistance to corrosion and prevents brittleness, tungsten strengthens the blade, and vanadium improves wear resistance and toughness.
Thinner blades make Japanese knives lighter compared to western knives like Messemeisters, Wusthofs, and Henkles.
A Santoku has a blade angle that is smaller for added sharpness. European knives typically have a 20-degree blade angle, and a Japanese kitchen knife has a 15-degree blade angle.
There are many Japanese knives available online from brands like Shun, Tojiro, and Mac. Kyocera is particularly known for its ceramic knives. Kasumi is another brand worth checking out.
You can choose between western style Japanese knives and traditional Japanese knives. The latter is designed for Japanese cooking, hence, the different construction for the blades, which feature an edge on one side. They are ideal for professional and seasoned chefs.
Western-style Japanese knives are hybrids of western and eastern knife designs and forging methods, so they may be easier to use if it is your first time switching to Japanese knives.
About The Author:
Everten is Australia's leading online retailer of kitchenware, cookware, knives, Bake ware, tableware and dishes. They presently emphasize in excess of 8000 items. Some of their most adored incredibly famous brands fuse Scanpan, Riedel, Le Creuset, Global, Wusthof, Breville, Cuisinart and Leifheit.
