You may not be an award winner of the OBE but you sure would like to boast of the best kitchen utensils in the world. And what’s better than a full of set of Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives, a brand that Ramsay Gordon uses? The British chef will go for the best brand and you should too.
Yes, it is true that Wüsthof or Henckels knives are Gordon Ramsay favourite brand of knives, but before you rush to get these knives, know that his list of knives are not exhaustive and he uses more knives than just the Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives.
Before you rush off to the market to get that brand new set, here is a list of knives that are majorly used by Ramsay Gordon that you can find in a quality set of Wüsthof or Henckels:
- Serrated or bread knife
- Paring knife cutting fruits and veggies
- Chef’s knife for chopping
- Boning knife to cut around meat and bone.
It is very true that Gordon Ramsay makes use of the Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives, but know that he also use other brands of knives.
SO, just before you go ahead to acquire any and all Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives, be sure to know that whether the cost of these knives are within your budget and suitable for what you intend to use them for.
Table of Contents
What makes these Gordon Ramsay knives so special?
The serrated or bread knife are useful for food with different textures.
Serrated knives are excellent for food that has coarse, smooth textures where you would not need to have detailed or perfect cut.
A bread knife has a serrated blade. A serrated blade is the type of blade used in saws, some knives, and some scissors. It can also be called a toothed or dentated blade.
It also looks like a mini chef’s knife and is most useful on foods that have two different textures: one on the inside and the other on the outside. An example is a tomato.
The bread knife has a curved design at the handle making it very comfortable to hold and use. It uses a back and forth movement like a saw rather than downward pressure.
Bread knives usually have a length of 7 to 9 inches (18 to 23 centimeters) but remember the bigger the bread knife the fewer crumbs you will leave behind.
Check out the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 8-Inch Serrated knife on Amazon
Check out the Wusthof CLASSIC Serrated Knife, on Amazon
Chef’s knife is excellent for cutting, slicing and dicing meat
Gordon Ramsay opts for the Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives because they are very good at cutting, chopping, dicing and thinning food like meat, spices like cinnamon, garlic, cloves to mention a few.
Or also known as a cook’s knife, this knife is used mainly as a cutting tool. The chef’s knife comes in different styles. The french or Western style of the chef curves to the tip. The German-style differs from the French style by its deep curve along the whole cutting edge.
The Chinese chef’s knife looks more like a cleaver. The Chinese chef’s knife, or as it is popularly known, the Chinese cleaver is similar to a regular cleaver in name and structure only because it was not created to smash bones. You will find it does well in all kinds of cutting.
And let’s not forget the Santoku knife, the Japanese style of the chef’s knife. The word ‘Santoku’ means ‘three virtues’. Those virtues are its functions which are dicing, mincing, and slicing, making it a knife you want to have in your set of knives. It is smaller, lighter in weight, and with a different blade shape that is sharper.
A modern chef’s knife is multi-purposed. The blade is usually 8 inches (20 centimeters) in length and 3.8 inches (10 centimeters) in width although you can find individual knives that range from 6 to 14 inches (15 to 36 centimeters).
The size of the knife chosen is dependent on the size of the chef’s hands.
Just in case the Wüsthof or Henckels branded knives are above your budget, then you should look out for similar cheaper Chef’s knife that fits your hands perfectly. The knife should not be overly heavy, and you should be able to grip firmly in order to make perfect cuts that you want.
Check out the Henckels Zwilling Chef’s Knife, on Amazon
Check out the Wusthof Classic Chef’s Knife, on Amazon
Paring knife are excellent for more delicate and precise cutting
Paring knives are usually smaller knives great for delicate cutting, peeling, and dicing. The paring knife blade is usually very simple, and accurate.
When you want to buy a paring knife, you should consider a thin edged knife that is completely flushed with your cutting board
Check out the Henckels Zwilling Paring Knife, on Amazon
Check out the Wusthof Paring Knife, on Amazon
Paring is to cut away the edge or surface. A paring knife usually has a thin blade of 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 centimeters) with a pointed tip.
The small all-purpose knife has a plain edge. It is usually 6 to 10 centimeters (2½ to 4 inches) long. This is a very common knife that can be found in any kitchen but you could get a quality knife, a Wüsthof brand.
Boning knife for rigidity and sharpness
Boning knives make anything relating to cutting of meat easy, either soft or tough, with their long and thin blades. Boning knives can either be stiff or flexible depending on the type of commodity you are dealing with.
Stiff blades are rigid and sharp. They are used for stronger, thicker, and larger pieces of meat hence they are more curved and narrow.
The blades are curved upwards like a type of scimitar. The curve allows it to get all the flesh along the bone easily.
The straight blades of boning knives are good for sculpting and getting large pieces of meat off the bone.
The narrow blade is ideal for smaller ones because they do not encounter as much resistance as the broad or curved blades.
The blades are usually 5 to 6 inches(12 to 17 centimeters) long, some up to 9 inches (23 centimeters), although that length is rare.
Check out the Henckels Zwilling Boning Knife, on Amazon
Check out the Wusthof Boning Knife, on Amazon
Why does Gordon Ramsay use these knives?
Here’s why:
The serrated bread knife
The bread knife is known for turning loaves of crusty or soft bread into neat thin slices without crumbling it or leaving crumbs in the tray.
Although certain knives are designed for specific purposes bread knives serve a lot of purposes. A bread knife can help in the kitchen with the dicing of tomatoes, strawberries, and even tougher foods like melon and squash which will give other knives and the chef a tough time to accomplish the same result as a bread knife.
The bread knife also helps in leveling cakes to give that balanced surface. You could also use it to score ham, slice meatloaf, or share a piece of cake with ease.
The bread knife is like an essential that will make the knife rack incomplete without it
The chef’s knife for chopping
The chef’s knife, like the bread knife, has a lot of functions. A chef’s knife can stand as a perfect substitute for a mincing machine. It will do a great job getting the neat to the size you want.
The chef’s knife is also used for chopping vegetables to the different cuts, from the julienne (match stick cuts) to the macedoine (large dice).
It also does well in slicing meat and cutting, and disjointing large cuts of meat, beef, and other food commodities.
The paring knife is essential for cutting vegetables and fruits
The paring knife is used for detailed cutting. Nothing cuts onions or a clove of garlic better. You can’t find a better knife to remove the outside of the onion or the nylon-like covering of a garlic clove. You can use it to score your food like ham.
A paring knife can also be used for complex tasks like de-veining a shrimp.
You can also dice and mince with it. A paring knife is a substitute for a chef knife although not for all food items.
Boning knife to cut around the meat and bones
If you have ever been frustrated because you couldn’t remove a piece of meat or beef or maybe ham that was stuck to the bone, you will understand the importance of a boning knife.
A boning knife can get to any type of meat and cut asunder the tissue, ligaments, and any other part of your meat.
Stiff boning knives are used for thicker and tougher cuts of meat like beef and pork. The stuff blade will allow you to use force unlike the flexible boning knives used for easier cuts of meat. Also when it comes to removing the scales of a fish, a fillet knife, a member of the boning knife family is used. The fillet knife is under the flexible branch.
Why you should buy the type of knives Gordon Ramsay uses
It makes work easier
Once I had a school catering craft practical that was to be supervised by an external supervisor. I had chosen wonderful meals, followed the specifications and all instructions given but when it came to the cutting, it was not today and smooth at all!
The knife I had was a paring knife and I needed a cleaver. Now you can imagine that I was in a mess but the most frustrating part was it was blunt. The meat came out looking like it was dragged through a thorn bush than cut by a knife.
I don’t want you to suffer the same fate I went through. Imagine being on a cooking show and the camera zooms in on you perspiring to cut a clove of garlic with a cleaver.
I know, it is embarrassing, so get the right knife for the right job.
Gordon Ramsay will only use the right knife for the job and that saved him a lot of energy, embarrassment and made his work a whole lot easier.
Most of them are multipurpose
Talk about versatility. The chef’s knife for instance that cuts fruits, vegetables, chops, dices and so much more. It won’t be a one-purpose tool but an all-purpose tool.
And putting yourself in the shoes of the great British chef, you probably know many knives, their names, and particular function but you are you, and keeping it simple you can go for one knife that does all.
More done in less time
Remember the story of the camera zooming in on the sweaty chef? You don’t want that to be you right? Well, you can just check your meal.
A simple meal will probably take one or two knives that if they are right ones won’t have wasting time, struggling, or not having fun while cooking.
Besides, as all good chefs do, following your time plan, the extra time you use to finish up with that blunt knife will cut into the time for other things. (Did you notice the pun there, cut. The knife cuts into your time).
They got you covered, do you have no worries
You don’t have to worry about how effective they are if you have bought quality products. This way you can handle your knife with confidence, precision and feel free when you use them.
What knives are suitable for grinding?
l can recommend many other knives too. They are close substitutes to the ones listed above and can also be part of your knife collection. You can also find those with great quality at amazon. Buy here
Utility knives
Utility knives (like this one on Amazon) are a size between a chef’s knife and a paring knife. They are usually 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters). The blade makes it a kitchen utensil that can substitute almost all others because of the functions it performs.
They are best for slicing and chopping medium-sized vegetables like shallots, fruits, and even sandwiches.
They are as good as a chef’s knife but are better at cutting smaller produce which allows precise and detailed cutting.
There are different types of utility knives. The serrated utility knife is like a miniature bread knife. You use it for cutting small produce like tomatoes and baguettes.
The straight utility knife can be used to create clean cuts of poultry, meat, and beef. This is also the ideal knife for cutting cheese.
Cleaver knife
A cleaver knife (like this one on Amazon) has a rectangular blade created for cutting thick meats and smashing soft bones. It is used as a substitute for butcher knives but it is not used for cutting hard and thick bones.
It is also used for hard foods and some vegetables that a plain knife will normally squash it make a mess of.
The cleaver has a tough head no other kitchen knife can boast of, which allows it to cut asunder everything that might stand against it; cartilages, tissues, and thick meat.
The overall length of a cleaver knife is about 10.5 to 12 inches (27 to 30 centimeters); the height is 3 to 5 (8 to 13 centimeters) and a length of 6 to 8 inches (12 to 20 centimeters).
Steak knife
As the name implies, a steak knife (like this one on Amazon) is for steak. It is the only sharp knife seen at the table and it has a serrated blade and wooden handles.
Steak knives are usually 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 centimeters). The longer ones are used by the high-class restaurant for larger steaks.
Fillet knives
Fillet knives (like this one on Amazon) are long and flexible knives used for delicate meat like fish. You can use them to cut or descale a fish and separate the fish from the bone.
They are the perfect knives for the job because of their flexibility and thinness. Fillet knives are usually 6 to 11 inches (15 to 28 centimeters) long.