Though the smallest knife in a prepare dinner’s arsenal, the standard paring knife shouldn’t be one to be dismissed. This petite powerhouse is a flexible and indispensable instrument in each kitchen. Designed for exact and managed use, the paring knife boasts a pointy pointed tip and a barely curved edge.
Light-weight and compact in measurement, paring knives are simple to manoeuvre and perfect for intricate duties that require precision. They’re nice for peeling vegetables and fruit, de-seeding and coring produce, creating garnishes and deveining prawns. They’re sometimes called vegetable knives, peeling knives or small kitchen knives owing to their versatility.
It’s uncommon that you simply’ll prep a complete dish utilizing a paring knife alone, moderately it’s the knife you attain for when your chef’s knife is simply too massive for the job at hand. For instance, select a paring knife for artichoke alla guidia, fennel, sausage, tomato and mozzarella hand pies, or butter-poached trout, burnt leeks, and hazelnuts.
As with every knife, correct care and upkeep is essential. Paring knives will be sharpened to make sure their edge stays in one of the best situation. Common sharpening and honing will hold your knives acting at their finest.
After chef’s knives, the paring knife is the second mostly occurring knife in knife units, although they’re additionally in the stores individually. Many residence cooks prefer to have a paring knife of their set for duties that require accuracy and finesse.
Leap to part:
Finest paring knives at a look
- Finest paring knife: Victorinox Traditional paring knife, £5.50
- Finest serrated paring knife: Victorinox Traditional serrated paring knife, £5.50
- Finest Japanese paring knife: Aogami Petty 120mm, £85
- Finest blowout paring knife: Victorinox Grand Maître Solid paring knife, £89
- Finest paring knife for citrus: Zwilling Professional 10cm paring knife, £66.95
Finest paring knives to purchase 2023
Victorinox Traditional paring knife
Finest paring knife
Professionals:
- Light-weight
- Comfortable deal with
- Textured deal with
- Obtainable in a spread of colors
- Price range
Cons:
- Presumably somewhat too mild
Star score: 5/5
Tidy and compact, this Victorinox traditional paring knife weights simply 20g however is a formidable and near-perfect knife to make use of. In contrast to a few of the different Victorinox knives we’ve examined, the blade on this paring knife feels sturdy and sturdy.
The deal with is properly formed and really simple to grip, due to the marginally textured end. We additionally like that the handles can be found in an array of colors, together with pink, yellow, inexperienced and extra.
This knife completely impressed us in check. We have been in a position to take away orange peel with deft precision and supreme it with no resistance in any respect. It even sliced by means of tomato with complete ease, too.
There’s not lots we didn’t like about this knife: engaging, budget-friendly and oh-so-nimble.
Obtainable from:
Victorinox Traditional serrated paring knife
Finest serrated paring knife
Professionals:
- Light-weight
- Obtainable in a spread of colors
- Price range-friendly
- Comfortable, textured deal with
Cons:
- Maybe somewhat too mild
Star score: 5/5
This Victorinox knife is solely the serrated model of the paring knife above. Like its non-serrated sibling, it too is on the market in a spread of colors and options the identical comfy, ergonomic deal with.
It took the rind off an orange shortly and simply, although – as anticipated – this knife doesn’t produce as clear slices because the knife above. That being stated, the knife is sharp and exact, and total a pleasure to make use of. We achieved managed and even slices of tomato, too.
This knife is a steal at beneath £10, and even if you happen to don’t end up reaching for a serrated paring knife each day, this Victorinox knife is one you’ll be grateful for if you do come to want it.
Obtainable from:
Aogami Petty 120mm
Finest Japanese paring knife
Professionals:
- Very engaging
- Tremendous sharp
- Snug
Cons:
- On the bigger facet
- Not suited to very positive duties
Star score: 4.5/5
The Aogami Petty is likely one of the bigger paring knives we examined, it’s also one of the engaging. This knife contains a 120mm metal and carbon blade (Aogami), in addition to a tapered walnut deal with.
This knife comes properly offered in a fragile cardboard field. The knife is light-weight however feels properly balanced within the hand.
We liked the blade on this knife: extremely sharp, with the best level on the finish. It reduce by means of an orange with complete precision, although we felt the blade was somewhat too lengthy once we have been supremeing segments of orange.
This knife excelled on our tomato check, eradicating the thinnest slices of tomato with exact strokes.
In the event you’re not after a paring knife for extremely exact duties however are merely after one you possibly can attain for small on a regular basis jobs, the Aogami Petty 120mm is a good selection.
Obtainable from:
Victorinox Grand Maître cast paring knife
Finest blowout paring knife
Professionals:
- Comfortable deal with
- Properly weighted
Cons:
- Not as sharp as different blades examined
Star score: 4.5/5
This superbly crafted knife contains a nimble blade and durable, ergonomic deal with. It’s properly weighted within the hand and feels balanced, too.
Though the blade appears to be like extremely sharp, it was met with somewhat resistance when slicing by means of our check orange and tomato. We reduce out segments of orange simply sufficient however we needed to noticed somewhat greater than anticipated when eradicating the orange rind. Equally, the tomato required some pressure to provide a slice. Nonetheless we have been proud of the outcomes produced.
That is an impressively sturdy knife that’s been constructed to final. It’s engaging and agile, and would make an excellent addition to any prepare dinner’s toolkit.
Obtainable from:
Zwilling Professional 10cm paring knife
Finest paring knife for citrus
Professionals:
- Tremendous sharp
- Nimble
- Snug within the hand
- Nice for positive slicing
Cons:
- Lengthy deal with
- Plastic packaging
Star score: 4.5/5
Properly weighted and extremely properly balanced, this Zwilling Professional knife is an actual pleasure to make use of. We discovered this knife comfy to carry due to the properly formed deal with, although felt the deal with itself was somewhat lengthy.
This knife sliced by means of tomato with complete ease and supremed orange slices simply, too. We did discover this knife was much less clean when it got here to reducing by means of the orange peel, nonetheless. That being stated, total our chef testers referred to as this knife a “delight to make use of”.
Nimble and comfy to make use of, if you happen to prepare dinner with lots of citrus, this paring knife is up for the job.
Obtainable from:
What’s a paring knife used for?
A paring knife excels when finishing delicate and exact reducing duties. Its small measurement and nimble blade make it the right knife for peeling fruits and veggies, eradicating seeds, making intricate cuts or finishing fiddly duties like deveining prawns. Whether or not it’s a easy activity like peeling veg otherwise you’re exactly reducing out decorations, a paring knife is a vital instrument.
The best way to sharpen a paring knife?
A paring knife will be sharpened like every other non-serrated knife utilizing both a tabletop sharpener or whetstone. If utilizing a tabletop sharpener, merely run the knife by means of the sharpener just a few occasions, remembering to wash the blade afterwards. If utilizing a whetstone, you’ll want to slip either side of the knife over the stone at both a 15 or 20 diploma angle (relying on whether or not you’re working with a European or Japanese knife). Sharpening a paring knife on a whetstone needs to be quicker than sharpening a chef’s knife because the blade is smaller and sees much less use.
How we examined paring knives
We examined each conventional and serrated paring knives. Every knife was examined in managed situations utilizing the identical components. They have been then handed to our cooks within the check kitchen to get some stay and in-action suggestions.
We supremed an orange to check how properly the blade sliced by means of rind and the way it dealt with fiddly, exact duties. We additionally sliced by means of historically tough tomato. We use the identical standards for design and ease of use when testing knives:
- Snug: though they’re small, we nonetheless wished to make use of knives that have been comfy to carry and allowed for nimble and dynamic motion.
- Balanced: knives needs to be balanced within the hand and have some weight to them.
- Sustainable: we seemed for paring knives that include lengthy or lifetime warranties, in addition to plastic-free packaging.
- Extremely sharp: we seemed for knives that held their sharp edge for a very long time.
Extra critiques
Finest stand mixers
Finest baking presents
11 finest cake stands
19 finest espresso subscriptions
Finest espresso machines
Finest bean to cup espresso machines
Finest espresso espresso machines
Finest ice cream makers
Finest bundt tins
Finest loaf tins
Finest springform cake tins
Finest mixing bowls
Finest KitchenAid stand mixers
Finest cookie cutters
Finest spatulas
Knife critiques
Finest nakiri knives
Finest chef’s knives
Finest knife units
Recipes for paring knives
Prawn toast
Amalfi lemon drizzle cake
Courgette and chimichurri salad
Spring greens shakshuka
Pear cake
