Guide Kaen
Gyuto, Nakiri, Santoku or Petty: which to choose
Four blade shapes, four jobs. How to build your set around what you actually cook.
Gyuto (20 cm): does 80% of the work
The Japanese "chef's knife": a long blade with a gentle curve to rock on the board. Meat, fish, large vegetables, herbs. If you will only have one, this is it.
Nakiri (18 cm): the vegetable specialist
Straight edge and wide blade. It touches the board along its whole length, so every cut is complete: julienne, brunoise, paper-thin slices with nothing left attached. If you cook a lot of vegetables, you will use it more than the Gyuto.
Santoku (18 cm): the light all-rounder
"Three virtues": meat, fish and vegetables. Shorter and lighter than the Gyuto, with a rounded tip. The easiest to master if you come from conventional knives, and the one we recommend to anyone cooking for two every day.
Petty (9 cm): precision in the hand
Peeling, coring, turning, details. Everything a big knife gets in the way of. It is the natural companion of the Gyuto: between the two they cover almost any recipe.
How to build your set
- Getting started: Gyuto + Petty (Essential Set). One big, one small; you cover 90%.
- Cooking every day: Gyuto + Nakiri + Petty (Complete Set). The one we recommend to almost everyone.
- The whole kitchen, or a big gift: all six, with the three Santoku in their three colours (Master Collection).
Every set saves versus buying separately, and all include a sheath and free shipping in Spain.