How to choose the right knife ?

What's this knife for? Good question isn't it?!
You have a whole set of knives in your kitchen, which is great, but do you know what they are for? Do you make the best possible use of each of them?
Read this quick recap in order to choose the right tool next time you need to cook...

Here's the list of kitchen knives, as well as their functions and uses.

1) The famous paring knife:

Easily recognized, and the most commonly used. It is a small knife.
Its blade is pointed, slightly wide. With him you may chop:
•    herbs
•    onions (under water to avoid tears)
•    apples
•    potatoes (washed thoroughly to get rid of their starch)
•    carrots and all other types of fruit and vegetables.

2) Curved paring knife :

Its sharp and curved blade ressembles a bird's bill.
Used to peel fruit and vegetables, creative cuisine fans love using it to carve up any edible item they can get their hands on.

3) Chef's knife:

Often seen in films, when the villain enters the house, it's the big, pointed knife with a very wide and solid blade. Rather heavy, it may not be the most efficient against intruders but it will at least discourage evil intentions.
But let's come back to its culinary uses… You may use it to slice, chop and mince meat (lamb, smoked chest), fish (tuna, swordfish, salmon) but also to finely chop herbs or bell peppers.

4) Bread knife :

The bread knife is easily recognized with its specifically serrated blade.
Used to slice bread, of course, but also other types of crusts : roast meat or cooked tomatoes.

5) Fillet knife :

Less commonly used, except by seafood-lovers.
Its distinctive feature? A long, flexible and pointed blade which can easily slice thin filets of sole, sea bream, trout or any other fish you like.   

6) Cooking knife :

It looks like a chef's knife, but smaller.
This is the perfect knife for vegetables, its thick and solid blade is ideal to chop, slice and dice all sorts of vegetables. The strongest among you might even want to crush your garlic cloves with the flat of its blade… Mind your fingers, though!

7) Boning knife :

You've probably spotted this one before, at the butcher's with its yellow handle...
It is a small knife with a thin short and narrow blade which slides easily in between bones to allow you to remove them. This knife also allows purists and athletes to get rid of nerves, tendons and fat before eating meat or poultry.

8) Carving knife:

This carving knife is sometimes also called ham knife..
It is usually very long, with a flexible blade and a rather pointed tip to thinly slice meat, roasts and hams.
Do not mix it up with the steak knife, which often possesses a serrated blade. They're two completely different things!

9) Peeler

Here's a knife that everybody knows, either because you've been volunteered to peel potatoes when you were little or because you adore homemade chips. With it you can effortlessly peel the veg you wish to include in your meals!

10) Other knives

In no particular order, you may also find in your kitchen drawers…
•    A sponge cake bread knife, which looks like a traditional bread knife, except that iits teeth are more rounded. Electric knives are also part of this family.
•    A finely serrated tomatoe knife will cleanly slice through ripe fruit
•    A cheese knife, with its forked tip!
•    An oyster knife, with its triangular blade in order to open up these delicious shellfish!
•    A scale scraper which, believe it or not, is used to… scrape fish scales! Unbelievable!

What about you? Which one is your favourite knife? Which one couldn't you live without?