Semi-soft cheeses like fontina, gouda, or a chilled brie are really the only kinds of cheese that should be cut and served with a proper cheese knife. You’ll easily recognize the one for the job as that knife with a sharp edge and those weird open holes along the blade.
Full Answer
What are the different types of cheese knives?
Types of Cheese Knives. 1 Soft Cheese Knife. A soft cheese knife, also known as an open work blade knife, features holes in the blade to keep soft cheeses from sticking due to ... 2 Cheese Spreader. 3 Gorgonzola Knife. 4 Pronged Cheese Knife. 5 Slim Blade Cheese Knife. More items
What is a cheese knife used for?
We also go through how they are used and some cheeses you can pair them with. A soft cheese knife, also known as an open work blade knife, features holes in the blade to keep soft cheeses from sticking due to the minimal surface area. You can also use the holes to push a piece off of the knife.
What to do if you don’t have a cheese knife?
If you don’t have a cheese knife, a sharp cook’s knife dipped in hot water and wiped off will also do the job. 2. Cheese knives for slicing
What is the difference between a gorgonzola and a cheese knife?
However, the gorgonzola knife has a sharp blade to cut through cheese rinds. The pronged cheese knife, or forked-tipped spear, is a multipurpose tool that allows you to cut a piece of cheese and then pick it up with the prongs at the end for serving or plating. The narrow blade offers a minimal surface area so soft cheeses don’t stick.
What knife do I use for cheese?
What knife is best for cutting cheese? If you don't have any cheese knives on hand, we'd recommend using a small paring knife for cutting firm-to-hard cheeses and a thin kitchen knife or butter knife for soft cheeses. While these won't take the place of a purpose-built cheese knife, they'll work in a pinch.
What kind of knife do you use for Brie?
The Slim Blade Knife Boska, a Dutch knife-maker, casts this slim-blade knife in one piece. Its ultra-fine blade is best suited for soft or semi-soft, sticky cheeses, such as Brie or Halloumi, because it provides scarce surface-area for the cheeses to stick to.
How many cheese knives do you need?
You can cut a vast majority of cheeses with a set of three knives – a knife for compact or hard cheeses, a knife for semi-hard cheeses, and a knife for soft cheeses. All the other knives are a great complement to your essential cheese knife set.
What cutlery goes with cheese?
Soft cheese spreads well with a butter knife; firm cheese might require a paring knife, and aged cheese often requires a cheese plane. Soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert have a soft interior and could easily stick to the knife.
What knife do you use for Manchego?
Cheese Fork. The fork is ideal for holding harder cheeses, like a manchego, in place while you cut with another knife. I usually add a few of these to the board in places where there might be charcuterie or olives that guests can pick up with a pierce of the cheese fork.
Why do cheese knives have a hook?
The hook on the end of the cheese knife is used to serve cheese slices without touching them with your fingers. While not all cheese knives will have this feature, this particular cheese knife is versatile and suitable for serving many types of cheeses, particularly semi-firm to firm cheeses.
Why are there holes in a cheese knife?
Often, soft cheese knives have little holes along the blade which reduce friction, helping to cut through particularly sticky soft cheeses.
Can you sharpen a cheese knife?
3:187:33CutcoMindy: How to sharpen the Cutco Cheese knife and Slice n ServeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou cannot sharpen that with this side it doesn't work but if you use the tip.MoreYou cannot sharpen that with this side it doesn't work but if you use the tip.
How do you clean a cheese knife?
Always keep your knives sharp and clean You should always hand-wash your knives.” He also says to wipe the cheese knife with a damp cloth in between cuts if necessary, in order to make sure the knife stays clean.
What is the proper way to serve cheese?
Serving cheeseBe sure to serve cheese at room temperature. ... Serve before-dinner cheeses with relatively savory accompaniments such as olives, prosciutto, nuts and/or chutney and after-dinner cheeses with sweet accompaniments such as jams, honey, dried fruit and toasted nuts.
What is the proper way to eat cheese?
Always smell your cheese before eating: you taste more with your nose than with your taste buds, actually. As far as bread is concerned, it's there for a reason. To fully appreciate your cheese selection, eat your cheese on its own and use bread or crackers as a palate cleanser rather than a canvas.
What is the proper etiquette for eating charcuterie?
1:032:53How to eat charcuterie (and feel super fancy) - Edible Education - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAdd some bread and you're ready to go. But charcuterie always tastes better with a good drink theMoreAdd some bread and you're ready to go. But charcuterie always tastes better with a good drink the career boards Hathi paired wines.
How do you cut Brie cheese?
How to Cut Brie Cheese for a CheeseboardLet the brie cheese reach room temperature. ... Place your brie on a cutting board. ... Gather your tools. ... Trim the rind. ... Cut the wheel in half. ... Slice the cut half into small wedges. ... Place the brie on your cheese platter. ... Mix in other cheeses.
How do you cut soft cheese?
Use a thin-bladed soft cheese knife or cheese wire for this delicate job. They'll keep the cheese from sticking to the knife blade and getting crumbly and misshapen. If you don't have one of these specialized knives handy, here's a trick: you can use unflavored, unwaxed dental floss to cut very soft cheeses like this.
What is a chisel knife used for?
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, struck with a mallet, or mechanical power.
Can you use butter knife for cheese?
Spreadable cheeses, like room temperature or baked brie, chevre, Camembert, and cheese spreads (think “Boursin”) are soft enough that they can be easily cut and spread with a regular butter knife.
1. Cheese knives for soft cheese
Soft cheeses like brie or Double Crème have a soft interior and could easily stick to the knife. To make a cleaner cut and keep the shape of the delicate interior you can use a knife with a very thin straight blade or a cheese knife with holes.
2. Cheese knives for slicing
The cheese planes or slicers are used for shaving even slices of semi-hard or hard cheeses.
3. Cheese cleavers for hard and firm cheese
Cheese cleavers or cheese spades are excellent for cutting hard or firm cheese into both wedges and chunks.
4. Cheese forks
The cheese fork can be used to hold a block of cheese in place while cutting – it’s also ideal for crumbling hard or aged cheeses into smaller pieces.
Serving cheese
When you serve cheese remember to provide a separate cheese knife for each cheese, and encourage guests not to mix the knives to avoid mixing the flavors of the cheese.
The must-have gear to get your fromage on
Christine is freelance food writer, certified cheese expert, and podcast host. Her work has appeared in AllRecipes, Bon Appetit, and VinePair.
Best Overall: Laguiole en Aubrac Handmade Cheese Knife
For Francophiles, there’s no knife more iconic than a Laguiole. Named after the city of Laguiole in Southern France, Laguiole knives are synonymous with quality (and very often counterfeited, so make sure to check that it’s made in France). Laguiole is not a brand or a trademark, simply a tradition of craftsmanship going back to the 1800s.
Best Budget: Amazon Basics Multi-Use Stainless Steel Cheese Knife
This is a favorite for budget-minded cheese eaters for a few reasons. You’ll notice that this cheese knife (which can be used for fruit and more) has holes in the blade—in fact, it’s almost more of a skeleton of a blade. This keeps your soft cheeses (and tomatoes) from sticking to the blade, ensuring cleaner cuts.
Best Soft-Cheese Knife: Boska Soft Cheese Knife Copenhagen No.1
If you ever peek in a cheesemonger’s knife drawer, you will almost certainly see tools by Boska. This Dutch company, which has been around since 1896, designs classic and functional cheese tools that can’t be beaten.
Best Slicer: Boska Cheese Slicer Copenhagen
We all love a good cheese board, but one of the best parts of cheese is its versatility. Sure, a cheese board makes a lovely centerpiece or appetizer, but just as often, cheese serves as a great mid-day snack on a Wednesday or as inspiration to make a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich .
Best Portable: Opinel No.10 Stainless Steel Corkscrew Folding Knife
The best cheese experiences often have nothing to do with perfectly arranged cheese boards. If you’re a cheese lover on the go, it’s important to have a knife for those impromptu weekend picnics with bread, cheese, salami, and a bottle of your favorite wine. Any picnicking foodie can tell you that Opinel is the best knife for the job.
What to Look for in Cheese Knives
Different kinds of cheeses are best portioned with different kinds of knives.
1. Small Spade
Small spade is a knife that can be used to cut hard cheeses into wedges; and, then spear the cheese with the tip to pick it off the cutting board and into your mouth. Additionally, having a sharp tips let you stab directly into a cheese like parmesan and continue cutting with the long end for added strength when cheeses are just too hard.
2. Narrow Plane Knife
This guy is pretty versatile, but he’s best suited for semi-hard cheeses. Think of cheeses like cheddar or gouda. Because this knife has a sharp end on both the short end and long end, you can use it as a combination flat cheese knife, and press into hard cheeses and finish cutting wedges with the sharp long end.
3. Soft Cheese Knife
Spreading knives. If you find that you’re that guy/girl that always has a baguette around to eat with your cheese, you might want to invest in a soft cheese knife. It’s simply ergonomically designed to spread that ooey gooey.
4. Cheese Fork
Since a cheese fork is not technically a knife, it seems like an odd addition to this list; however, if you have a cheese knife set, or are looking to invest in one, you’ll probably want to get one of these. The point of a cheese fork is to hold one piece of hard cheese while you go at it with another cheese knife.
5. Flat Cheese Knife
Flat cheese knives are very common, but not always obvious. You’ll want to use this knife to cut or divide soft cheese. You can also use this knife like you would a chisel and shave down on hard cheeses. Because the bottom edge of the knife has the sharp edge, the cutting motion will always be pressing down.
6. Fork-Tipped Spear
The fork-tipped spear is both a fork and a spear: discuss amongst yourselves. No really, this is one of the most versatile knives you can purchase because it can cut firm cheeses, and then you can pick up cheese to serve yourself or someone else.
7. Open Work Blade Knife
Although this knife looks like Swiss cheese, you’ll only want to use it on soft, sticky cheeses. The holes in the knife keep the gooey cheese from sticking to the blade and ultimately making a huge mess of your cheese service.
Did you Know?
Cheese knives that are used for soft cheese can also be used for cutting other soft and sticky food products, like pastries, pies, eggs, tomatoes, etc.
Fork-Tipped Spear
The forked-tipped spear is a two-in-one knife, which is specifically used for cutting hard cheese. The blade is used for dicing the cheese, and the forked tip is used for serving.
Spade
A small spade sure looks small, but it is strong enough to cut rough chunks and wedges of hard cheese. To cut chunks of cheese using this knife, all you have to do is insert the tip first, and then slice the blade down, to cut off a chunk. If you are having trouble cutting Parmesan or Mozzarella, this knife is the best choice.
Gorgonzola Knife
The Gorgonzola knife is specially used for Gorgonzola or Bleu cheese, but one can use it for any variety of soft cheese. Using this knife, cheese can be cut into wedges and rounds. This knife can also be used to spread cheese easily on bread and crackers.
Open Work Blade Knife
This knife is best used for cutting big chunks of soft cheese, like Brie. Due to its unique design, the cheese does not stick to the knife while slicing, and the time taken is also considerably reduced.
Flat Cheese Knife
The flat cheese knife is specially designed to cut soft cheese, providing clean cuts without spoiling its shape. It is also used for dicing hard cheese.
Cheese Forks
Cheese forks help is cutting cheese, and also serving. Some even use them to hold the cheese in place, while cutting with a different knife. It is used for cutting hard as well as soft cheese, but it works best for cutting hard, aged cheese.
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