Published on The Independent on 7th July 2021
Most of us are familiar with the traditional chef’s knife, with its piercingly sharp tip, straight spine and a distinctly curved cutting edge. Its shape makes it incredibly versatile in the kitchen and you can use it for everything from carving meat to finely slicing herbs in that classic rocking motion chefs love to demonstrate.
But hot on its heels in recent years has been the santoku knife – a style of chef’s knife that has its roots in Japan, although many models you get now are made in other parts of the world.
Santoku translates to “three virtues” in Japanese, which signify the three uses this style of blade is best known for: slicing, dicing and mincing. Visually, it looks just like a reflection of the traditional chef’s knife – the spine curves downwards into a point resembling a sheep’s foot while the cutting edge of the blade is almost completely straight.