Cutting equipment

Apart from knives, you will find other small and large cutting equipment in a professional kitchen. This provides an overview of some of the cutting equipment and their uses.

Zester

This stainless steel blade has a row of holes with sharpened edges to strip off the outside layer of citrus peel without removing any of the bitter pith beneath.

Used for garnishes, baking, cocktails

Types of foods: Mainly citrus fruits – natural oils in the skin.

Canelle knife

This knife has a stainless steel blade with a sharpened notch for cutting decorative grooves. Decorate fruit and vegetables.

Types of foods: Apples, Cucumber, oranges.

Parisienne Scoop

Has a stainless steel scoop that allows for scoops or balls to be cut out. Balling – different shapes for starters/Entrée and desserts.

Types of foods: Melon, potatoes and any hard type of vegetable and fruit.

Corer

Removes remove pips/core.

Types of foods: Apple or similar fruits such as pears and quince.

Curved Paring Knife

Turning vegetables and or fruits for entrées, mains and desserts.

Types of foods: Potatoes, carrots, beetroot.

Peeler

Removes the peel from vegetables.

Types of foods: Most vegetables.

Thermomix

Is a blender that also cooks and stirs your food at adjustable temperatures and speeds. It has a a built-in scale, a steamer attachment, and a touchscreen that you can programme in recipes.

It will cook, boil, simmer and stew; chop and mince meat, nuts, herbs and vegetables; blend; makes yoghurt; mill rice, nuts and grains into flour; grind coffee, sugar and nuts; knead dough; whisk; grate; puree and crush.

Types of foods: All food items.

Blender

Mixers and blends, most foods for preparation in baking and cooking.

Types of foods: Most food items.

Bandsaw

A bandsaw is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut bone and meat in a butchery.

Types of foods: Animal carcasses and bones.

Microplane

A Microplane is perfect for finely shredding hard cheeses like Parmesan, Asiago and Romano to top vegetables and your favorite Italian dishes.

Types of foods: Types of fruit or vegetable: Mostly hard cheeses and truffles.

Mandolin

Will give you precision when slicing fruits and vegetables.

Types of foods: Vegetables and fruits.

Grater

A grater, also known as a shredder, is used to grate foods into fine pieces.

Types of foods: Mainly Cheese, and vegetables and fruit.

Poultry Shears

Some shears are also used to cut cooked poultry.

Types of foods: Poultry- chicken/ Duck/ wild birds in preparation for cooking.

Scissors

The main uses for kitchen scissors are for snipping herbs, cutting open food packaging, and breaking down poultry.

Types of foods: Herbs/packaging.

Meat Mincer

A meat grinder is a kitchen appliance for fine chopping (‘mincing’) and/or mixing of raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the mincing knife (which are also used in the preparation of minced meat, filling.

Types of foods: Meat/Fish/Vegetables.

Meat Mallet

To hammer tough cuts of meat, like flank or skirt steak, to make them more tender.

Types of foods: Saltimbocca, Picatta, Milanese, Katsu and or Schnitzel.

Cutters

Sharp blades for easy cutting of vegetables and fruits.

Types of foods: Vegetable and fruits.

Bowl Chopper

The bowl cutter is the commonly used meat chopping equipment designed to produce small or very small (“finely comminuted”) lean meat and fat particles. Bowl cutters consist of a horizontally revolving bowl and a set of curved knives rotating vertically on a horizontal axle at high speeds of up to 5,000 rpm.

Types of foods: Meat/ Vegetables/ Fruit.

Can Opener

A tool for opening cans of food.