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What is a Nakiri Knife Used for?

Aug 16,2022 | Fzkaly

If you're looking for a vegetable knife, then a Nakiri knife could be your choice. What is Nakiri used for? how to use Nakiri? what are the features of Nakiri? Why do you need a Nakiri? You may have lots of confusion about Nakiri, We'll make it clear in this article.

What is a Nakiri Knife Used for?

What is a Nakiri knife?

Dating back to the 17th century, the Nakiri knife was born in Japan. It is a classic Japanese-style knife. As its name suggests, it was used for processing a variety of vegetables quickly and efficiently. Thus, Nakiri is the most popular Japanese knife and is most commonly found in a home kitchen.

Features of Nakiri

Features

Details

Blade shape

Nakiri has a wide, symmetrical, thin, straight blade and a rounded tip.

A straight cutting edge is good for an up-and-down motion.

A long blade allows easily slice through harder veggies such as tubers and squashes

A thin blade makes the knife lightweight for easy control and fast speeding processing of vegetables, creating cleaning cuts without ripping the vegetable.

Size

Most people prefer 7 inch which makes the knife easy to control

Cutting techniques

Nakiri isn't good at precise cuts or rocking cutting techniques like chefs' knives. A vertical up and down motion or a slicing forwards and backward while using an up and down motion is the ideal cutting way.

Type of edge

A double-beveled knife is suited for both right and left-handed users.

Handles

The handle of Nakiri could be octagonal, D-shaped, or oval shape. Full-tang and ergonomic long handles are good for safety and comfort.

Why do you need a Nakiri knife in your kitchen?

So, do I need a Nakiri in my kitchen? Well, there are several benefits of owning a Nakiri, look it in detail:

1. The slices are thin, even, and clean

Its flat and thin blade ensures maintain consistency in your cuts, resulting a thinly even cut vegetables. If you like to decorate your salads or dishes, Nakiri is perfect for you.

2. Fast and fluid cutting

It has a double bevel that facilitates straight cutting, avoiding veggies getting stuck on the knife. You can cut through the vegetables with a simple up and down motion. The flat and thin blade is good for delicate veggies without damaging them.

3. Easy control and easy maintenance

In terms of size, Nakiri is lightweight, plus its long handle makes it quick and easy to use. Its double-beveled edge is easy to resharpen.

4. Nakiri knives are multi-functional

Nakiri is a medium-length knife with a longer, slender blade that makes it easy to cut through harder and larger vegetables like cabbage, and potatoes as well as chop up chives or spring onions. Of course, Nakiri is sharp enough for handling soft meat, chicken, and fish.

What is a Nakiri knife used for?

As we mentioned above, Nakiri is versatile except for hard meats. To make it more clear, we organize a non-exclusive list:

  • Fresh vegetables: These are primarily leafy, such as daikon leaves, woody herbs, spinach, varieties of cabbage and kale, mushrooms, and peppers.
  • Root vegetables: Cucumber, zucchini, varieties of potatoes.
  • Fruits: melons of all kinds, pears, pineapple, oranges, apples, lemons, bananas, and limes.
  • Soft meats: Boneless or soft–boned fish, charcuterie.
  • Cheeses and decorative garnishes.
  • Sushi prep: especially for julienning vegetables or creating vegetable batons
    Teppanyaki and stir fry prep.
  • Vegetable-based stocks and soup prep.

Pro tip: Use that lovely flat blade to scrape up ingredients on your chopping board(like minced garlic) and then transfer them to the pot!

What is a Nakiri Knife Used for?

How to take care of your Nakiri knife?

After owning a good Nakiri, you'd better know how to take good care of it to protect your investment. Here are some tips on how to maintain your knives.

1. How to clean your Nakiri

Like most kitchen knives, don't put your Nakiri knife into the automatic dishwasher, which may ruin the edges of your Nakiri knife blade. The correct clean way is to clean your Nakiri by hand in warm soapy water, then dry it immediately with a soft cloth, Sometimes, you can cover a tiny drop of mineral oil on the blade.

2. How to store the Nakiri knife?

There are lots of choices to store your Nakiri, such as knife block, knife roll bag, a magnetic strip, knife sheath, etc.

3. How to sharpen your Nakiri?

Relatively, Nakiri is easy to sharpen. knife sharpener, honing steel, and whetstone all are good sharpening tools.

Final words

You can't find a better vegetable cutting tool than a Nakiri!

After reading this article, I believe you know exactly what the Nakiri knife is used for. Nakiri can offer an amazing experience and make cooking easier and more enjoyable.

See more Nakiri knives at https://www.fzkaly.com/collections/nakiri-knives.

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