Serrated Knife Use and Care Instructions

Ceramic Knife Care and Maintenance

Perfectly balanced ceramic serrated knife

Ceramic knives do not need regular honing sharpening the way steel knives do, however, they are more fragile if mishandled so here are some things you need to remember to protect your investment.

Use ceramic knives with a wood, bamboo, or plastic cutting board
Use conventional steel knives for carving, prying, boning, and cutting frozen food and cheese which require a more flexible material than ceramic
Always keep your knife clean. Unlike steel knives, ceramic will not pit or corrode when exposed to dishwasher detergent, so these can be safely cleaned in the dishwasher, but be careful they are secured on a top rack to avoid chipping
Store your knife in a sheath, tray, or knife block.

DO NOT

Drop ceramic knives on hard surfaces
Twist or flex your ceramic knife when cutting
Use to cut hard frozen food, squash, pumpkin, corn cob, or bones
Expose the blade to an open flame
Scrape hard surfaces with the edge of a ceramic blade
Turn the blade on its side to smash garlic or other items
Apply force to the side of the blade
Cut on hard surfaces like glass, ceramic, tile, or stone

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

After removing the knife from its packaging handle carefully. Remember a knife is dangerous if misused. Always store knives away from the reach of children.

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When to Use a Plain Edge Knife vs a Serrated Knife

In general, a plain edge knife is better suited to tasks that involves push cuts that force the blade through the food you are cutting. These type of cuts include peeling and chopping. Plain edge knives allow you to exert more power with the blade, and can work faster and more efficiently in these cases.

A serrated edge knife works better than a plain edge for slicing, especially through hard or irregular surfaces, where the serrations can grab the surface before cutting. The high points of the serrated blade will garb the tough outer surface of the food, providing concentrated pressure at those points, puncturing the surface, and allowing the rest of the blade to pass more easily through the skin.

Serrated blades also provide a better result when used to slice “crumbly” items like cakes, as they work like a saw pull back and forth through the delicate materials. In this case, the brute force of a plain edge will crush and compress the food, but the serrated edge saws its way through easily, producing a much better result.

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Great Ways to Use a Serrated Knife

The scalloped blade of a serrated knife excels at cutting through foods with a hard exterior and softer interior, such as a loaf of crusty bread. These knives work like a saw, where the teeth catch and rip through a hard exterior before the knife then cuts cleanly through the food.

Crusty Bread: The serrated edges allow the knife to slice bread without squashes it. The crust also crumbles less when cut by a serrated blade.

Tomatoes: While Tomatoes are soft, the skin is designed to protect the interior and can be crushed by a standard knife. A serrated blade allows you to cut thin, neat slices of even juicy ripe tomatoes.

Citrus Fruits: Citrus skin is tough and thick, while the inside is soft, making these another food best cut with a ceramic knife.

Sausage: If you want nice neat slices of sausage, a serrated knife will do a good job.

Serrated knifes are also better than a standard knife at cutting crumbly foods, gently separately slices with fewer crumbs.

Phyllo Dough: This delicate pastry is best sliced with a serrated knife.

Layer Cake: A serrated knife makes more delicate work of slicing layers in two, as well as slicing a frosted cake.

Chocolate: Baking chocolate can be cut without shattering with a serrated knife.

You’ll also want to reach for a serrated knife to slice through foods with varying textures, such as big stuffed sandwiches or hoagies, as well as ice cream sandwiches, and layered desserts