I didn’t know that tomato knives were a thing until a few years back when one of my friends gave it to me as a gift because they knew that I’m a knife enthusiast and a passionate cook. For most kitchen tasks, I use my chef’s knives and occasionally use paring knives and bread knives. When I got this gift from my friend, I was a bit confused because it looked like a bread knife. I just called my friend and explained about it and mentioned that he uses it regularly for peeling & cutting tomatoes.
I tried cutting tomatoes with it and it did pretty fine. Out of curiosity, I bought some other models to add to my collection and used them from time to time. After using it for more than a decade, I’ve a perfect idea on utilizing this blade. If you aren’t sure how to use this knife, continue reading and I’ll explain it to you in a minute or two.
A Quick Look at a Tomato Knife
It is a short and serrated knife with the average blade size of about 4-5 inches, specifically built for cutting and slicing tomatoes without squishing them.
As a passionate cook for close to two decades, I don’t find any issues cutting tomatoes. However, many people struggle to do it and this blade can actually solve their problem.
The serrations of this knife helps cut the food without tearing it apart and you’ll have a complete piece of it. One of the major advantages of this knife is edge retention. Only the tip of each serration contacts the cutting board which makes the knife sharp for a long period.
One of my favorite knives is, Wüsthof Classic 5″ Tomato Knife. Even though it costs over $100, I always get high-quality knives for long-term use unlike the cheaper model by Mercer Culinary I got from my friend as a gift.
How can you utilize this knife?
1. Tomatoes
Cutting and slicing tomatoes will be the first thing you would want to do in this knife.
2. Burgers
Using the serrated blade, you can cut burgers into pieces to share with your friends or family.
3. BLTs
While making this sandwich, you can use the serrations to cut Bacon, Lettuce and the Tomatoes in pieces effortlessly.
4. Making Salads:
While making Salad’s like Watermelon Burrata Caprese Peach Caprese Salad, this knife makes the job easier mainly due to its short size and serrations. I use this knife mainly for this task due to these qualities.
How do I use this knife?
I’ll use my Wüsthof knife as an example for the below steps.
Step 1: Hold the knife in your dominant hand firmly and hold the tomato on the other hand.
Step 2: Remove the core of the tomato using the forked tip.
Step 3: Next, place the tomato on a cutting board and make your other hand like a claw.
Step 4: Start moving the blade back and forth to cut the Tomatoes however the thick or thin layer you want.
With a serrated blade, you can cut foods only with a sawing motion. No other motions will produce you any result and it isn’t safe to do as well.
During this process, you shouldn’t lift your knuckle because it may cause serious injury to you. I’ve been lucky a couple of times when I lifted it by mistake and I would advise you not to make such mistakes.
So, what should you get instead?
1. Chef’s knife
A well-sharpened chef’s knife is always better than a tomato knife. As I mentioned earlier, I do most tasks with my chef knives and rarely use this knife to cut tomatoes. As most of my knives stay sharp, I don’t face any issue cutting a tomato. If you already have a chef’s knife, I suggest you keep it sharp and use it for tomato. If you don’t have one, get reliable knives like Wüsthof Classic or Shun Classic. They may cost a bit but it’ll last longer compared to cheaper options.
2. Bread knife
Both of these knives feature a serrated edge but the bread knife will have a long blade anywhere between 7-15 inches. If you don’t have a tomato knife in your drawer, you can make use of this knife and use it for tomatoes. I’ve done the same and it works really well.
FAQs
1. How does a tomato knife work?
The short and serrated edge of the blade cuts tomato without squishing and keeps the juicy inside part of it intact.
2. What can you use a tomato knife for?
You can use it for tomato, sandwiches, burgers or any other food that is hard outside and soft on the inside.
3. Can a tomato knife cut anything?
Yes, it can cut almost anything, however, it is a specialized knife meant only for cutting tomatoes and similar foods. For raw meat, fruits or hard vegetables, always go for chef’s knife or a bread knife.
4. How does a tomato knife differ from a paring knife?
A paring knife is usually smaller whose blade ranges from 3-4 inches and comes with both serrated and non-serrated blades. Performing delicate tasks like precise cutting is the speciality of this knife.
A tomato knife always comes with a serrated edge with a blade size of about 4-5 inches and is built specifically for tomatoes.
5. How to sharpen a tomato knife?
To sharpen this serrated blade, always go with a ceramic or diamond rods because each serration needs to be sharpened separately. Only the tips of this blade contacts the tomato, the gullets stay sharp for a long time which means, you don’t need to necessarily sharpen it quite often.
If you want to know more about this knife, I suggest you watch this video.
Do you really need this knife?
No, you don’t necessarily need it If you are an experienced cook and have necessary knives in your kitchen. It is a specialized tool for cooking and not an essential one.
If you are an amateur starting to learn cooking or have a passion for collecting different knives like me, you can buy it or else there is no point in spending money on it.
If you have any other questions about this knife, do let me know and I’ll get back to you shortly. Cheers!
