Are fluted knives a gimmick

equipmentknives

I haven't been able to find a post specifically on fluted knives, so hopefully this isn't a duplicate.

I was wondering if fluted knives actually work. I came across a comment (possibly an Amazon review) that fluted knives don't actually help in preventing vegetables from sticking to the knife — causing the user to have to still have to stop and remove the cut product.

I've never used a fluted knife, so I literally have no idea. I was wondering what the general consensus on SA was: Have you noticed that a fluted knife makes enough of a difference to purchase the fluted version of a particular knife over the non-fluted version?

Best Answer

I am assuming by "fluted knife", you mean what is sometimes called a granton or hollow edge knife, where there are indentations in the blade intended to reduce sticking or adhesion to the food:

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Except in very specific circumstances, this feature makes very little difference, those circumstances being:

  • Carving large roasts
  • Cutting large and tough vegetables such as certain squashes

For most use, it simply doesn't matter. In fact, the thickness of the blade tends to have more of an effect than the voids in most cases.

Except in the specific case of a slicing knife (which is a specialty knife that most beginning cooks have no need for; you have also in other questions indicated you are a vegetarian where this knife is primarily for slicing hams and other large roasts), this is not a feature I would look for:

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