You’ve gathered several artisan cheeses, and you’re ready to turn them into a tasty cheese board. But before you grab your cheese knives and start cutting up those wheels and wedges, it’s a good idea to plan out how you’ll cut each different-shaped cheese based on different shapes and textures.
Aside from aesthetics — who doesn’t want a gorgeous cheese and charcuterie board to admire before they dig in? — how you cut a cheese can affect the eating experience, too. In general, you want each piece to be a cross-section from the center to the rind so that each piece includes the full range of flavors and textures. Here’s how to cut different cheeses so they’ll taste and look their best.
HOW TO CUT LOG-SHAPED CHEESES
Logs of very soft cheese like Miracle Springs Farm’s Everything Chevre don’t necessarily need to be cut. These types are so soft and spreadable that often, it’s best to serve them whole with a spreader or soft cheese knife and allow guests to cut their own pieces.
But if you want to pre-portion, the best way is to cut each log into several uniform rounds. Use a thin-bladed soft cheese knife or cheese wire for this delicate job. They’ll keep the cheese from sticking to the knife blade and getting crumbly and misshapen.
Choosing the right type of cheese knife is imperative for many reasons, with the main one, of course, being the proper cutting of cheese! One of the most common options available is the Damascus steel cheese knife.
Why Is a Cheese Knife Important?
Anyone who has ever tried to cut a hard-shelled yet soft piece of cheese with the wrong kind of knife can attest to the importance of having a proper cheese knife around the house.
The unique textures you’ll find in soft cheeses, as well as many hard cheeses, make having the right tools for the job a necessity. If you try and use the wrong type of knife, you are liable to simply make a mess! As well, you’ll likely end up wasting a good deal of that expensive gourmet cheese you sprung for at the store.
HOW TO CUT SOFT WHEELS OF CHEESE
Small, whole wheels of cheeses like bloomy rinds and washed rinds are simple to cut: just pretend you’re slicing up a birthday cake.
Cutting equal-sized wedges from the center out ensures that each piece will include the cloudlike center, lush cream line, and delicate rind, giving each bite the full range of flavors and textures for the cheese. A thin-bladed knife or skeleton knife will give you the best results. This method also works for square-shaped bloomy and washed rind cheeses like the ones from Tulip Tree Creamery or Boxcarr’s robiola-style blocks.
If the cheese you’re serving is too gooey and liquid inside to cut normally — like Firefly Farm’s Merry Goat Round Spruce Reserve, for example — that’s no problem! Simply use a sharp knife to cut through the top rind, almost as though you were opening an aluminum can. Peel back the “lid” and let your guests dip in with bread, crackers, veggies, or a spoon.
HOW TO CUT PYRAMID-SHAPED CHEESES
These uniquely shaped cheeses can feel intimidating to cut, but they’re actually quite simple to handle. Use a sharp, thin-bladed cheese knife or skeleton knife so the soft, delicate cheese doesn’t stick to the blade.
Why Is Damascus Steel the Best for Cheese?
The reason that Damascus steel is such a popular option amongst cheese connoisseurs is that it is incredibly lightweight and incredibly strong.
Blades made from Damascus steel can be thin and strong enough to make fine cuts on even the softest cheeses without making a mess. As well, they’re lightweight enough to allow for the utmost precision.
Three Great Damascus Steel Cheese Knives!
Now that we know a little bit more about cheese knives and why Damascus steel cheese knives are generally considered the way to go, let’s take a look at some great examples! These knives, whether serrated or not, all feature Damascus steel builds, which make them great cheese knives!
Shun Kai Classic Utility Knife 15.2cm
From prestigious Japanese kitchen knife manufacturer Shun, the Shun Kai Classic Utility Knife is an excellent option for those chefs looking for a single all-purpose cheese knife.
This knife is made using 324 layers of Damascus stainless steel, so you know it has all the strength and durability needed for the job. As well, its hand-sharpened 16 degree double-bevel gives it the perfect functionality for precise cuts.
This knife features 324 layers of Damascus steel in addition to i’s proprietary VG-MAX cutting core, which gives it the best of both worlds in terms of strength and durability. The blade is grafted onto an ebony PakkaWood handle, which provides charm, sturdiness, and comfort for careful control.
Wherever precise cuts are needed, this all-purpose utility blade is perfect, and that includes most cheese-cutting incidents a chef is likely to face. It’s nimble, sharp, and strong, allowing you to make small cuts and big cuts with both hard and soft materials.
Shun Kai Classic Tomato Serrated Knife 15.2cm
Here’s another knife from Shun, this time with serrations for cutting softer cheeses. It features all the same benefits of the other Shun knives, but its serrations make it ideal for some unique situations.
As the name implies, this serrated knife from Shun is optimized for cutting into tomatoes. As one can imagine, this means that the knife is also perfect for cutting into some incredibly soft cheeses!
The many sharp serrations along the blade allow chefs to make easy and smooth cuts into even the softest cheeses without any mushing. It’s also sharp enough to get through tough skins, meaning that brittle cheese rinds won’t be crumbled up with the soft cheese.
This is certainly an excellent kitchen knife for those who are going to be eating a lot of soft cheeses, and it’s versatile enough to be used in plenty of other situations, as well!
Tojiro Pro Flash 63 Layer Damascus Steel Utility Knife 15cm
Here’s another all-purpose utility kitchen knife, this time from Tojiro. Tojiro is another excellent and prestigious knife manufacturer based out of Japan, finding its home base in Niigata. As with Shun, they offer incredibly high-quality steel blades that utilize Damascus stainless steel.
The Right Damascus Steel Cheese Knife for the Right Situation
There’s certainly a lot of information to take in when it comes to choosing the right cheese knife, and hopefully this article made it a little easier for you!
While there’s no one perfect knife for all situations, even regarding cheese, any of these knives would certainly find plenty of use in the cheese-lovers kitchen.
A serrated Damascus steel cheese knife would be ideal for softer cheeses, while a non-serrated all-purpose Damascus steel knife would likely find more versatile use with milder and harder cheeses.
Any of our winning options are quality knives that will serve you well, but selecting the perfect one is about your preferences and ideal price point.Want more recommendations for the best kitchen knives and cutlery to complete your knife set? Check out our guides to the yier Damascus knife.
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We are an enterprise integrating factory and trade, specializing in the design, manufacture and sales of high-quality knife sets.
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They work better than other utensils when cutting and portioning different styles of cheese, plus a beautiful set can elevate even the most casual cheese board into a meal that feels extra special.Whether you’re looking to splurge on a set of high-end cheese knives, a budget-friendly starter pack, a colorful and chic French set, or a versatile knife that can do it all, we have a recommendation for that!WHY DO I NEED SPECIAL KNIVES FOR CHEESE?Let’s talk about why you’d need cheese-specific knives in the first place.
The kinds of cheese knives used in home kitchens, on the other hand, are very table-friendly — the perfect size for chunking into a wedge of aged Gouda or slicing a delicate wedge of Brie.Of course, you don’t have to have the right cheese knife to enjoy cheese.
It’s also good to know how to cut cheese so that your cheeseboard selection is easy for everyone to enjoy.Cheese knives also come in different shapes that best suit certain styles of cheese.
A knife for a soft Brie should have other characteristics than one for a hard Parmesan.
It is a bit like the difference between cutting bread and cutting an apple; both have a completely different structure.
By breaking a piece from the Parmesan it will keep its grainy structure, and it will taste much better than when you cut or slice it.CAN I USE THE SAME KNIFE FOR EACH CHEESE?Yes, some cheese knives can do double-duty with different styles, and nobody likes washing dishes.
With each size and shape aimed at a different job, buying each one individually can feel a bit overwhelming.By opting for a kitchen knife set instead, you should have peace of mind that you’ll be covered for each and every eventuality.There are a number of more common knives you’ll find in these sets, including the chef’s knife (sometimes called a cook’s knife, which is your multi-purpose option); Santoku knife (similar to a cook’s knife, but the blade is a little thinner); paring knife (smaller and more nimble, this knife can be used for more detailed work and also peeling) and a carving knife (a long, thin blade designed to cut big joints of meat; every Sunday roast needs one).Although these are the most popular, you’ll find a variety of shapes and sizes which might come in useful, depending on your repertoire.
All of the sets we’ve included below have a minimum of three knives.Although some brands say their basic kitchen knife sets can go in the dishwasher, almost all advise against it.
To avoid rust and to keep them looking as good as the day you bought them, we’d recommend washing and drying by hand.YIER Knife SetMaterial: X50Cr15 Superior high-Carbon stainless steelHigh quality forged blades, which are made of German stainless steel, W-Nr.
1.4116.It contains 0.45 to 0.55% carbon, 14 to 15% chromium, 0.5 to 0.8% molybdenum and 0.1 to 0.2% vanadium.The purpose of the molybdenum alloy is to increase the resistance to pitting of the material.Transparent acrylic knife holder.
YIER knife set is made of high-grade German stainless steel, with sharp blades, not easy to rust, and long service life.Excellent sharpness.100% satisfaction guaranteed.
Every knife set produced by YIER is backed by outstanding quality assurance, so you can buy it with confidence.
Cheese is a dairy product , derived from milk and produced in wide ranges of flavors , textures and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein .
It comprises proteins and fat from milk , usually the milk of cows , buffalo , goats , or sheep .
Did you know there’s a similar set of steps for how to eat cheese ?This kind of intentional , observant process is called sensory analysis , the process by which we use our senses to assess and describe food and drink .
Note characteristics like the color of the rind and the paste, the size of the wheel or wedge, and any other traits (wheel shape, striations on the rind, a cream line, etc).
As you learn more about cheeses, you’ll begin to associate the attributes of each cheese with its larger family and that family’s flavor profile.cheeseSecondlyTOUCH THE CHEESE.
Are some parts of the piece softer or stickier than others?
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