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Ceramic knives or ceramic knife.
A ceramic knife is a knife made of ceramic material, often zirconium oxide (ZrO2; also known as zirconia).
As a knife builder I’m part of it and I’m sure I’ll tell you that the stainless steel knife in the kitchen is fundamental but in recent years the use of this type of knives has become more widespread, especially in the field of home cooking, a bit for price, color and for diffusion in many centers of low-cost home products.
In the kitchen steel knives cannot be replaced by ceramic knives!
Ceramic knives are manufactured with the technology of dry compression of zirconia powder and brought to high temperature, sintering.
The blade is carried out by grinding with a manatee grinding wheel.
Zirconia has an index of 8.5 on the Mohsscale, compared to 4.5 forsteel and 7.5-8 for hardened steel and 10 for diamond.
This high hardness means that no frequent sharpening is necessary.
Zirconium oxide (or cubic zirconia) isthe material that makes up the blade.
Zirconium oxide is used for its polymorphism.
It exists in three states: monoclinical, tetragonal and cubic.
Cooling in the monoclinical phase after sintering can cause a noticeable change in volume that can cause cracks in the material.
Additives such as magnesium, calcium and ytrium are used in the manufacture of knives for the stabilization of the material in high temperature phases.
The increase in tenacity is achieved with the addition of 3 mol% yrrium oxide which on average stabilizes zirconia.
This material consists of a mixture of tetragonal and cubic states with a load close to 1,200 MPa.
Small cracks allow the transformation phase, which essentially close the cracks and prevent structural ceding, known as TTZ (Transformation-Toughened Zirconia).
Use of ceramic knives in the kitchen
Ceramic knife usually has black or white ceramic blade.
Ceramic knives are particularly used as kitchen knives, and some people claim that they do not create reaction problems with food acids.
Contamination of food through tools is one of the crucial points when it comes to kitchen knives.
I spoke to several chefs who use or used both types of knives and they told me that using knives with certified food steels there were never any problems.
Even the transmission of flavors in food does not make much sense when performing the knife correctly and continuously during the preparation of foods, something that chefs practice and explain to cooking classes.
Ceramic knives are not subject to corrosion in acidic environments, are amagnetic, and do not conduct electricity at room temperature.
Given their characteristics of resistance to acids and basic substances, and the ability to hold the blade thread for a long time compared to steel cutlery, they are preferred for cutting meat, vegetables, fruit and bread.
Given the high hardness of the material, the blade can break if impacted against hard surfaces, even if the latest generation technological processes have reduced this weakness.
They are not suitable for the use of cutting frozen or very hard foods such as bones.
Many brands offer knives colored black or with designs by hot isostatic pressing, which increases toughness.
Also for the ceramic knife it is advisable to use them on wooden or nylon cutting boards.
Below is a summary of what has been said.
Advantages and disadvantages of ceramic knives
Whether the knife is made of steel or ceramic, the choice of a good kitchen knife must pass from its quality.
It is highly discouraged to buy poor quality knives.
We are talking about an investment for a tool that is used every day in the kitchen.
A professional kitchen knife lasts for many years.
On the contrary, a poor-quality kitchen knife tends to no longer cut after a few days, the handle becomes damaged and within a few months it is to be thrown away.
In this regard, buying only one professional kitchen knife is a real investment that allows you to have a quality, performance product, which always remains sharp and that should not be thrown away after a few weeks.
The tendency of many cooking enthusiasts is to have kitchen knives created by makers to have their own 300% personalized knife!
What are the advantages and disadvantages or if you want for and against ceramic kitchen knives:
advantages:
- they are very sharp;
- less sharpening should be made than a steel blade;
- handiness
- they don’t rust.
- cheap if you don’t look for the top quality of the market
detriments:
- They are less durable than steel blades;
- You can’t run levers
- Do not twist ceramic knives and do not drop them.
- Do not use the ceramic knife to clean, scrape or grate food.
- Do not twist ceramic knives and do not drop them.
- They are too light for some typical operations performed in the kitchen
- Do not use to cut frozen foods, bones or dislodge fish.
- They are not suitable for all kinds of recipes;
- There are fewer models in the market.
But these are just some of the positives and negatives of ceramic kitchen knives that you need to know if you’re thinking about buying a model.
Also for the ceramic knife it is advisable to use them on wooden or nylon cutting boards.
In this regard, before we start, I want to tell you that there is no reason to buy a ceramic kitchen knife or not because it is a very subjective choice and cannot replace the use of the steel knife.
Ceramic kitchen knives can never take the place of professional steel kitchen knives.
This is a concept that you need to be clear about and if you go to professional kitchens you will never find a ceramic kitchen knife.
In any case, many cooks and cooking enthusiasts use ceramic kitchen knives at home because it is certainly something you want to try and for some jobs it can be comfortable and less demanding for example for lightness and handling.
Kitchen knives are the most used tools in the kitchen by both housewives and chefs, they are like an extension of a cook’s body and a quality and properly used knife brings quality to every dish you cook.
The knife is a cook’s best friend in the kitchen.
In this article we try to see some of the positive and negative aspects of ceramic kitchen knives by also comparing them with the classic steel blades.
Let’s see some points seen in the previous one in more detail.
Handling
Ceramic knives are very handy for beginners and in non-professional kitchens.
They have spread many because they are very sharp but at the same time easier to use given their versatility.
A professional kitchen knife certainly requires more attention, especially when you go to make the cuts but allows for uses as you have seen in the list of pros and cons that cannot be performed with a ceramic knife.
The hardness of a ceramic kitchen knife
Ceramic kitchen knives are very hard.
While this can be considered an advantage, since the blade is very difficult to break, on the other hand we are faced with a really inesensitiable cutting product.
This limits the chef in some operations, such as crushing garlic with the blade or leveraging.
Sharpening
Ceramic kitchen knives need less maintenance when it comes to sharpening.
In fact, the ceramic knife thread lasts much longer than the classic steel blade.
resistance
Ceramic kitchen knives are durable but fail to reach the same levels of strength that a professional steel kitchen knife has.
In this regard, a steel blade can face any kind of challenge.
We can’t say the same about ceramic kitchen knives.
Ceramic kitchen knives do not rust
Ceramic kitchen knives do not rust.
We can’t say the same for steel chef knives, although when choosing quality products it’s really hard to oxidize the blade.
The aesthetics of ceramic kitchen knives
Ceramic kitchen knives can be of two colors: either white or black.
In fact, colored ceramic knives are usually made of steel and covered in ceramics.
These are the colors that ceramic takes when it is processed on the blades of ceramic kitchen knives.
Steel kitchen knives are finer and my opinion also aesthetically much more beautiful to see.
Limited in models
In recent years the market for ceramic kitchen knives has grown a lot but despite their marketing kitchen knives have always been made of steel.
In the current market we count a centuries-old tradition of steel kitchen knives, just think of the Japanese kitchen knives made in damascus.
So today you can choose from hundreds and hundreds of steel kitchen knives but we can’t say the same for ceramic ones.
Performance of ceramic knives
Ceramic kitchen knives are very sharp and performance-paying.
They do their job properly and if you buy good products they really last for many years.
In fact, it is also possible to sharpen ceramic knives and make them always remain sharp.
However, it is undeniable that professional steel kitchen knives have higher qualities than the latter.
You’ll never find a professional chef using a ceramic kitchen knife in his kitchen.
How to whiten ceramic knives?
Possibly another alternative if stains were to form on the blade (white ceramic) over time is to clean the blade, only the blade with bleach (beware! not the handle).
How do you get the ceramic knives?
Kitchen knives wash by hand, dry and store in a “safe” place!
Are ceramic knives less dangerous?
Some think ceramic knives are less dangerous.
One aspect to emphasize, and that led in part to the success of this product, is the fact that the ceramic knife, in general, is less dangerous than a professional steel kitchen knife.
It is common, in many homes, to be afraid of owning in a professional chef’s knife because they are very sharp products, to be kept absolutely out of reach of children and that if handled without the necessary techniques, they can create unpleasant accidents.
Ceramic kitchen knives are less dangerous than anything else because of the weight that makes the cut less incisive but in this respect I do not believe that they are still to be handled without attention and must be kept away from the reach of children and always handled with the necessary precautions.
Some models are trying to eliminate the tip by giving it a round shape to make them less dangerous for those who handle it.
Conclusions
Ceramic knives can be a knife to be combined with other steel kitchen knives but it cannot be a substitute for the steel knife because many operations that are carried out in the kitchen cannot be performed with that type of knife.
It can be a knife to match for its ability to hold the thread and for handling that can help some people who do not have much technical experience on knife handling in the kitchen but it is an in addition knife cannot be a substitute for traditional kitchen knives.
These you have read are the main differences between classic kitchen knives and ceramic knives, as well as the positives and negatives.
At this point you will have had a clear idea of what is best for the type of dishes you prepare every day.
The best way to understand the positive and negative aspects of a ceramic knife is to try it out.
If you love this kind of product it is definitely worth having one in your kitchen to add to traditional knives.
If you want to add your own comment or think differently write it in the comments!
Are You Experience?
Andrea
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