Paring and peeling knives are smaller knives used for a variety of tasks with fruits, vegetables or small seafood pieces.
A paring knife offers a plain edge blade that is ideal for peeling fruits or vegetables or other intricate work including deveining shrimp, skinning mushrooms, removing seeds from peppers like jalapeños or cutting garnishes. The main purpose of a paring knife is to shape or trim various foods. The paring knife is designed to be a smaller version of a Chef’s knife, equipped to handle smaller tasks. Most paring knives available range between 2.5 and 5 inches in length.
A peeling knife is often referred to as a bird’s beak knife or bird’s peak knife. The peeling knife has a pointed tip that curves either downward or upward. Peeling knives are most often utilized to cut decorative garnishes, slice soft fruits, or remove skins and blemishes from fruits or garnishes. These knives are also used to make a cut known as “tourne” in vegetables like carrots. Simply put, a peeling knife is a specialized style of the paring knife.
