Gibson All U Need 45-Piece Dinnerware & Cookware Combo Set

Types of Knives
Many different types of knives exist. How many you need and which you should buy depend largely upon personal preference, but even the most infrequent cook will find use for at least two or three inexpensive kitchen knives (one of which should be serrated). Here are descriptions of the more common cutlery pieces to help you choose knives for your own kitchen habits.

Boning Knife: This knife has a short, thin, very flexible blade that is used for cutting meat. Its original purpose was to remove the main bone from a piece of meat such as a ham or a beef roast, but it can also be useful for more delicate slicing.

Carving Knife: Some manufacturers call this a slicing knife. It is a large, often curved knife with a blade that can range from 8-15 inches in length. This knife is usually used for cutting large pieces of meat, such as roasted turkey or prime rib. Carving knives are often paired with a two-pronged meat fork.

Chef's Knife: Also called the cook's knife, this is the classic, all-purpose kitchen knife that can be used for slicing, chopping, dicing and mincing. The blades are usually fairly thick and rigid, and they can vary in length from 6-12 inches.

Cleaver: This knife has a large blade that is heavy, thick and rigid. A cleaver has many uses, including chopping, shredding and pounding. It is made for the really heavy kitchen work; there is no better knife for chopping a mountain of vegetables for a stew. The flat of the broad blade can be used to pulverize meat or to crush seeds or garlic, and some cleavers can even cut right through bones.

Filet Knife: This is like a larger version of a boning knife with a flexible blade that is typically 6-11 inches long. As its name implies, this knife is excellent for filleting fish.

Kitchen Shears: Many cutlery sets also include a pair of heavy scissors or shears. These can be very handy for opening packages of meat, snipping cooking ties and much more.

Paring Knife: This is a small, easy-to-handle knife with a thin blade that is usually only three or four inches in length. This type of knife works well for peeling, coring and slicing smaller foods.

Serrated Knife: This knife features a 5-10 inch blade with many saw-like notches. This knife works great for slicing softer foods such as tomatoes, and is especially useful for bread. In fact, many people simply refer to this kind of knife as a bread knife.

Utility Knife: This is a smaller, lighter-weight version of a chef's knife. Blades are usually four to seven inches long and are very stiff. This is a handy knife for lots of miscellaneous cutting, such as slicing fruit and cheese.

Blades
Most knife blades are manufactured in one of two ways: stamped or forged. Stamped blades are made by running a single large sheet of steel through a machine that punches out multiple blades, which are then ground and honed into a finished product. Forged blades are made in the more traditional way of super heating steel and then hammering it into shape. Forging is a more expensive process, and many people believe it produces a higher-quality knife.

The sharpness of a knife blade depends on the amount of carbon in the steel. The higher the steel's carbon content, the sharper the edge.

Another type of blade is known as the "never needs sharpening" blade. These knives are very handy and virtually maintenance free. Their main advantage, of course, is that they can be used over and over for many different purposes without any sharpening required. These knives do have a couple of drawbacks, however. Their cuts tend to be a little rougher than traditional straight-edge knives, which many cooks find unacceptable. Also, these knives will eventually lose their sharpness over a long period of time and, when that happens, the only option is to replace them.

Wood is a popular choice for knife handles because it is strong and easily shaped into a comfortable grip, but wood can warp or crack over time and can harbor bacteria.

Plastic handles are also very common because they are strong, easy to clean and sanitize, and are inexpensive to manufacture. Plastic can become brittle with time, and it can also melt if left too close to a source of high heat (such as a stove burner).

Steel handles are also a popular choice for kitchen knives because they are easy to clean and almost indestructible. These types of handles can become slippery, so some also include small pieces of soft rubber to allow for a better grip.

Balance
A knife's blade and handle work together to achieve a feeling of balance. Balance is probably the single most important factor in a knife because it relates directly to how comfortable the knife is to use, and good comfort means higher safety.

The portion of a knife's blade that extends down into the handle is called the tang. Quality knives will have a large tang, sometimes extending the full length of the handle, which helps balance the knife by adding extra weight to the grip area.

How much cookware you need depends largely upon how often you cook, how many people you cook for and how elaborate your meals tend to be. It's very frustrating when you find yourself in the middle of preparing a big dinner and in need of one more saucepan, but you just don't have it. On the other hand, it can be very easy to accumulate far more cookware than you actually need.

The Basics
Most people will who do even a small amount of cooking will find a lot of uses for a couple of different size saucepans and a couple of different size skillets. Tight-fitting lids for the saucepans are also important when preparing dishes such as rice.

Beyond the Basics
You can prepare a lot of wonderful meals with just a few pans, but chances are you're going to need some other pieces at some point. Many cookware sets will include at least some of these items:

• Dutch Oven
  This is a large pot with two handles and a tight-fitting lid. It can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. A dutch oven is excellent for preparing large meals such as pot roast or beef stew.

• Griddle
  A griddle lets you turn one or two of your stove burners into a smooth, flat cooking surface that's ideal for foods such as pancakes, french toast and more.
• Large Saute Pan
  A large saute pan, especially one with a tight-fitting lid, is a very useful addition to your kitchen because it can allow you to prepare an entire meal in one pan.

• Pasta Insert
  This is similar to a steamer insert, except a pasta insert is designed to let the food, such as raw pasta, be submerged in boiling water instead of just sitting on top of it. The advantage to a pasta insert is that it is very easy to remove the food from the boiling water once it's cooked?all you have to do is lift out the insert!

• Steamer Insert
  This is a perforated pan that fits inside another saucepan. You can place food, such as raw vegetables, in the steamer insert and then place that in a regular saucepan that is partially filled with boiling water. The holes in the steamer insert will then let steam from the boiling water cook the food. Steaming is a very healthy way to prepare food because it doesn't involve adding any fat.

• Stock Pot
  A stock pot is a very large, tall cooking pot usually with two handles and a tight-fitting lid. Stock pots are primarily used for preparing soups, sauces or stocks in large quantities.

• Tajine
  Originally a heavy, unglazed clay pot, the tajine was used by nomads across Morocco and North Africa. Today it can be found crafted from a variety of materials including earthenware, cast iron and clay. It features a round shallow-sided base with a conical lid. This uniquely shaped lid is what makes it perfect for slow, low-heat cooking - the circulating steam condenses on the inside of the lid and then that moisture "bastes" the cooking food to keep it moist and tender.