All About Ceramic Kitchen Knives
Ceramic Kitchen Knives are very popular these days due to the benefits they provide you over other types of knives such as stainless steel. Of course, as with anything, ceramic knives do have disadvantages such as the higher cost.
Ceramic knives are for slicing rather than chopping. Because of the strength and hardness of the ceramic kitchen knives they are not ruined by foods high in acid or alkaline unlike other knives. Ceramic kitchen knives are also incredibly light, which makes them easier to use than some of the heavier knives currently on the market. Whilst you may think that ceramic knives may be rather fragile they are not, just take care not to drop them. If you need to sharpen your knife, you should use a diamond hone. This can also be used to repair small chips in the knife.
However, ceramic knives remain very sharp for years. This is because ceramic is the second hardest substance next to only natural diamonds. They are also more hygienic than other knives as they do not react with the food you are slicing. Also, they do not drop little slivers of metal ions into your meals. The ceramic kitchen knives will not change the taste of your food. They will also never turn the food brown like metal knives do.
Some of the disadvantages of ceramic kitchen knives are that while they are harder than steel, they do not have the strength that steel does. The ceramic knives are inflexible, which means that care should be taken in the way you store them as the edges of the blade will chip. If you use ceramic knives for twisting, pressing or prying they may shatter or crack. Sometimes these knives may also shatter if you drop them. However, this doesn’t always happen but care should always be taken. Another disadvantage of the ceramic kitchen knives is that they are not dishwasher safe, so they need to be hand washed and dried.
You can purchase ceramic knives in either white or black. This is because the blades contain zirconia. The black ones are made of zirconium carbide and the white ones are made from zirconium oxide. Whilst the blades are manufactured exactly the same, the black ones have an extended firing process which produce the zirconium carbide. The black blades are harder than the white ones; however, both blades are harder than a steel knife by about 7 to 10 times.
The best thing about ceramic knives is that they can be ceramic oil burner repaired if you chip or break them. This means that you don’t need to throw them away and buy a brand new one. Some ceramic kitchen knives also come with warranties, and this is something you would need to look at when purchasing the knife. Generally, only need to be sharpened every 3 to 5 years. The ceramic kitchen knives are brilliant for keeping their sharpness and you will know that you always have a sharp knife at hand when you purchase ceramic knives.