Carving is the artistic cutting of vegetables and fruits. Today, this has become one of the fashionable trends in the decoration of banquets, holidays, and original cuisine. In addition, many are fond of this type of creativity in their kitchen, bringing beauty to the daily menu for their family.
In order to start carving, it is not enough to purchase the necessary fruits and vegetables, you must have special carving knives, as well as devices that allow you to quickly and beautifully decorate any table.
In order to perform fine and elegant carvings of fruits and vegetables, various types of knives are produced. They all differ in the shape and size of the blades:
The most popular and widely used in everyday life, are knives with engraving, carving, sickle or Thai blades. A wide variety of blades in shape and size allow you to create real masterpieces from vegetables and fruits.
Each of carving knives has its purpose. The tasks they must cope with require special materials for the manufacture of blades. Some of them are stabbing knives, others require sharp sharpening at an unusual angle. Fruits and vegetables are quite juicy and hard, so carving knives should easily penetrate the pulp and cut them into thin slices or shapes. Hard grade steel is used to produce high-quality carving knives. Hard steel tools are quite fragile, so they should be protected from falling from a height.
Sometimes it is necessary for the knife blade to bend somewhat during operation. These specialty knives, such as long sickle knives, are made from flexible steel.
Carving is a very delicate and scrupulous work, and therefore requires a very long period of ownership of the tool. If knives are not comfortable to hold in your hand for a long time, your hand will become numb and fatigue will set in unexpectedly quickly. In order for the tool to lie comfortably in your hand, not to rub your palm or fingers, or to slip in wet hands, it is necessary that the handle is carving knives was made of special material. The most popular and ideal, in this case, is polyamide. Handles made of this material have a slightly rough surface, do not slip in the hand, are hygienic, lightweight and highly durable.
The shift of the center of gravity towards the handle is also important for a carving knife, due to the fact that their blades are relatively short and thin. The weight of carving knives also matters. It should be as small as possible in order to be able to work with it for a long time. Typically, knives weigh from 50 to 70 grams.
The sharpening for carving knives is the most important characteristic of this creative tool. Improper sharpening will not solve the problems for which the knife was purchased. The blades of knives of various purposes are sharpened at a certain angle, with a uniform thickness. Curved knives for carving are generally difficult to sharpen. The sharpening angle is verified using laser tools. Uniform and even sharpening of the knife will allow it to retain its functions for a long time.
In order to sharpen a tool, you should contact specialized services that have special equipment. Today, buying a set of carving knives is not a problem. You can find a lot of worthy offers on the Internet.
If you don't know what to give your friends for housewarming, then you can give carving knives. Video lessons on mastering the skill of carving fruits and vegetables can be downloaded on the Internet.
Simple home carving with step-by-step photos.
CHRYSANTHEMUM from Chinese cabbage
1. From a head of Chinese cabbage weighing from 300 to 700 g, remove loose leaves and cut off the top part of the head, leaving about 12-15 cm.
2. We work with a carving groove knife of oval or triangular cross-section.
3. Let's make sections of different lengths along the thick veins of the leaves, directing the knife from the top cut of the leaf to the base of the cabbage. We make the beginning of the cut thinner. As we approach the stalk, we deepen the knife into the cabbage.
4. Without cutting 1.5-2 cm to the stalk, remove the large cut leaves. If the sheet holds tightly, use a small knife to make several cuts.
5. We cut the subsequent rows of leaves in the same way, shortening the length of the chrysanthemum petals towards the middle. If the edges of the petals are thin enough, then in cold water they will curl into rings or bend beautifully.
6. Place the “chrysanthemum” in ice water for half an hour. The product will take on an elegant shape. Let's cut a couple of green "leaves" from the cucumber and make a composition on a platter with salad or various cuts.
Cucumber LILY
1. Cut a piece of cucumber measuring 7-8 cm, trimming the tail. Let's make a leaf-shaped cut without cutting to the bottom edge of the workpiece.
2. Make other leaves, with a small distance between them, going around the workpiece in a circle.
3. Using a knife, make a cut in a circle 1-2 mm thick, creating a platform for cutting the next row. petals.
4. Using an oval knife, make the next row of petals in a checkerboard pattern relative to the previous row. Again we trim the area for the next level of petals. Make as many rows as the size of the workpiece allows.
5. Using a noisette or knife, scrape out the core of the cucumber, creating enough space to place the core in the center of the flower.
6. Cut the leaves with scissors and create a triangular shape at the ends. Dip the flower in ice water for a few minutes and it will open beautifully.
7. We will make a core of a suitable size from carrots, pumpkin or radishes. Decoratively decorate it with cuts.
8. Insert the core into the flower. Can be attached to a toothpick.
We put the lily on a branch with leaves or on a painted wooden kebab stick. The leaves for it can also be cut from a cucumber.
Carrot cone
1. Peel a dense carrot with a diameter of at least 3 cm, cut a straight piece 8-12 cm in size. Use a knife to make a square “tail” for the future cone. Next, let's give it an oval shape.
2. Having processed the workpiece in a circle with a knife, we will give the thick end of the cone a rounded shape and prepare a platform for cutting out the first row of scales.
3. Visually divide the thick end of the workpiece into 6 parts, cut out 6 petal scales in a circle. The depth of the cut is 2-3 mm.
4. Using a knife, make a conical cut (deepening the end of the knife by 2-3 mm) under the scales, creating a three-dimensional pattern of the first row, thereby creating a platform for the next row of scales.
5. In a checkerboard pattern relative to the previous row, cut out the next row. We cut the area again for the next row of scales. We make as many rows as the size of the workpiece allows.
6. Dip the cone into ice water for 10-15 minutes - it will open a little and harden.
CALL ALLAS from hot peppers
ADVICE. If pepper burns your hands after work, wash them thoroughly and wipe them with vegetable oil.
1. Take red or green hot chili pepper.
2. Cut along the length from the stalk to the tip.
3. Carefully trim the pulp around the stalk. The seeds should remain on the stalk.
4. Unwrap the pepper, rinse it in cold water and shape the piece into a calla flower.
5. Make a hole on the opening of the future flower and carefully insert the stalk with seeds into it.
6. Cut out leaves from any green product (cucumber, etc.) and create a figured composition.
1. Shape the carrots into a cylinder. Pierce along the center line with a thin wooden skewer.
2. Soak the vegetable in a salt solution for 2 hours (1 tablespoon of salt per glass of water). The product must be soft enough and not break when cut thinly.
3. Visually divide the vegetable into four sides. We make equal cuts on the top and bottom sides, cutting all the way to the skewer. The distance between the cuts is 0.5 cm. We will make cuts on both sides - between the cuts on the top and bottom sides.
4. Carefully cut the fruit in a circle with a long thin ribbon to the skewer. Cut off the skewer with the “stem” and straighten the net.
5. 6. We cut out several different colorful fish from a wide variety of products.
LILY from carrots
1. Shape the vegetable into a cone and pentagon, cutting with a long knife in a circle on five sides. 
2. On each of the 5 cut sides, cut a petal.
3. Shape the petal using scissors.
4. Remove some of the pulp from under the petals of the first row (to make the cone thinner). We cut out five more petals, placing them in a checkerboard pattern relative to the petals of the first row. We do the third row in the same way.
5. Using a knife, shorten the remaining core and cut it into a cone
6. Split the core into stamens using a knife.
DAHLIA
1. Let’s make a slightly flattened round piece with a diameter of 5-6 cm from a homogeneous product.
2. Using a medium oval knife, cut out 7-9 petals, deepening the knife towards the core.
3. Trim the excess flesh under the petals of the first row, forming a platform for the next row.
4. Cut out the petals of the next row with knives of different sizes, similar to the first row. We place them between the petals of the previous row. We make as many rows as possible.
5. Cut to the end and shape the middle.
CHRYSANTHEMUM from onions
for decorating salads, meat, fish and vegetable dishes
1. To prepare chrysanthemum, take a small round onion.
You can take either white or red onion. The smaller the bulb, the more beautiful the flower turns out.
Try to choose a thin-walled bulb, then the petals will be thinner and open more beautifully.
2. Peel the onion and cut off the top and bottom about 0.5 cm.
3. Using a thin sharp knife, carefully cut almost in half, leaving about 0.5 cm short.
The incision is made from the top side - where the feather grows.
4. Then cut in half again in the same way.
5. Next, cut into as many pieces as possible. It is advisable to make as many cuts as possible.
If the cuts are not made deep enough, the flower will not bloom well, and if the cuts are made too deep, the flower will fall apart.
6. Place the onion in water at room temperature - the water should cover the onion completely.
After an hour and a half, the chrysanthemum should “bloom”. The time for chrysanthemums to “bloom” depends on the type of onion. Some varieties require 40 minutes, while others require a couple of hours.
7. To add brightness to the flower, dip the tips of the blossoming chrysanthemum in beet juice (rub the raw beets and squeeze through a cloth). Painting time - until the desired color is obtained. You can use any other food coloring - brightly colored juice (for example, cherry, blackcurrant), yellow saffron solution, Cahors or other red wine, pickled beet brine, etc.
You can paint the entire flower.
Orange colored "chrysanthemum" on a salad.
Onion flower
1. Peel the onion without cutting off the root seal, but only thoroughly clearing the roots.
2. Make 4-5 cuts (in this example we make 4 cuts) to a depth of 2-3 layers (in this example - 2 layers).
3. We bend the outer layers (petals), and remove the inner cut layers with a knife. We do all this with caution, because... the petals are very brittle.
4. We cut the layers of the onion again, shifting the cuts in a checkerboard pattern relative to the first petals. We leave the first cut layer, and remove the inner layers again.
5. Repeat these steps until we reach the middle of the onion.
7. Then place in a vinegar marinade of water, vinegar and sugar (vinegar and sugar to taste) for 10 minutes or more to obtain the desired taste.
If you want to get a colored flower, you need to add food coloring to the marinade (see previous recipe).
Remove the “flower” from the marinade, lightly shake off the liquid, arrange the petals beautifully and place on a plate.
Leek flower
1. Fold a wide leaf of leek in half lengthwise and make frequent cuts on the fold side, as shown in the photo.
2. Roll it up - this will be the core of the flower.
3. Make petals from the wide parts of the onion.
4. Secure the flower with toothpicks and place on a plate.
Leek bow
1. Peel young fresh leeks, cut off the white dense part about 20 cm. At the same distance from each other, cut the onion longitudinally with several slits to the full depth (to the center).
2. Bend back the “petals” of the first row and cut them approximately in the middle, giving them a triangular shape.
3. Fold the petals of the next row inward like a bow.
4. Continue folding the petals row by row. If the bow does not hold well, you can strengthen it with pieces of wooden toothpicks.
Festive “bouquet” of Chinese cabbage
1. Take a medium head of Chinese (Peking) cabbage.
2. Cut off the top loose part.
3. Traditionally, vegetable carving (carving) is performed using special knives of various shapes. For example, such chrysanthemums are cut with a carving knife in the shape of a groove. But you can use a simple tool at hand - a lid from an olive can, which needs to be bent in half to make an oval groove. The edges of the resulting groove are not too sharp, but you still need to be careful. You need to adapt to holding it as comfortably as possible without touching the edges.
4. Take the groove in the indicated manner and cut long grooves along the hard part of the head of cabbage. At first, the groove should not go very deep. Closer to the base, you need to direct it deeper inside.
5. Before reaching about 2 cm from the end of the sheet, you need to stop. Take out the groove and cut out the petal next to it. First, 3-5 petals are placed on one sheet.
Content
Serving a dish can be a real art if you use your imagination and learn several techniques of one of the types of handicraft - carving. Cutting out various shapes, flowers, animals and other elements from fruits and vegetables can not only result in a spectacular result, but is also a fun process. And although from the outside it seems that it is difficult, with a certain perseverance and the desire to learn carving, everything will definitely work out.
Culinary carving for beginners at home allows you to make unusual and entertaining figures from vegetables and fruits. To start working on this type of needlework, you can first take several sharp knives of different sizes and try your hand. Professional craftsmen who have been carving for many years have a whole set of tools that help them create real culinary recipes.
Carving lessons for beginners, which step by step explain the nuances and subtleties of the entire process, will allow you to learn how to make culinary masterpieces that will decorate any holiday table.
Before you start learning and practicing cutting fruits and vegetables, you need to prepare. The entire set of specialists is not needed at the initial stages of development, but some tools should still be present.
In addition to carving knives, scissors, a spoon with round and sharp edges, tools for cutting out the center of fruit, slicing eggs, nozzles and molds, and a brush can be useful. Today there are special kits for beginning carving masters. They contain all the necessary tools that may be useful during the learning phase. In the process, each craftswoman will decide for herself whether she wants to continue carving, and then make a decision about purchasing a complete set.
If you want to create a beautiful and unusual dish that will stand out on the holiday table, you will have to put in a lot of effort and spend some time. The more hours spent practicing cutting fruits and vegetables, the faster and better the process will be.
Another important factor that every beginning carving master will need is a good detailed master class. Today, finding carving lessons for beginners is quite easy. After watching several specialized videos, each beginner will determine for himself the complexity of this art and the degree of his desire to master the basics of carving.
Even a novice carving master understands that not all fruits and vegetables are equally amenable to carving: some are easier to work with, others are complex materials. Experts name several vegetables and fruits that are easiest to learn how to cut out patterns and figures. These include:
Most often, novice carving masters train on apples. This fruit is quite common; if you fail, you can safely eat it and take the next apple for further training. However, it is best to use pumpkin for the first time. Pumpkin carving for beginners is a large surface, soft body and ease of working with pumpkin pulp, which will allow you to practice several important and basic techniques of this technique. 
The vegetable for the first carving lesson should be moderately ripe, cleanly washed and without any bumps or unevenness. After this, you need to cut off a small cap (or bottom) of the pumpkin and use a spoon to scoop out the pulp, seeds and liquid. The vegetable should remain hollow. While the pumpkin is drying from the inside, you need to think about the pattern that you want to carve on its surface. To begin with, it should be something simple, for example, an ordinary flower or a funny face that even a novice master can do. The thick skin of the pumpkin allows you to “fill your hand” and practice carving skills.
Even if you didn’t succeed in cutting out the desired picture the first time, you can turn the pumpkin on the other side. And continue studying. The main thing is not to give up and not to despair.
Watermelon carving for beginners can be just as fun, albeit challenging. But if you use step-by-step master classes, everything can be learned.
White chrysanthemum looks rich, unusual and attractive. And making it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. To make it you need one Chinese cabbage, a special sharp knife and a spatula for carving. If you do everything carefully and consistently, you will be able to cut out the chrysanthemum the first time, since this is an easy task for beginners.
A sharp spatula is used to cut out chrysanthemum petals. If you don’t have one yet, you can try to do this with an ordinary thin knife, but for a beginner it will be a difficult task. You need to have skill and confidence in your hands so as not to spoil a single petal, otherwise there will be empty spaces inside the chrysanthemum, and it itself will not have a lush three-dimensional appearance.
Excess parts of the green leaf can be carefully cut off with scissors. It is important to hold the base of each cabbage leaf so as not to turn it the other way.
In the same way, you need to trim each cabbage leaf, moving towards the center of the head of cabbage and removing the excess. Cabbage carving for beginners is considered one of the simplest and most educational.
The first cabbage leaves will be the easiest to produce. The closer to the center of the head of cabbage, the more difficult it is to hold the entire structure and maintain accuracy in work. But you will have to make an effort to make the flower beautiful. Slowly and consistently cutting out all the petals is the key to obtaining the desired result.
The chrysanthemum is ready. To make such a flower smaller, you can first remove the top sheets. And three or four chrysanthemums located on green lettuce leaves make a beautiful flower arrangement.
For your first chrysanthemum cutting practice, you can use the instructional video.
You can decorate some dishes on the festive table with the help of lilies made using the carving technique with your own hands, which will be easy to make from carrots even for novice craftsmen. To make them, it is enough to have a basic carving set for beginners with basic knives and blades. The basis for cutting out a lily will be a carrot, preferably a large one, so that you don’t have to worry about poor quality work and make a large, voluminous flower.
1. The first step to create a lily using the carving technique with your own hands is to make a polygonal geometric shape from a round carrot. Using a sharp small knife, carefully cut off the vegetable on five sides. Even beginners will find this easy to do.
2. The next parts of the carrot are cut parallel to these sides, but not all the way. These will be the lily's petals, which should be secured at its base, so you need to cut the sides slowly and carefully.
3. The next step is to make a beautiful pointed shape for the petals. They are cut using well-sharpened scissors. In this case, the entire figurine must be held carefully so as not to tear off the petals. And although this may seem difficult for a novice master, with a certain amount of effort everything will work out in the best possible way.
4. When the outer layer of the petals of the future lily is ready, you can proceed to the next one. Using a thin sharp knife, an incision is also carefully made to obtain the second layer of the lily using the carving technique.
5. Other layers of the petals of the future lily are cut out in a similar way. Each next one will be smaller than the previous one, so the work will become a little harder than at first. However, the skill acquired during cutting will be the key to accurate cutting and obtaining identical petals even for a novice master.
6. Lastly, the middle of the flower is shaped. This is done using a special tool, the use of which allows you to create a beautiful and complete look for a real lily.
You can decorate a salad with one lily, made by yourself using the carving technique, and arrange several flowers in a beautiful composition, which will become the main decoration of the festive table.
Thus, carving for beginners will become an exciting process and will give you unforgettable moments of painstaking work with vegetables and fruits. And the finished result will not only allow you to be proud of yourself, but will also delight the master and everyone who can see this magic with an unusual and attractive appearance. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and make every effort to learn how to make truly beautiful works of culinary art.
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Reading time: 7 minutes. Views 127 Published 07/23/2019
Required condition To practice culinary carving, you need to have a special tool. It is worth purchasing a good set of knives for carving - a wide range allows the user to make various cuts, create recesses and other shaped elements necessary to create a composition.
Carving knife.All carving knives can be divided into groups according to functionality and shape. When purchasing a set of tools for shape cutting from any manufacturer, you should make sure that you have at least one element from each of the listed categories.
Such models can be equipped with either a straight, narrow, or a crescent-shaped blade with small serrations, so identifying such models is not difficult. The straight blade is designed for curly cutting of vegetables, fruits, and berries. A curved blade is preferable to use for cutting out small details on the hard skin of melons. If the user has the necessary skill, then with the help of a single Thai knife you can create a real masterpiece.
Thai knife for figure cutting. This element is indispensable for creating floral compositions, as it is used when cutting out elements of buds and leaves.
Short knife for carving. This model is necessary at the stage of preparing fruits and vegetables for cutting and allows you to cut workpieces of the required size.
Medium carving table knife. A basic carving knife allows you to cut triangular-shaped elements. It is better to have a set of carving knives of different sizes - this way the user gets the opportunity to create a variety of shapes and give vegetables and fruits a triangular relief.
Triangular carving knife. Designed to give round or oval shapes to products. Used when cutting out vegetable and fruit elements of floral themes, scales. It is advisable to have a series of models with blades of different sizes.
Semicircular carving knife. Used at the preparatory stage, it allows you to quickly peel fruits and vegetables. This accessory cuts off a thin layer, and therefore is indispensable for cutting components for volumetric structures.
Peeler knife.
An additional, but also necessary for every professional, list of accessories for carving includes the following devices.
It is equipped with recessed knives of different diameters with different reliefs and is designed for cutting out spheres and hemispheres of different diameters from fruits and vegetables. Also, a spoon allows you to quickly remove the pulp from the fruit.
Fruit ball spoon. Indispensable for making cuts, which is actively used when cutting out floral motifs.
Scissors for cutting fruit. Sharpener for any carving elements with a sharp blade.
Sharpener for carving elements. A useful fastening element that makes it possible to fix small elements on the main body of the composition.
Skewers. Makes it possible to spray fruits and vegetables with water or appropriate compositions (salt solution, lemon juice) designed to preserve the freshness of the composition.
Fruit sprayer.
The requirements for the properties of metal for a carving knife are determined by the method of using such accessories. Most of the models are designed specifically for piercing - they cannot be cut. Therefore, compared to a regular knife, a carving knife can be very thin. This ensures minimal resistance to the fruit pulp when piercing.
Moreover, the thin blade guarantees a neat cut, which is required for accurate work. In order not to break, such a blade must be very strong, which is ensured by appropriate alloying elements in the steel, hardening, etc. But due to the minimal thickness of the material, such accessories have a serious drawback - they are extremely fragile. So it is not recommended to drop them - even falling to the floor from a table can lead to deformation of the blades.
A small percentage of carving models are made from flexible steel. Due to this property of the material, they can bend slightly; for example, long crescent-shaped models have these properties. Such accessories are an exception to the rule, but are still used, however, their use requires a high level of tool proficiency.
Carving kit. High-quality material for carving knives is an important factor for a long period of operation. But careful handling of tools also plays an equally important role. Professional sets are most often sold in special cases with shaped recesses. The tools in such a case do not come into contact with each other, and therefore their shape and blade quality will not be affected even if the packaging is dropped.
The shape of carving knives is completely different from an ordinary kitchen knife. The difference is obvious in both the shape of the blade and the handle. A knife for figure cutting must be ergonomic so that the user can work as comfortably as possible. The duration of processing when creating a composition can reach several hours, so the knife must be held comfortably in the hand. If the handle is not comfortable, then excessive tension will quickly tire your hands. In addition to the ergonomic shape, it is important to have a rough surface, which prevents the palm from slipping. And of course, all kinds of defects are excluded, be it nicks or burrs - the handle must be polished with high quality.
To prevent your hand from getting tired, it is important that the carving knife is properly balanced. The handle should not outweigh the blade. However, this often happens in inexpensive models, since the weight of the clinic is small, and therefore the center of gravity shifts towards the handle.
Another important parameter is weight. The knife should be as light as possible, which has a positive effect on the accuracy of the parts. The weight of most cutting accessories does not exceed 50-70 grams.
The quality and convenience of work largely depend on the sharpness of the blade, so proper sharpening is one of the fundamental factors in the quality of the composition. When sharpening, it is important to maintain the appropriate angle and apply even pressure to the blade. If it has a figured shape or relief, the sharpening process becomes quite complicated. Therefore, it is better to entrust this matter to professionals. Without the appropriate skills at home, it is simply not possible to do this efficiently - first of all, this applies to beginners.
The sharpening process itself is performed with small needle files, attachments, and in some cases it is necessary to use sandpaper. For a classic set of knives, you must have a set of needle files with sections of different shapes from round to rectangular. It is best to select a specific knife in accordance with the shape and size of the relief.
Sharpening blades of carving knives. The musat must be created specifically for carving knives - the usual one is not suitable. Musats are most often made by companies that produce carving tools. Moreover, it is worth choosing a set of sharpening tools of the same brand, which will allow you to easily select the shape of the sharpening tool for the corresponding blade.
Since the blades of such accessories are hard, you should not try to speed up the sharpening process and press hard on the metal with the sharpening tool. It is better to periodically sharpen the cutting elements - the easier the knife cuts, the less load it receives, which means the longer the service life of the knife itself.
When an accessory falls, rocks, bends, etc. may form on the blade. This leads to the blade being damaged. Most often, it is very difficult to correct the defect and restore the functionality of the model.
The sharpening process must be treated scrupulously and a sufficient amount of time must be spent on it. However, the time investment is justified, since a sharp tool allows you to quickly and efficiently do the work and spend less effort on it than when using a blunt tool. So carving lovers just have to be patient and constantly sharpen the knives from their collection.
For beginners in the world of carving, it is enough to purchase a standard minimum set of three knives - a Thai, semicircular and triangular carving knife. This is quite enough to perform simple elements. As you gain skills, you can add other accessories to your collection, the number of which in some cases exceeds several dozen. However, professionals are quite capable of making do with the first three models, creating real masterpieces.
Carving (artistic cutting of vegetables and fruits) is becoming increasingly popular. After all, this is not only an interesting and creative hobby, but also a way to decorate the table with beautiful compositions. Therefore, it is worth considering the common types of carving knives, the features of their selection and the basic rules of use.
To get acquainted with the art of carving and first practice it, a universal kitchen knife will be enough. However, in order to apply thin patterns on the surface of fruits and vegetables, cut out spirals, garlands and other shaped elements from them, make shaped holes in them and make grooves and slices of equal thickness, you will need specialized kits.
Currently, the main types of tools for decorative cutting of vegetables and fruits are the following.
With the help of such products, you can cut out almost any element of the composition, but the main purpose of the knives is to create unique small details. This is the tool that will give your work individuality.
Currently, the most common carving knives are with blades of square, oval, round, V-shaped, triangular, semicircular and figured profiles. Sometimes there are ribbed options that allow you to make grooves of complex shapes.
In addition to knives, other kitchen tools are often used for carving:
Most popular on Russian market products from such companies.
Unfortunately, the company does not produce specialized sets for carving, so you will have to purchase its products separately or as part of regular kitchen sets.
Large sets come with books and DVDs with carving lessons and composition examples.
Accordingly, it is its sets that are distinguished by the largest number of different products included in it.
It produces several variations of a set of 8 items, as well as a professional set of 25 items, which includes 17 different types of carving knives of various profiles, a sickle-shaped Thai knife, a musat, round and triangular engraving tools and 2 spiral curlers.
There is also a wide range of Chinese sets on the market, which usually consist of a vegetable peeler, a noisette and several carving knives. Such kits are relatively cheap and are well suited for beginners to learn the basics of decorative cutting of food.
The first thing to consider when choosing a knife is the material from which its blade is made. For all knives except utility and sickle-shaped Thai knives, it is desirable that the blade be as hard as possible. But for universal and sickle-shaped tools, it is worth looking for options made of softer and more flexible steel. Pay attention to the thickness of the blade - in most cases, the thinner this element of the tool, the easier it is to work with and the finer the details can be obtained.
Another important parameter is the material and shape of the handle. Of course, a wooden handle looks elegant and natural, however, in carving kits, for quite a long time, predominantly polyamide handles with a rough surface have been used.
It is this handle that will ensure reliable contact between the tool and your hand, give you complete control over movements and prevent the knife from slipping. In addition, it is quite light, durable and safe for health. If possible - Try holding the knife in your hand and make sure that the shape of the handle suits you.
Proper balancing of the product is also very important for the result. In most cases, the center of gravity of carving knives is shifted to the handle, and the weight of the knife rarely exceeds 100 grams. Make sure that the set you are considering has as many different shapes of carving and engraving knives as possible, otherwise you will either have to spend more time making grooves or accept less variety in your compositions.
