What is a tourne knife used for?
For my birthday, I was given a collection of more or less esoteric knives, such as two mezzalunas (one with one handle, and one with two), a sicle knife and a tourne knife.
My question is this; what is the latter, the tourne knife, used for?
Best Answer
Also known as a "bird's beak", it's used for tournéeing root vegetables (turning them into little footballs) and making fancy, delicate cuts when carving garnishes from fruit or vegetables. More practically, the curved blade is great for peeling round vegetables and fruit. It's a complete pain in the butt to sharpen without a belt grinder (or pro sharpening service with same), but gosh, it looks neat. Congrats on the fun present!
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Quick Answer about "What is a tourne knife used for?"
This small paring knife has a short, curved blade that resembles a beak. A normal paring knife can be used as well, but a tourné knife is a handy tool to keep around. It's great for peeling shallots and onions, coring tomatoes and strawberries, and digging the eyes out of potatoes.What do you cut with a Tourne knife?
Also referred to as a Tourne or Tourn\xe9 cut, this method of shaping vegetables is most commonly used to prepare potatoes in order to enhance the appearance when they are placed on and served for as part of the main meal.What is Tourne used for?
Today, fans of these knives\u2014many of them former restaurant cooks\u2014use them for two basic types of jobs: peeling fruits and vegetables and precise detail work such as trimming brussels sprouts or removing the eyes from potatoes.What is a Tourné Knife? Tourné Knife - Turning Knife
More answers regarding what is a tourne knife used for?
Answer 2
It is used for, and I am not saying this to be silly, making vegetables tourne, which is a fancy French presentation:
They can also be used in many ways for the same purpose a standard paring knife is used: peeling, slicing small items like garlic cloves, and so on.
It is a specialty item which most cooks and chefs could go a lifetime without, and not miss.
Answer 3
Its really good for peeling citrus fruit, especially ones with thick skin like grapefruit or pomelo.
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Images: Adrian Serbanescu, Los Muertos Crew, ROMAN ODINTSOV, EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA