Tour Knives

T ouring knives are particular types of peeling kni ves suitable for outdoor ventures due to their tiny size, durability, and lightweight features. At times they are also sold in the name of turning knives.

Touring knives are also alternatively known as Tourne or peeling knives. These are small handy knives with a short sober-shaped curved blade. These small knives are ideally perfect for peeling and cleaning rounded vegetables and fruits. These knives are easy to differentiate from others on the shelves. They have a very short bird’s beak-shaped curved blade. Such knives are ideal for peeling vegetables like potatoes and fruits like apples precisely while preserving valuable vitamins. These knives are also suitable for hollowing out and decorating vegetables and fruits.

Everything you need to know about peeling knives

When it comes to precise peeling and hulling procedures, a touring knife is an ideal option. These knives allow safe and efficient peeling of any food item with a finely curved blade, including potatoes, carrots, strawberries, and more. Additionally, these knives are available in various handle materials to choose any option as per preference. Besides a long list of advantages you can earn from these blades, their primary function is to turn a vegetable into any shape and size mimic character and shapes from the world around you.

Peeling knife vs paring knife – Understanding the difference

A paring knife has a short blade typically between 2½ to 4 inches long. The edge looks like a smaller, plainer version of a chef’s knife. Its sharp and simple blade is great for intricate work like peeling fruits or vegetables, creating garnishes or deveining shrimp. At the same time, a peeling knife has a downward curved blade but is not as exaggerated as hooks. These knives are generally ideal for removing the thin peel from any type of hard or soft fruit or vegetable. These types of knives are famous among chefs for peeling vegetables or decorating and garnishing dishes.

Importance of peeling knives in any kitchen

Touring, peeling or turning knives are smaller. So, they offer a variety of grips and facilitate different cutting methods. Besides standard slicing on a cutting board, you can use these knives to cut items directly at the palm of your hand, just like the way you peel an apple or orange. Additionally, to devein shrimps, you can hold the knife in the dominant hand and peeled the shrimp in the other with the spine facing upward. Use the knife’s sharp point to shallow cut along the spine of the shrimp and gently lift the vine out in a matter of seconds. The blade also allows you to pry fruits from the membrane delicately and maintain the aesthetics of the fruits like orange, berries, etc.

Common uses of the vegetable peeling knife

Mainly these knives are used for peeling purposes. So, whenever you need to take a fragile layer off any fruit or vegetable or deal with delicate food items like tomatoes, cherries or berries, these knives are the only reliable option. You can use them to take off the peel, cut fruits and vegetables into different creative shapes or take out the seeds without causing much damage to the natural condition of the item you are dealing with. They are also a handy item to use when dealing with recipes that call for segmented citrus fruit, like Wilted Spinach Salad with Oranges, Radishes, and Citrus Vinaigrette.

Important features of the best peeling knife

Paring or turning knives are made of high carbon steel, stainless steel, or ceramic. Considering the utilitarian functions, stainless steel is preferred over all other available options. Most of the paring or peeling knives also feature full tang with steel running the entire knife’s entire length – including the handle. It makes them durable and lasting. Besides the blade, the handle of these knives is of great importance. Here the handle is typically half of the knife. So, I prefer a peeling knife with a balanced weight and ergonomic, comfortable grip that allow you to perform all types of cuttings with ease.