You need the right knife if you want to get the most from your fruit. Use the wrong type of knife, or one that’s too blunt or dull, and instead of finely cut chunks or slices you’ll end up with mashed lumps and juice everywhere.
These are some of the best knives for cutting fruit to help you get the best cut, whether that’s thin slices, cubes or just peeling a fruit using a sharp blade.
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The Best Paring Knife Options for Peeling Small Fruits:
A paring knife is a short-bladed knife that can have a straight blade or can be curved. They’re normally around 3.5-4 inches but they can be smaller, and they’re designed for finer cutting or peeling. They can easily dice smaller, softer fruits too.
Use a paring knife if you have a fruit you want to peel, or for deseeding fruits. They’re good for other softer vegetables too, but don’t use them on tougher vegetables which can blunt the knife quickly. They won’t be efficient for getting through harder foods.
PAUDIN 3.5 Inch Paring Knife
This precision knife is made from high quality German stainless steel, with a very sharp edge that helps you finely peel or chop your fruits. It’ll last a long time, while the handle is ergonomic and comfortable, so you won’t slip or hurt yourself while using it.
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Shun Classic 3.5 Inch Paring Knife
This supremely high-quality Japanese knife can handle a lot of tasks, and is professional quality, made using VG-MAX core steel that is exceptionally durable, with an edge that’ll stay sharp for longer. The simple design is clean and comfortable, whether peeling in your hand or on a cutting board, and will work really well for slicing, chopping and deseeding.
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When to Use a Utility Knife for Chopping Fruits:
A utility knife is longer than a paring knife at between 4 and 7 inches, but not quite as long as a chef knife. The blade can be straight edge or serrated, and they’re designed to be all-rounders. They’re good for slicing fruits thinly, or chopping up tougher flesh.
Because they’re longer, they work best on a chopping board as opposed to peeling in hand. Their length means they can be used for larger fruits with ease, but make sure to use a knife sharpener if you want to use it with smaller fruits, to keep the blade moving through softer flesh without squashing it.
Steinbrucke 5 Inch Utility Knife
Forged from high-carbon German stainless steel, this sharp straight edge knife can handle precise cutting tasks easily. It’s sharp enough to be able to cut tomatoes with ease but can also get through tougher flesh. With a super sharp edge, making thin slices for a fruit platter is simple.
Shun Classic Blonde 6 Inch Utility Knife
Another Japanese knife from Shun, this sleek utility knife as a high-carbon VG-MAX core surrounded by 34 layers of Damascus steel cladding for a blade that looks great but, most importantly, works fantastically well. The blonde PakkaWood handle is easy to grip for right- and left-handed users.
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Why a Ceramic Knife Can Reduce Browning:
Some fruits react with oxygen in the air to start browning quickly. Avocados are famous for browning really quickly, but it happens to other super fruits too. And the iron and copper in stainless steel knives can hasten that reaction.
That’s why it’s worth getting a ceramic knife. A ceramic blade will stay very sharp, as opposed to other alternatives like plastic, but it won’t speed up the browning process like steel knives will.
Jonbyi Hippo Shaped Cover Paring Knife
With a cute hippo cover and a comfortable handle, this durable paring knife makes it simple to peel fruits or cut through tougher flesh. It’s easy to clean and comfortable to use too, making it a perfect first choice for a fruit knife.
Kyocera Advanced 7 Inch Ceramic Knife
For a longer ceramic blade, this chef knife is ideal. It will make light work of tougher vegetables and fruits, with its ultra-sharp zirconia blade keeping its edge for up to 10x longer than stainless steel options. It’s a delicate knife that should be hand-washed only, but it’s lightweight and really comfortable to use.
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Large Fruits that Need a Carving Knife:
Some larger fruits would really benefit from a longer knife to make peeling and slicing easier. A chef knife will work well but for fruits like pineapple, a carving knife combines a bigger blade with precision cutting, so you can peel it without losing the good quality flesh.
A bread knife can also work, but a carving knife tends to be better for more accurate control – they’re designed for thinly slicing meat, so the blade edge works well at cutting fruit flesh without making a mess.
Kessaku 12 Inch Carving Knife
This super-sharp stainless steel carving knife is really well balanced, making it lightweight to hold and effortless to use. The blade is exceptionally durable, with a straight edge that provides neat, clean cuts whether peeling tough skin or easily gliding through softer fruit flesh.
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Specialist Knives for Fruit:
As well as your main knives, there are two other knives you may want in your kitchen if you regularly prepare fresh fruits and vegetables.
A tomato knife is a short, serrated blade that is specially designed to get through the skin of the fruit, without damaging the inside. Fresh tomatoes are easy to accidentally crush with a dull knife, so picking up a tomato knife is worthwhile if you make fresh sauces or salads often. These knives are sometimes referred to as cheese knives.
TUO 5.5 Inch Tomato Knife
This sharp serrated steel blade has forked tips that allow you to easily lift tomato slices. It has a perforated blade too, which prevents food from sticking to it once you’ve cut it.
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A peeling knife has a curved blade that bends inwards. This gives you more of the edge to use when peeling fruits and vegetables toward yourself in your hand. Their sharp point is also useful for deseeding fruits once they are peeled.
TUO 2.5 Inch Peeling Knife
This ‘bird-beak’ knife has a short blade that makes it really easy to control, which is vital when you’re using a sharp blade in your hands. The ergonomic handle prevents it from slipping while in use too.
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In Conclusion
It’s good to have a variety of knives in your home for cutting fruits if you can. But if you’re on a budget, the best knives for cutting fruit are usually paring knives – they’re precise enough for smaller, softer fruits but can do a good job on tougher foods too. Start with a paring knife and add a larger blade when you can – ideally one of them should be ceramic too.