A bird’s beak paring knife is useful for small tasks done off the cutting board—especially those that require a lot of finesse and attention to detail. It’s a helpful tool when you need to prepare foods with curved or irregularly shaped surfaces or foods that have tough or fibrous exteriors that a vegetable peeler would struggle to get through.
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How to Use a Bird’s Beak Paring Knife
The tiny bird's beak paring knife can be truly mighty—if used correctly.
By Published Jan. 15, 2020.
Here's how to use a bird’s beak paring knife.
- When peeling fruits and vegetables, you can use it just as you would a paring knife, using the bottom half of the blade to slice away the skin or peel.
- For detail work, you may want to choke up on the blade slightly to summon a bit more control over the tip. Employ a pinch grip: Gently curl your fingers around the lower part of the blade’s spine and use your thumb to secure the knife.
Here are a few tasks that we like to perform with a bird’s beak paring knife.
- Peeling kohlrabi or celeriac
- Peeling garlic, shallots, and onions
- Peeling ginger
- Peeling tomatoes
- Trimming brussels sprouts, artichoke stems, and asparagus stalks
- Removing long citrus peels for use as seasoning or cocktail garnishes
- Slicing stone fruit and avocados on the pit
- Hulling strawberries
- Removing the eyes from pineapple
- Deveining shrimp
Equipment Review
Bird's Beak Paring Knives
Professional cooks love these knives’ curvy blades. After testing, we saw why.Read Our Review
