Cheese knives are distinct from other kitchen knives in many ways.
For instance, you may have noticed that most of them have curved stainless steel blades with holes and a prong-shaped edge.
These design features have been developed for specific needs.
So why do cheese knives have holes?
9 Reasons Why Cheese Knives Have Holes in Them
Here are some of the reasons why cheese knives have holes in the blade.
1. Prevent the Cheese from Sticking to The Blade
It’s easy to cut hard cheese with a strong kitchen knife.
However, it’s not easy to cut soft or semi-soft cheese with a regular knife.
Regular knife blades bruise the surface of the cheese. So you can end up with mangled slices of cheese.
Cleaning the knife also becomes difficult as the cheese sticks to the blade.
Adding holes to the blade prevents the cheese from sticking.
Since there are large holes in a cheese knife, it doesn’t get as messy as a large knife blade.
This makes it much easier to get the cheese off the blade.
2. Reduce Contact with The Cheese
The larger the area of contact between the knife and an ingredient, the tougher cutting becomes.
The holes on a cheese knife reduce the area in contact with the cheese. This makes it easy to slice cheese.
Cutting hard cheese is generally not too difficult.
However, when you are dealing with soft cheese, the holes make the work a lot easier.
Soft cheese tends to stick to the blade.
When there are holes in the blade, only a small part of the blade is exposed to the cheese.
This area will develop a sticky film, but the rest of the blade remains untouched.
It makes it much easier to cut multiple slices of soft and sticky cheese like Brie and Camembert.
To do the same with a regular knife, you would have to dip it in hot water after cutting each slice to keep the blade non-sticky.
This additional step is unnecessary when you use a dedicated cheese knife.
The other option would be to use a knife with a super-thin blade to prevent the cheese from sticking to the blade mid-slice.
3. Cut Down the Drag
The cheese knife isn’t the only knife with holes in it. Various other types of knives also have holes in the blade.
These holes usually reduce the drag when cutting any ingredient, including food.
This applies to cheese knives too.
It’s helpful when you want to cut through slippery items like meat and certain vegetables.
Some types of cheese are also moist and slippery. Holes reduce the drag and make it safer to cut through them.
4. Increase the Surface Area of The Knife
Knives with ultra-thin blades can slice through cheese easily.
However, these aren’t very popular because they don’t feel comfortable in hand.
It’s easier to use a large knife with a blade that is half the width of the cheese block.
This gives more control during cutting, and you can make neat cuts without bruising the surface.
However, using a knife blade with a large surface area makes sticky cheese cling to the surface.
When cheese sticks to the surface, it’s not easy to cut.
Cheese knives address both these problems by using a wide blade with holes in it.
The blade is wide enough to cut through the cheese. Meanwhile, the holes reduce the area of contact.
Hence, the cheese is unable to stick to the blade. It also makes cleaning much easier.
5. Make the Knife Lighter
The ease of handling a knife depends on its weight.
Since the blade of a knife is made of metal, it makes the knife heavy.
Knives with larger blades are heavier than those with small blades.
The presence of holes in the blade of a knife makes it lighter because a part of the metal is removed.
The cheese knife isn’t too big. And the holes further reduce the overall weight of the knife.
The reduced weight of the blade and the curved shape makes it easier to balance the knife in your hand.
6. Push out Pieces of Cheese
When cutting certain types of cheese, some obstinate pieces may stick to the blade.
Sticky cheese like Brie and Roquefort often sticks to solid knives.
Since they are soft, it’s not easy to get a clean cut.
Part of the cheese can get dislodged and stick to the blade mid-slice.
The presence of holes on the blade makes it easy to push out pieces of cheese that stick like this.
7. Let the Water Drain Away During Washing
Exposure to moisture reduces the sharpness of a knife.
Depending on the material used for construction, it can also cause rusting.
For instance, knives made of iron and carbon steel are likely to rust if they are continuously exposed to water.
This diminishes the quality of the blade.
Stainless steel is inert to moisture and doesn’t rust in the presence of water.
However, continuous exposure to moisture can dull the blade. It loses its original luster.
This is another reason that cheese knives have holes.
Holes on the blade surface help the water to drain away.
This limits exposure to moisture and reduces the chances of rusting or tarnishing.
8. Keep the Knife Sharper for Longer
The cheese knife should have a sharp and strong blade to make clean cuts in cheese.
However, prolonged exposure to moisture can dull a knife blade.
When water sits on the blade for a long time, the surface undergoes corrosion.
This can reduce its sharpness and prevent the knife from cutting things easily.
The holes in the blade prevent water from sticking to the surface after you wash the blade.
It will drain away even if you don’t dry the blade with a towel. It also helps to keep the knife blade sharp.
Shiny blades retain their color and look brand new for much longer.
9. Pick up The Cheese
Cheese knives with holes usually have a slotted end.
This is another special design feature that is limited to cheese knives.
It serves a specific purpose.
Once you use a cheese knife for cutting, you can use the forked end to pick the slice of the cheese easily.
In the absence of the forked end, you would end up requiring another tool to pick and transfer the cheese.
This would mean more tools on the cheese board and more cleaning up.
To save you from this trouble, cheese knives come with a slotted edge.
You can gently lift the sliced cheese using this slotted end and transfer it to another plate or bowl.
Takeaway
You can cut most types of cheese with common kitchen knives.
However, the best way to cut cheese is with a cheese knife.
Since these knives are specially designed to cut cheese, they produce clean cuts instead of bruised and mangled pieces of cheese.
