Vegetable Cutting Knife

A quality Vegetable Cutting Knife is much more than just a blade — it is a tool that determines preparation speed, cutting precision and staff comfort at the vegetable preparation station. A properly selected vegetable knife with a green HACCP handle and a sharp blade ensures faster preparation, less food waste and hygienically correct work. BHS offers vegetable knives to HoReCa businesses across Europe.

Types and uses of vegetable knives

Santoku (16–18 cm) — a Japanese universal knife with a wide blade, ideal for chopping vegetables and herbs. The wide blade allows moving chopped products with the side of the knife, saving time. Nakiri (16–18 cm) — a Japanese vegetable knife with a square blade tip, designed specifically for peeling and chopping vegetables. Extremely popular in Japanese-style kitchens. Usuba — a traditional Japanese vegetable knife with a single-bevel blade, for professionals with Japanese cuisine experience. Chef’s knife (18–20 cm) with a green handle — a versatile tool for cutting and portioning larger vegetables at the vegetable preparation station. Paring (6–10 cm) — a small precision knife for peeling and decorating: carrots, radishes, potatoes, herbs. BHS helps select a vegetable knife set.

HACCP green colour for vegetable knives

The green HACCP colour internationally designates vegetable and fruit processing — a green knife or green board is a tool that may only be used for this food group. This visual system prevents situations where a vegetable knife comes into contact with raw meat or fish, causing cross-contamination. The green colour is an intuitive association with vegetables — even new employees without lengthy training automatically understand the system. In HACCP audits, implementing colour coding is a positive factor and reduces remarks from sanitary authorities. BHS helps introduce a complete HACCP knife colour system throughout the kitchen.

Blade profile for vegetable cutting

Cutting vegetables requires a different blade profile than cutting meat — a thin blade with a slight conical taper from the spine to the edge ensures a clean cut without tearing or deforming the vegetables. Hollow-ground grooves on the blade surface reduce friction between the blade and vegetables, preventing sticking. The edge is critical — a dull vegetable knife tears vegetable fibres, creating an unaesthetic finish and increasing juice loss. Regular sharpening with a peeler before each shift is mandatory. A blade length of 15–18 cm is optimal for most vegetables — long enough for large products, controllable enough for precise tasks. BHS helps select the blade profile.

HoReCa usage scenarios

At a restaurant salad preparation station, the green Santoku knife works daily with fresh vegetables — the green handle ensures that no knife of another colour enters the station, even during intensive work with multiple staff. In a canteen with a large volume of vegetables, a Nakiri knife with its wide blade allows faster chopping of cabbage, celery and onions in bulk than a standard chef’s knife. At a hotel breakfast buffet, a staff member with a green paring knife precisely decorates fruit platters and vegetable crackers.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate knife for vegetables? For HACCP requirements — yes, a separate green knife for vegetables is mandatory to prevent cross-contamination with meat products. For work efficiency — a specialized vegetable knife with the right blade also speeds up preparation. BHS helps create a complete knife set with HACCP colours.

How often should a vegetable knife be sharpened? In professional use — a peeler every day before the shift, deep sharpening with a stone once every 1–2 weeks. Sharp vegetable knives reduce food waste, as a cleaner cut preserves more vegetables. BHS advises on vegetable knife maintenance.

Why choose BHS?

BHS – Baltic HoReCa Solutions supplies professional equipment for restaurants, cafés, hotels and canteens: more than 20,000 products from many manufacturers. Our specialists help you choose the right equipment and spare parts for your kitchen or bar.

Delivery

We deliver across the European Union. Delivery time and cost depend on the order volume and destination — contact the BHS team for an exact price and lead time.