Wusthoff Charcuterie Set

Did you ever get a cheese knife set and then need to read the instructions to see what each knife is used for? And the you lose the instructions and you have these odd knives that you're totally not sure about?

Yeah, me too. A cheesemonger might know, but my cheese needs aren't quite that finicky.

This set is different. It's dubbed a charcuterie set, no doubt because of the robust serrated knife that's supposed to be used for sausage. It's pretty darned obvious that's what it's for. It's got mean teeth. It can handle your pepperoni and your salami and your bratwurst.

The paddle-shaped knife is the perfect device for scooping and spreading pate or soft cheeses onto bread or crackers. It's nice and wide, so you can make one decisive swoop to cover a cracker instead of a bunch of small smears.

The third knife in the set is the one with the holes in the blade. This isn't some kind of metal-saving tactic. The holes are there so that when you slice the cheese, there's less blade surface for it to stick to, so it will release from the knife easier.

While these would look lovely nestled together on your charcuterie platter, that's not what my life is like. I'm more likely to be cutting cheese for a snack, not lovingly placing it on a platter. Schmears of food on a cracker might be pimento cheese or it might be herbed cream cheese, or it might be (gasp!) peanut butter. And that toothed knife? Sure, I might slice sausage, but I might also grab it for slicing a crusty sandwich.

The point (haha, knife pun) is that all of these knives will find uses in your kitchen aside from displaying them on the cheese board once a year. You'll use them a lot.

Like all Wusthof knives, these are well made, and with that comes with a price tag that's not cheap. Honestly, though, I think these are worth it. I have a set in my Amazon cart right now, waiting for Santa to press the button.