Large Knives

• When cutting large vegetables, such as cabbage or lettuce, it may be best to use a large knife. The weight of the blade and the leverage you get from using a longer object help to cut through vegetables that would otherwise need to be sawed through.

  Many large knifes now come with a serrated edge so they do not need to be sharpened. This is an advantage but may leave the serration marks on the vegetable.

Small Knives

• If you are looking to cut something small, like carrots or beans, a smaller bladed knife may be better as it is more suited to the job. If you are cutting something for a plate decoration, smaller knifes are best as they allow for greater accuracy.

  Small knives also can have serrated edges which carry the same advantages and disadvantages as they do for large knifes.

Ceramic Blades

• Many chefs have ditched the traditional metal bladed knifes in favor of ceramic blades as they do not go blunt or rust. These come in many different sizes or in sets and can be used to cut raw vegetables or anything else you want them to.

Food Blender

• Blenders and food processors have become very popular and come with a variety of attachments to cut raw vegetables. These attachments can include a rough chopping blade, a slicing blade and a grater allowing you to cut up vegetables in a matter of seconds.

  There are no specific blades for specific vegetables, but each does have it own slicing style so it varies more on what you want to do with the vegetables.

Mandolin

• This culinary tool consists of a flat board with a chopping blade fixed to it and is very good at slicing vegetables very thinly. It can be used to cut cucumber, potatoes or any vegetable you want cut to a uniform thickness.

  Cheaper mandolins have a blade fixed at a specific angle, but the more expensive variety have an adjustable blade so the thickness can be altered, similar to a meat slicing machine in a butcher's.

Mezzaluna

• This is a set of curved parallel blades with two handles at either end of it can be rocked back and forth to finely chop things such as herbs and smaller vegetables.