Knife Skills 101 How to Safely

use a knife in the kitchen.

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The Basics… • Do not place knife in sink.

• Clean by hand immediately and

store properly.

• When cleaning blade, always wipe blade from dull side

• Use a proper grip • Place fingers of guiding hand in proper position • Always cut on a cutting board Stabilize the cutting board with damp towel or grip-mate

… How to Hold a Knife… The Pinch Grip…

• index finger resting flat against one side of blade and thumb on opposite side .

• Secure the food with the guiding hand • Alternate the claw grip

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Top 2 Safety Rules… #1: Keep your

mind on what you are doing! #2: Do not

distract others who are using a

knife!

Types of Knives

• Serrated–slice c o a r s e foods, bread

• Butcher–large rigid blade tip curves up

• C h e f / F r e n c h t r i m m i n g , chopping,slicing and dicing.

• F i l l e t – p o i n t e d t i p

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Type of Knives… •  Utility – peeling and slicing

• Boning-Thin knife to remove bones

• Paring – peel or work delicate cuts

Basic Knife Cuts...

Basic Knife Cuts… • Slicing:

–  To cut a food into relatively broad, thin pieces. The cut pieces of the food.

• Chopping: –  To cut food into irregular pieces. The size is specified if it is

critical to the outcome of the recipe. • Mincing:

–  To cut or shop a food very finely.

• Shredding: –  To use a knife or a shredder (a cutting tool with round, smooth,

sharp-edged holes) to cut food into long, thin strands.

• Grating: –  To rub hard-textured food against a grater (a tool with small, rough,

sharp-edged holes) to reduce to fine particles. Grating works best with firm foods; soft food (such as some cheeses) form clumps.

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Large Dice •  ¾ inch × ¾ inch × ¾ inch

Medium Dice

measures ½ inch

× ½ inch

× ½ inch

Batonnet

measures ½ inch × ½ inch × 2½-3 inches. It is also the starting point for another

cut, the medium dice.

Julienne

matchstick - measures 1/8 inch × 1/8 inch × 2½ inches

Chiffonade To shred

Diagonal/Bias Cuts

Slicing… •  Wash and destem

the leaves as necessary. Stack

several leaves on top of each other and roll

them tightly like a cigar.

•  Make fine slices across the leaves while holding the leaf roll tightly.

To Chop Parsley… 1 Wash the parsley in cold water; drain well. Remove the

parsley sprigs from the stems.

To Chop Parsely… •  Grip the knife in one hand.

•  With the other hand spread flat, hold the knife’s tip on the cutting board.

•  Keeping the knife’s tip on the board, chop the parsley sprigs by rocking the curved blade of the knife up and down while moving the knife back and forth over the parsley.

•  Place the chopped parsley in a kitchen towel or a double layer of cheesecloth.

Rinsing Parsley…

•  Rinse it under cold water and squeeze out as much water as possible.

•  The chopped parsley should be dry and

fluffy.

Chopping Garlic… Break the head of the garlic into individual cloves with your

hands.

Chopping Garlic… •  Lightly crush the cloves using the flat edge of a chef’s knife or

a mallet. •  They will break open and the peel can be separated easily

from the garlic flesh •  With a flat hand, hold the knife’s tip on the cutting board.

Garlic…

Using a rocking motion, chop the garlic cloves to

the desired size.

Garlic is usually chopped very

fine.

To Dice an Onion… • 1 Using a paring knife, remove the stem end.

Onion… •  Trim the root end but

leave it nearly in tact (this helps prevent the onion from falling apart while dicing).

•  Peel away the outer skin; be careful not to remove and waste too much onion.

•  Dicing an Onion 2 Cut the onion in half through the stem root.

•  Place the cut side down on the cutting board.

Onion… •  Cut parallel slices of the desired thickness vertically

through the onion from the root toward the stem without cutting completely through the root end

Dicing an Onion: Make a single horizontal cut on a small onion or two horizontal cuts on a large onion through the width of the large onion, again without cutting through the root end.

Dicing an Onion Turn the onion and cut slices perpendicular to the

other slices to produce diced onion.

Important of making uniform cuts…

Appearance

Cook time

Parts of a Knife… Handle:

–  The part of a chef's knife you'll have the most contact with is the handle.

–  So you'll want to make sure it's comfortable and fits your hand.

–  It shouldn't feel slippery or cause you to have to grip excessively hard.

Parts of a Knife… •  The Heel:

–  The heel is the widest part of the knife, located at the rear of the blade where it meets the handle.

–  This section of the cutting edge is used for chopping hard items like carrots, nuts or even chicken bones.

Parts of a Knife… •  The Tang:

–  The best knives are forged from a single piece of steel that runs the entire length of the knife.

–  That means the steel extends all the way into the handle.

–  The section of steel inside the handle is called the tang, and if it goes all the way to the end of the handle, it's called a "full tang."

Parts of a Knife… •  The Rivets:

–  Rivets are the raised, cylindrical studs that keep the handle securely attached to the tang portion of the knife.

–  This type of construction is typical of knives with wooden handles.

–  If rivets are present, make sure that their tops are smooth and that they don't protrude from the handle at all.

Parts of a Knife… •  The Bolster: •  The bolster is the thick

shoulder of heavy steel located at the front of the handle where it meets the spine, or the top (non-cutting) edge of the blade.

•  In addition to balancing the knife, the bolster also helps keeps your fingers from slipping while you work, thus preventing hand fatigue and blisters.

Quick Quiz… •  In your Journal answer the following questions:

– 1. What are the 2 MAIN rules to follow when working with knives?

– 2. Describe the importance of using uniform cuts.

– 3. What part of the knife will you come in most contact with?

– 4. Describe “The Pinch Grip” – 5. Why is it important to learn about knife

safety and skills?