18 COOKING for KIDS | Level 1 Skill Development

The key to honing your knife skills is to hone your knife. Sharp knives are safer, cut more efficiently and create better food presentations on the line. Keep your knife sharp by sharpening it regularly on a stone or by using a sharpening tool.

Why Good Knife Skills Matter• Foods that are properly sliced and

diced cook more evenly.

• Good knife skills help get moreyield out of a product.

• Proper knife cuts can make foodslook better on the line.

Knife Safety• Always carry the knife at your side,

by the handle with the point down.

• Never carry a knife across thekitchen on a cutting board.

• Never try to catch a falling knifewith your hand. Let it fall and thenpickitupoffofthefloor.

• When using the knife, keep thefingersofthenon-cuttinghandcurled under like a cat’s claw.

• If it feels unsafe, it is unsafe. Avoidcutting food that is rolling around.Sliceaflatedgetokeeptheproductstable.

Knife Skills for School Nutrition Professionals

Cutting BoardsCutting boards come in a variety of colors to help commercial kitchens avoid cross-contamination. Consider using these cutting board colors to organize your school kitchen:

Red = MeatWhite = DairyGreen = ProduceBlue = Fish Yellow = Poultry

21Level 1 Skill Development | COOKING for KIDS

KNIFE SKILLS: Medium Dice Onion

1. Cutoffthestemendoftheonion,cut the onion in half from stemend to root end and then peel theonion.

2. Holding the onion steady, cuthorizontally through the onion, butnotallthewaythrough(theonionshould remain intact at the rootend). Figure 1.

3. Repeat step 2 at various levelsthroughout the onion dependingupon the onion’s size. Figure 2.

4. Turn the onion so that the stem endfaces you and place the tip of yourknife1”awayfromtherootendof the onion. Make a vertical cutthrough the onion. Repeat theseverticalcutsat½”intervalsacrossthe onion. Figure 3.

5. Turn the onion so that the stemend is perpendicular to you andmake cuts through the entireonion. Figure 4 and 5.

6. The onion will naturally cut into amedium dice. Figure 6.

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20 COOKING for KIDS | Level 1 Skill Development

KNIFE SKILLS: Medium Dice

1. Firmlyholdingtheproduct,make½”thick slices. Figure 1

2. Cuteach½”thicksliceinto½”widestrips. Figure 2.

3. Cuteach½”widestripinto½”cubes.Figure 3 and 4.

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KNIFE SKILLS: Batonnet

1. Firmly holding the product, make¼”thickslices.Fig.1

2. Cuteach¼”thicksliceinto½”widestrips. Figs 2, 3 and 4.

23Level 1 Skill Development | COOKING for KIDS

KNIFE SKILLS: Julienne1. Cutproductinto1/8”thickslices.

Fig 1 and 2.

2. Cuteach1/8”thicksliceinto1/8”thick strips. Fig 3 and 4.

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KNIFE SKILLS: Chiffonade1. Gently roll product into a tube shape.

You can stack multiple products(lettuceleaves,spinachleaves,basilleaves, etc.) into a single tube for amoreefficientcut.Fig1.

2. Thinly slice through the tube to createlong thin strands of the product. Fig 2.

3. Adjusthowthinyourslicesaretocreatedifferentchiffonadestyles.Use

achiffonadelikethe one on Fig 3 to top tacos, nachos or other creations. Use a widerchiffonadecut like the one in Fig 4 to for lettuces in salads.