Know your Knife

Basic knife skills are an important component of any culinarian’s repertoire - whether you plan to earn a living in the kitchen, or simply please yourself, your friends, and your family. Learning to wield a knife correctly will speed up your prep time, and food products fashioned in uniform shapes and sizes will help guarantee even cooking throughout a dish. In addition, the mastery of certain classic knife cuts and methodology will vastly improve the look of your food, garnishes and plate presentations.
You've probably seen chefs on television wielding their enormous knives and chopping onions with the precision of a surgeon and the speed of a NASCAR driver. Though it's fun to watch, it's not realistic to think that a home cook could work her way up to this level, or would want to if you could. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't hone your knife skills and become truly comfortable and confident holding your chef's knife. With these tips, you can be mowing through your mirepoix in no time.



Overview of the lesson
This is a preview of the next cooking class as I will show: basic cuts, sharpening, and handling of the knife. I think it is important that everyone have a basic knowledge and understanding of the most important tool in the kitchen.

Knife Safety

The safe use of knives is imperative for obvious reasons. There are only a few rules to remember, but they are crucial:

1. A sharp knife is a safe knife. Using a dull knife is an invitation to disaster. If you try to force a dull knife through the surface of a food product, it’s more likely to slip and cause an injury. Also: if you do happen to cut yourself, a sharp knife will result in an easier wound to attend to.

2. Never, ever grab a falling knife. The best way to avoid having to think about this rule is to make sure your knife is always completely on your work surface, without the handle sticking out into traffic areas. Inevitably, however, it will happen from time to time that you or someone else will bump a knife handle, resulting in a falling knife. We all have a natural instinct to grab for anything that’s falling. You must overcome this inclination. Remember: a falling knife has no handle. Just get your hands and feet out of the way.

3. Use the right knife for the right job. Many knife injuries occur when laziness induces us to use the knife at hand rather than the correct knife for a job. Place your knife inventory where it is easily accessible so you won’t be tempted to make this mistake.

4. Always cut away from - never towards – yourself. Sometimes this is a hard rule to follow. Again, don’t be lazy! If the angle is wrong, turn the product around. Or turn your cutting board around. By the way - if your cutting board doesn’t have rubber feet, you should place it atop a damp kitchen towel to make sure it doesn’t move while you’re cutting.

5. When you have a knife in hand, keep your eyes on the blade. I was taught this rule early on in culinary school. I have to admit that every single time I have cut myself; I was looking away from what I was doing. This rule stands whether you are cutting something or carrying a knife. The simple fact is: you’re unlikely to cut yourself if you’re watching the blade, especially the tip.

6. Carry a knife properly. If you’re carrying a knife through the kitchen, especially a busy commercial kitchen, there are often people hurrying everywhere. You must get used to the idea that the only way to walk with a knife in hand is to carry it pointed straight down, with the blade turned towards your thigh. Keep your arm rigid. You don’t want some busboy or family member going to the emergency room with a puncture wound from your knife.

7. Never, ever put a knife in a sink full of water. In addition to soaking probably being bad for your knife handle, putting a knife in a sink full of (likely soapy) water is just asking for trouble. Wash your sharp knives by hand (not in a dishwasher!) and put them away immediately.

8. Always cut on a cutting board. Don’t cut on metal, glass or marble. This will ultimately damage a knife’s edge.

Buying The Right Knives
Most knife sets come with far more knives than is necessary for the home cook. You will need a few different knives depending on what you intend to be doing with them, but entire sets are oftentimes unnecessary.
The most important knife in any cook's arsenal is the chef's knife. Usually in the 10-inch range, this is the most frequently used of any knife and is the go-to whenever chopping, dicing or mincing is needed. Next on the list is a paring knife. These smaller and more precise knives are perfect for peeling many fruits, as well as performing more delicate procedures. Last is a serrated knife for cutting bread and other edibles.
If you deal with a lot of meat and fish at your house, then a boning or filet knife may be necessary, and, if you feel confident in your skills, a cleaver is great for many tasks, but a chef's knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife will work for most people.

Dull Knife Equals Shorter Fingers
The single biggest cause of kitchen accidents is dull knives. Whereas sharp blades can be controlled and actually go where they're being directed, dull blades tend to slide and land where they're not wanted, such as an unfortunately placed pinkie. This can be prevented by properly maintaining your knives. Do not store them in a cluttered drawer. Make sure they have enough room to sit without knocking up against their neighbors. Never chop on a countertop or glass cutting board. Wood and plastic are the best options. Lastly, never wash them in the dishwasher. This can cause them to rust, which makes maintaining them impossible.
Even with proper maintenance, knives will go dull. The regular application of a honing steel, that long rod you probably have in your drawer and never use, will help. Simply hold the steel in your non dominant hand and, making sure you're not too close to anybody, act as if you are cutting thin slices off of it with your knife, changing sides with each swipe. Eventually, however, it will be necessary to get them professionally sharpened. Your local knife shop will likely do this for you.

Basic Chopping Words
Now that you've chosen a knife that is right for you and is adequately sharpened, here are a few terms you are likely to come across:

Dice: This is a relatively vague term. It usually refers to cutting meat or vegetables into ⅛- to ½-inch cubes. The most important aspect of dicing is not the size of the cube, but that the size is consistent among all of the cubes.

Mince: Even smaller than a dice, mincing means cutting until the individual pieces are barely distinguishable from each other.

Chiffonade: It may sound fancy, and therefore intimidating, but this is about as basic as cuts get. It refers to a way to chop herbs or other greens so that they are shredded into ribbons. Simply pile as many leaves as you want on top of each other, and roll them up like a cigar. Cut thin, even slices across the width of the bundle.

Julienne: When you chop a vegetable into long thin sticks often referred to as "matchsticks," it is known as julienne. Though different vegetables are shaped differently, the procedure is basically the same for all. Cut the vegetable lengthwise into panels, and then stack the panels on top of each other and cut them again into sticks.

By knowing the knives you need and how to care for them, you can reduce kitchen accidents and produce meals that look as good as they taste.