Knife Skills

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Basic Knife Skills

Knife Skills

Learning knife skills for gourmet cooking is very important because knives are the most important items in the kitchen tool kit. A chef can accomplish a number of tasks quickly and efficiently with a good, sharp knife. High quality knives are expensive but last for many years with proper care.

Using Your Knife Safely

General Knife Safety Tips:

1. Secure your chopping board.

A damp cloth underneath will stop your board from slipping.

2. Never wave a knife in the air.

3. Keep your knives clean.

It’s important to keep all your kitchen equipment clean, but it’s imperative with your knives. If a knife handle is oily or greasy, stop immediately and clean it. You want a secure grip at all times.

4. Create a flat surface on your ingredient before cutting it.

If the ingredient being chopped is round or uneven, like an onion, slice a bit off and create a flat, stable surface to lay on the board while cutting. Always chop flat-side down!

5. Take your time.

Never chop quickly - work slowly and steadily. Take the time to get to know the knife. Remember practice makes perfect.

6. Don’t leave your knives lying around.

When you’ve finished using your knife, clean it and put it away immediately or at least put it where others can see it. Whatever you do, don’t leave it in a sink full of soapy water where someone risks cutting themselves.

7. Sharpen your knives.

It may sound strange but a blunt knife can do more damage than a sharp one. You’re more likely to apply greater force and a dull blade risks slipping off.

8. Always hold a knife in your dominant hand.

Use your knife with your writing hand.

Sharpening your Knife

Whetstone or sharpening stone is used to sharpen the dull blade of a knife. To use, place the heel of the blade against the whetstone at a 20 degree angle. Press down on the blade while pushing it away from you in one long arc, as if to slice off a thin piece of stone. Repeat the procedure on both sides until the dull blade sharpens.

HONING

Many people don’t know the difference between honing and sharpening. But they are equally important for efficient knife work. Honing, which makes the blade of a knife straight, is done with what’s often (and incorrectly) called a sharpening steel, by drawing the blade over and over along an abrasive rod of metal, ceramic, or stone. Many professionals hone their chefs’ knives daily, but doing it weekly is plenty for most home cooks. It’s a quick process once you feel confident – and it’s fun, making you look, feel, and sound like a serious cook. But remember: honing helps maintain the blade’s sharpness, but doesn’t actually sharpen it.

Basic Knife Parts

The Tip/Point. The forward quarter of the blade does much work on cutting and separation.
The Blade. The best chef's knives are made of high-carbon stainless steel, which is very hard metal that keeps its edge for a long time and will not discolor or rust like ordinary carbon steel.
The Handle. It is where chefs grip together with the tang.
The Butt. This refers to the end of the handle.
The Heel. It is located at the rear of the blade where it meets the handle. This section is used for chopping hand items like carrots, nuts or even chicken bones.
The Tang. 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 is called a "full tang."
The Rivets. Rivets are the raised, cylindrical studs that keep the handle securely attached to the tang portion of the 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. It balances the knife and helps keep your fingers from slipping while you work, thus preventing hand fatigue and blisters.

TIPS FOR CARE AND STORAGE

Don’t wait until a knife gets dull before taking care of it. The easiest system involves keeping your knives sharp in the first place, by giving them a quick honing and sharpening every few weeks.
Use a cutting surface that won’t dull them. Glass cutting boards are much too hard. Wood is gentlest, and thick plastic is next best. Make sure boards stay firmly in place on the counter by laying a kitchen towel underneath.
For storage, prevent nicks — including microscopic ones that dull the blade — by keeping knives away from one another. Store them in a block or on a magnetic strip; place them in a drawer if you don’t want to use counter or wall space.
There’s no reason a knife with a synthetic handle and a stainless-steel or ceramic blade can’t be safely washed in the dishwasher — but you must place them so the knife can’t get jostled around or the edge can’t be chipped. But knives with wood handles, high-carbon-steel blades and other sensitive materials should be washed by hand.
Small utility knives with very thin, flexible blades can’t be sharpened, so it’s best to find an inexpensive type that you like and replace them often. Serrated knives can’t be sharpened either, so keep them out of harm’s way.

How to Hold a Knife

The cutting hand, which grips the knife, has the star turn, but the other hand is an important supporting player. That helping hand holds, nudges and stabilizes the ingredient being cut, to maximize safety and efficiency.

Basic Knife Drawer

In any craft, having just the right tool for the job makes the task easier. In cooking, there are knives for specific tasks like carving, filleting and slicing. But with just a few versatile knives, you can perform virtually any task in the kitchen.

1. THE ESSENTIALS

These are the knives you’ll use most often in your kitchen. With these three, you can perform almost any task.

Chef’s knife: A classic chef’s knife, with its broad, tapering blade, sharp tip and chunky handle is the workhorse of the kitchen. Practicing with one really will make you a better cook: they are sharper, stronger and they do more of the work for you than smaller knives. For many home cooks, an 8-inch blade with a plastic handle is perfect, especially to start. Work up to a 10-inch knife, which is more efficient overall. When buying, look for a comfortable handle and a blade that is thicker at the base than at the tip.

Utility knife: These small knives are in constant use in most home kitchens, so it’s worth having three or four. Many home cooks use these knives for virtually every job: their short blades, 3 to 4 inches long, makes them easier to control. They are best for small soft ingredients like shallots, mushrooms and peaches. Inexpensive thin-bladed knives with plastic handles are often the most practical choice. Small knives are difficult for home cooks to sharpen, and so simply replacing them when they get dull is nothing to be ashamed of.

Serrated knife: A large serrated knife ( a 10-inch blade is standard) is useful not only for slicing bread but for sawing through ingredients with firm rinds like butternut squash, lemons, watermelon and pineapples. The scalloped cutting edge makes neat slices of soft-skinned ingredients like tomatoes and eggplants.

2. THE EXTRAS

These knives are nice to have, but they aren’t necessary for most kitchen work.

Boning or filleting knife: Both boning knifes and fillet knifes are useful for cutting up raw meat, poultry and fish, but it’s highly unlikely that you’ll need both in a home kitchen: each has a long, thin blade and a curved, sharp tip. A boning knife’s blade is more rigid, making it better for meat and whole birds; the filleting knife has a flexible blade that helps it follow the curved shape of fish skeletons and chicken breasts.

Carving knife: A carving knife is used for cooked cuts of meat and poultry. Its long knife has a sharply pointed tip and a narrower blade than a chef’s knife, the better to cut into joints and along bones.

Santoku knife: Like a chef’s knife, this East-West hybrid can be used for most prep work. This blade is straight like a Japanese bocho or vegetable knife, not curved like a Western chef’s knife – so, as with a Chinese cleaver, the cook uses a simple up-and-down motion for cutting, not rocking back-and-forth. If you are used to a santoku or another Asian knife, by all means use it instead of a chef’s knife, but it doesn’t serve a separate purpose in the kitchen.

Reference:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/23-basic-knife-skills

N. Alterado, E. Tawagon, L. Banzuelo, C. Cariño (Reviewer) (2013), Applied Culinary Arts

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