Knife Skills

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Basic Knife Skills

Knife Skills

Learning knife skills for the most essential and basic skills that a cook or a chef must learn. Because knives are the most commonly used tool in the kitchen, a cook or a chef should know the different parts of a knife.

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.

The knife is divided into two main parts: the blade and the handle. Each of the main parts can be subdivided into different parts, as shown below.

THE BLADE

The blade of different knives vary in length, thickness, shape, and sizes fo their specific parts. The blade is the part of a knife used for cutting, mincing, chopping, and other dividing tasks. Different materials are used to make a blade. Blades made of carbon steel or stainless steel are usually used in the modern kitchen. There are also more affordable knives made of plastic and ceramic blades introduced in the market. The use of metal knives, however, is still dominant in professional kitchens.

The best metal used for knives is the right mix of iron, chromium, carbon, and other metals. This material combines the best features of stainless steel and carbon steel. It does not rust or discolor and can be sharpened easily, but it is expensive. Stainless steel is a hard, durable metal made of chromium and carbon steel. It does not rusr or discolor. Stainless steel also will not transfer or pass a metallic taste to foods. Unfortunately, the only disadvantage of this is that it is hard to sharpen.

Point- The is the front part of the knife where the edge and spine meet. The point is often used for scoring and piercing.
Tip- This is the front part of a knife, which includes the knifepoint.
Belly- It is the part of the blade right after the tip. Knives with "curvy" bellies and small tips are usually better for slicing or chopping vegetables as they allow quick, smooth rocking motions on the cutting board.
Cutting edge- The edge is the cutting part of the blade that is used for chopping and slicing. The edge should always stay sharp and should be made of materials that are resistant against chopping or breaking.
Spine- The spine refers to the full thickness portion of the blade, opposite the knife edge.
Heel- The rear part of the edge, opposite the knife edge.
Bolster- The part in the middle of the knife which is thick enough to join the knife blade to its handle. It provides weight and balance to a knife. At the same time, it protects the hand from getting away from the knife edge.

THE BLADE

The handle is the part where you hold the knife. It covers the tang, rivets for extra security, and the butt. The handle can be made of different materials such as wood, plastic, and ivory, or sometimes, it comes with one piece of solid metal. When buying a knife, it is important to consider the fit of yout hand grip to the handle-- if it feels solid. The weight should be even to the blades to some extent to save your energy in cutting.

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

An excellent way to hold a knife is to place the index finger and the thumb opposite each other on either of the sides of the blade, while the remaining three fingers are sort of loosely curled around the handle.

A good grip will enable the user to control the movement of the knife, avoiding slippage.

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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