The Basics of Knife Skills
ID
FST-268NP
Safety First:
- Always work in a clean area with clean tools
- Wash your hands before beginning to work
- Never point the knife at anyone- carry the knife with the tip pointed toward the floor
- Never try to catch a falling knife
- Remember to use a “claw grip” to hold the food being cut- this means making sure your fingers are out of the blade’s way by curling your fingers in like a claw
Knife Skills:
- Cut food by using the heel of the knife for a greater force
- Chop food with the flat side down
- Keep the tip of the blade on the cutting board
- Use a rocking motion to cut food by pushing the knife forward as it is lowered into the food
Knife Skills Vocabulary
Julienne - Cutting food into very thin rectangular pieces Mince- Cutting food into the smallest possible pieces
Dice - Cutting food into small cube shaped pieces
Chef Knife - Larger knife used for general chopping, slicing, dicing, and mincing foods
Paring Knife - Smaller knife used for close in or delicate work
Serrated Knife - Knife with a jagged edge used to cut crustybread or slice meat.
Fish Knife - Knife used to cut or fillet delicate pieces of food
Boning Knife - Strong knife used for cutting around car- tilage and bones
Slicing Techniques
Hold the chef’s knife close to the blade with fingers wrapped securely around the handle for best control.
Place your other hand on the food to be cut. Curl your fingers in like a claw and keep your thumb and pinky finger behind your other fingers.
Use a rocking, circular motion to slice the food. Push the knife forward as you lower it and slice. Do not lift the front of the knife off the cutting board.
How to Dice an Onion
Peel the outer layer of the onion until all of the brown layers are removed.
Cut the washed onion in half. Cut the ends off from the opposite side of the roots. Leave the roots in tact.
Place the onion-half flat side down. Place a flat hand on the onion, palm side down, to hold it in place. With the other hand, cut the onion horizontaly toward the root by rocking the knife into the onion. Do not cut the onion into two pieces; leave about a half inch of uncut onion at the root end. Repeat this step so that there are two horizontal slices in the onion.
Slice the onion vertically and perpendicular to the roots. Leave about a half inch of uncut onion at the root end.
Dice the onion by cutting vertically and parallel to the root end. Chop any larger uncut pieces.
Go slowly at first until you are more comfortable and have control of the food and the knife.
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Publication Date
February 16, 2022
