First, what to use – and how to use it!
1. Pick a knife that feels good in your hand. The three knives that you will use most are a paring knife, a serrated (bread) knife, and a French (Chef’s) knife – there is nothing you cannot prepare with these. Of course, some less versatile tools make certain cutting tasks so much easier, so feel free to expand your knife kit to fit your needs. (My guilty pleasures are a vegetable peeler and a melon baller).
2. Keep your knives sharp, clean, and dry – moisture can dull the blade.
3. Hold the knife with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers gripping the handle, and your thumb and index finger pinching the blade.
4. When cutting, keep the tip of your knife on the cutting board and use the back of the blade to cut in a rotating motion. (The tip moves back and forth on the board while the handle moves up and down).
5. The Claw. This is a tricky move that takes practice, but keeps your fingers attached! Hold down the food with the tips of your fingers. Your knuckles should be parallel to the blade in your opposite hand. To prevent the food from slipping as you are cutting it, stick out your thumb and pinky like you are making an imaginary phone call and place them on the cutting board on either side of the food to hold it in place. Gently rest your other three fingers, tips down, on top.
1. Pick a knife that feels good in your hand. The three knives that you will use most are a paring knife, a serrated (bread) knife, and a French (Chef’s) knife – there is nothing you cannot prepare with these. Of course, some less versatile tools make certain cutting tasks so much easier, so feel free to expand your knife kit to fit your needs. (My guilty pleasures are a vegetable peeler and a melon baller).
2. Keep your knives sharp, clean, and dry – moisture can dull the blade.
3. Hold the knife with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers gripping the handle, and your thumb and index finger pinching the blade.
4. When cutting, keep the tip of your knife on the cutting board and use the back of the blade to cut in a rotating motion. (The tip moves back and forth on the board while the handle moves up and down).
5. The Claw. This is a tricky move that takes practice, but keeps your fingers attached! Hold down the food with the tips of your fingers. Your knuckles should be parallel to the blade in your opposite hand. To prevent the food from slipping as you are cutting it, stick out your thumb and pinky like you are making an imaginary phone call and place them on the cutting board on either side of the food to hold it in place. Gently rest your other three fingers, tips down, on top.
Next, some uncommon tips for common ingredients:
6. Tomatoes – Using a serrated knife to slice through the skin is the best way to not squish the vegetable – but poking the tip of a chef knife into the skin to start it off works well, too! When dicing the edge piece, turn it skin side down; it is much easier to slice through the skin this way, and you avoid squishing the flesh underneath.
7. Citrus – No zester? No problem! Use a veggie peeler to slice off the rind. Before you juice the fruit, roll it – firmly – on the cutting board first to break up the membranes. When the juice starts leaking from the skin, it is ready to go; and if you don’t have a citrus reamer, a pair of tongs or a fork will do the trick.
8. Apples – Instead of frustrating yourself by trying to remove the core with a paring knife, slice the fruit in half and scoop out the core with a melon baller. Bonus: the two halves are much easier to dice now that they are flat on the cutting board.
9. Leafy herbs, like basil – Layer the leaves on top of each other and roll into a tight bunch and slice.
10. Round things, like onions and potatoes – While slicing the veggie in half and putting the flat side down makes it easier (and safer) to cut, sometimes you want round slices for recipes like onion rings or scalloped potatoes. In this case, slice just ¼ inch off one side of the veggie and put the cut-side down on the board. This will provide stability without making your onion rings into half-moons instead!
By Claire Bowley
6. Tomatoes – Using a serrated knife to slice through the skin is the best way to not squish the vegetable – but poking the tip of a chef knife into the skin to start it off works well, too! When dicing the edge piece, turn it skin side down; it is much easier to slice through the skin this way, and you avoid squishing the flesh underneath.
7. Citrus – No zester? No problem! Use a veggie peeler to slice off the rind. Before you juice the fruit, roll it – firmly – on the cutting board first to break up the membranes. When the juice starts leaking from the skin, it is ready to go; and if you don’t have a citrus reamer, a pair of tongs or a fork will do the trick.
8. Apples – Instead of frustrating yourself by trying to remove the core with a paring knife, slice the fruit in half and scoop out the core with a melon baller. Bonus: the two halves are much easier to dice now that they are flat on the cutting board.
9. Leafy herbs, like basil – Layer the leaves on top of each other and roll into a tight bunch and slice.
10. Round things, like onions and potatoes – While slicing the veggie in half and putting the flat side down makes it easier (and safer) to cut, sometimes you want round slices for recipes like onion rings or scalloped potatoes. In this case, slice just ¼ inch off one side of the veggie and put the cut-side down on the board. This will provide stability without making your onion rings into half-moons instead!
By Claire Bowley
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