If you are a beginner in the kitchen, know that learning how to use knives and choose the right tools for each task is essential to gain more experience and to feel more comfortable in the kitchen. Learn how to choose the right knife for each use, how to handle it and how to keep it in perfect condition.
If, on the other hand, if you are interested in other uses of the knife such as survival, throwing or fighting, read the respective links.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Knife
Step 1. Purchase a good utility knife
If you only have room for one knife, choose a basic one that is suitable for shredding, slicing, and making a variety of cuts and incisions. The blade must be of high quality and very versatile. Even if the rest of your kitchen equipment is cheap and dull, a good knife will allow you to continue cooking.
There is no "best knife" ever or the perfect one. If you are looking for a set of knives, consider buying a really good quality one, as well as a few other cheaper pieces to complement it. You can do most of the cutting work with a good basic knife, about 12.5 cm long with a triangular blade made of stainless steel or some other material
Step 2. Use a chef's knife to chop, shred and dice
Chef's knives are also called “kitchen knives” and their blades are suitable for heavy tasks. For some cooks, an excellent chef's knife is the only tool needed in the kitchen, as it is capable of finely slicing fruit, crushing garlic and chopping onions.
Kitchen knives are usually made of ceramic, stainless steel or polycarbonate and there are different models. The western ones are larger and suitable for chopping, while the oriental and Japanese ones are smoother and made of more resistant steel
Step 3. Use a curved knife to peel the fruit and vegetables
This is another classic kitchen tool, smaller in size and used for peeling and slicing vegetables and fruit. It is not suitable for chopping or other heavy uses in the kitchen.
This type of blade is particularly useful for fresh fruit, for cutting an apple, pear or stone fruit
Step 4. Use a bread knife to slice
Serrated knives are particularly useful for cutting bread. There is nothing more frustrating than cooking a nice loaf to perfection and crushing it with the wrong knife in an attempt to cut it. A serrated knife is also great for cutting roasts and other foods. It is a very useful tool in the kitchen.
Step 5. Choose knives with a good weight and well balanced
A good knife must have a certain balance between the weight of the blade and the tang, the steel part of the blade that fits into the handle. Check the center of gravity of the knife resting just above the handle on one finger. You have to feel it heavy so that its bulk will do the work for you.
Part 2 of 3: Using Kitchen Knives
Step 1. Learn to hold it properly
You have to grab the handle as if you want to shake someone's hand. When you pick up a knife, the index finger should be on the outside of the blade, on the flat side, while the other three fingers must be wrapped around the handle just before the blade. It should also be parallel to your body. This grip is called "pinch" and is the right way to grab the kitchen knife because it offers excellent control and cutting precision. Since the fingers are close to the blade, you can handle and control it better.
- When you hold the knife, the tip and blade should be facing down for a safe position. The knife must always be very sharp, so always handle it with great care.
- Many inexperienced cooks, when grasping the knife, use a "hammer grip" with all four fingers wrapped around the handle and with the tip straight, perpendicular to the body. You don't have to look like Jason, the protagonist of “Friday the 13th”, when you are holding a knife.
Step 2. Learn to chop properly
The first step in learning how to use a kitchen knife the right way is knowing how to chop. While there are a few different styles, there are still some basic guidelines that beginners can learn quickly. Learning how to securely hold the fingers that direct movements and make precise cuts is essential for safety in the kitchen.
- In the method that involves the fulcrum of the cut in the tip, this never detaches from the surface of the cutting board. You must use the tip as a fulcrum, as a support point to raise the body of the blade and then lower it by pushing firmly through the food to be cut.
- In the technique that involves the fulcrum of the cut in the wrist, the final part of the blade, the one near the point where you grab it, never leaves the cutting board and the tip rises and falls using it as a pivot to pierce the food. This method is often used for slicing onions and other vegetables.
- Never hit the blade on the cutting board when walking through food. There is no reason to do it, it is dangerous and you ruin the thread.
Step 3. Learn how to properly guide food to the knife
Grab the blade with your dominant hand and bend the other like a claw, with the fingers curled towards the palm. Train with a carrot or onion and put the "claw" on top of them. Place the flat side of the blade against the knuckles of the non-dominant hand so that they are not in the path of the cutting edge. Guide the food to the blade with the "claw hand" and rotate the blade with the hand that is cutting.
Many chefs love to show off showing how fast they are at this technique. It looks dangerous and extravagant. Although it is the "correct" cutting technique, having the "guiding fingers" so close to the blade makes some cooks nervous. On the contrary, it is a much safer method than having your fingers open and exposed, although a little practice is required to learn it. Do what is most comfortable for you and work slowly until you become proficient
Step 4. Learn to cut lengthwise
Cutting elongated or round vegetables can be a dangerous task; this is why we always try to create a flat support surface first and then proceed with processing. “Cutting from head to toe” means cutting a vegetable lengthwise to create a flat work surface.
Potatoes, tomatoes and other round vegetables should first be processed in this way. Hold the food firmly and cut off the ends. Discard these "clippings". The tomato is usually cut in half from one flat side to the other and then minced or divided into cubes each half
Step 5. Cut into cubes if you want uniform sized pieces
Chopped vegetables are cut into chunks, while diced vegetables result in smaller pieces, usually a few square centimeters. A good cubing must be uniform and this can be obtained with initial incisions and then proceed to perpendicular cuts.
Score the vegetables in two directions, at regular intervals, and then rotate them 90 ° to cut them all the way through
Step 6. Chop the vegetables
This process produces small pieces of vegetables that dissolve in the pot once cooked. Garlic is often shredded. To proceed, you must first reduce the vegetable into cubes and then you must shred the cubes several times with the blade to chop it up as much as possible. The result should be coarser than a paste but much smaller than the cubes.
Step 7. Cut to the "chiffonade"
Finely chop the herbs and other green leafy vegetables. This technique allows you to cut leafy vegetables and herbs in general into small even pieces. It is used for garnishes that give the final touch to salads, soups and pasta or meat dishes. Usually the vegetables that are finely chopped most often are spinach and basil. The technique is much simpler than the high-sounding French name suggests.
Roll each vegetable leaf you are cutting very tightly and then cut it at regular intervals. As a result you will get some nice strips of vegetables that you can use to garnish your dishes
Step 8. Julienne the vegetables for the toppings
It is one of the most advanced thin cuts you can learn and is a very nice way to enhance the appearance of a dish or to give it character. If you're feeling ambitious, put the julienne cut into your range of knife skills. The most suitable vegetables are carrots, beets, cucumbers and tubers in general. They must be quite firm to be processed this way, it will probably be impossible for you to julienne a tomato.
The food must be sliced into 3 mm thick pieces and lengthwise. This way you get thin strips that are long, more or less, like the distance between the rivets of your knife
Part 3 of 3: Servicing the Knives
Step 1. Clean the knives with hot water and dish soap
Clean them immediately, after use, with a clean cloth to remove pieces of food and other residues from the blade. The longer the knife remains dirty and damp, the more the steel deteriorates. It is good practice that the blade is dry and clean between uses.
- Wash your knives individually with very hot, soapy water. Be very careful, do not throw a large kitchen knife in the sink and then have to go and fish it out. Knives should never be left to soak for any reason.
- Do not wash kitchen knives in the dishwasher, especially if the handle is made of wood or another material that can become soaked in water.
Step 2. Use the whetstone and care for the blades regularly
This means removing notches, metal burrs and grinding the blade to recalibrate the angle of the wire. This must be done regularly with a steel sharpener at an angle of 20 degrees. If you always use your kitchen knife, it is a good idea to use the whetstone on the blade after each use or at the latest every two.
Step 3. Sharpen the blade about once a year
A blunt knife is a dangerous knife. Kitchen blades must be sharpened with a whetstone at an angle between 20 ° and 23 °. You can get a professional sharpening by spending a few euros for each knife and it is the best way to preserve the high quality blades. Always sharpen the knife in the same direction by applying constant pressure along its entire length.
- If you use the blade very often, it would be best to sharpen it regularly. If you grind carrots every day, you should be able to use the whetstone regularly, but you will need to sharpen it every two months.
- A sharp knife should be able to effortlessly cut through a sheet of paper. If the blade is blunt, the risk of slipping on the vegetables is much higher, so it is really essential to work only with sharp knives. The blunt ones are still sharp enough to hurt your finger, which is why they are more dangerous.
Step 4. Use a plastic or wooden cutting board
Cutting on a granite or slate countertop is the quickest way to ruin both your knives and your beautiful work surfaces. Cutting over a wooden or plastic base is the best precaution to keep the blades in good condition at all times.
Advice
- Learn to sharpen knives.
- Always remember that cordless knives are dangerous.
- If you are capable, use a sharp knife to be faster and not mess.
