Knife Skills 12

Objective Prepare a workstation for knife work.

Preparing the Workstation Follow these steps to prepare your workstation: Select a cleaned and sanitized cutting board Place a damp towel between the cutting board and worktable to prevent the board from shifting Adjust the height of the worktable and cutting board as necessary continued

Preparing the Workstation Select the appropriate knife and make sure the edge is sharp Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and weight evenly distributed on both feet facing the worktable

Objective Execute the proper technique for cutting with a chef’s knife.

Using the Chef’s Knife The chef’s knife is the most important knife in the kitchen A chef’s knife can be used to chop, slice, cut, and mince a wide range of foods The most common sizes are 8- and 10-inch knives

The Knife Grip Grip the knife with your dominant hand Grasp the portion of the knife blade just next to the end of the handle with the thumb and forefinger continued

The Knife Grip Wrap remaining fingers comfortably around the handle

The Guiding Hand Positioning the guiding hand Curl fingertips under slightly to protect the fingertips Place your thumb and pinkie finger behind the other fingers to grasp the object during cutting

The Cutting Motion The knife stroke used with a chef’s knife is a combination of a downward and forward motion Begin your stroke with the tip of the chef knife pointed toward the cutting board The knife glides forward as the handle of the knife descends toward the cutting board

Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife Position guiding hand on one or more smaller objects. Thumb and pinkie are holding the object(s) securely and are behind the other fingers. Front fingers are curved. Finger position determines the location of the cut. continued

Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife Place flat side of chef’s knife against middle joint of the front fingers of the guiding hand. The knife blade should be resting on the object(s). continued

Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife Gently glide chef’s knife in a forward and down motion until the entire blade of the knife is resting on the cutting board. The object(s) should be completely cut. continued

Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife Lift the back end of the knife so the tip remains pointing down. Slide guiding hand to the location of the next cut. Verify the position of the guiding hand and begin again at step one.

Objective Execute the three basic knife cuts.

Basic Knife Cuts Foodservice professionals must be able to produce consistently cut shapes The three basic knife cuts are slice stick dice Chefs become proficient at producing basic knife cuts with practice

Slices Slices should be the same thickness Rondelles are often ¼-inch (6 mm) thick Lightly trim one side of the food so one side is flat to prevent rolling while cutting

Sticks Most common stick cuts Batonnet (bat ohn AY) — 2 x 1/4 x 1/4 inches (50 x 6 x 6 mm) Julienne (joo lee EHN) — 2 x 1/8 x 1/8 inches (50 x 3 x 3 mm)

Dices To make a dice, cut across stick cuts to make cubes Most common dice cuts Large dice Medium dice Small dice continued

Dices Most common dice cuts (continued) Brunoise (broon WAHZ) Paysanne (pay ZAHN)

Technique: Preparing Stick and Dice Cuts Trim food item so it is flat on one side. Trim the other five sides of the food to create a rectangular box. continued

Technique: Preparing Stick and Dice Cuts Cut lengthwise slices according to the thickness required for the specific stick cut. continued

Technique: Preparing Stick and Dice Cuts Cut each slice lengthwise into uniformly sized sticks based on the dimensions of the desired stick cut. continued

Technique: Preparing Stick and Dice Cuts Cut sticks into cubes to create dice cuts.

Mincing The chef’s knife is also used for mincing foods, such as fresh herbs, garlic, and olives Remove food that sticks to the blade during mincing by dragging a finger from the back of the knife toward the edge Drag the knife blade across the cutting board to push food back into a neat pile

Technique: Mincing Place tip of knife on cutting board. Place guiding hand on the back of the tip of the knife. Keep fingers of the guiding hand away from the blade. continued

Technique: Mincing To mince a product, lower and raise the chef knife repeatedly while pivoting the knife on the rounded front section of the blade.

Objective Apply the correct techniques for using a boning knife.

Using the Boning Knife There are three methods for gripping a boning knife All fingers grip the handle of the knife continued

Using the Boning Knife All fingers except the index finger grip the handle. Index finger rests on the back of the blade. continued

Using the Boning Knife 3. All fingers wrap around the handle with the blade pointing down. continued

Using the Boning Knife The guiding hand manipulates the fish or meat during the cutting process A cut-resistant glove may reduce the chance of an accident

Objective Demonstrate the correct use of a paring knife.

Using the Paring Knife The paring knife can be used for a wide variety of small tasks such as carving, trimming, or peeling vegetables and fruits making the classical knife cut called a tourné

Technique: Preparing Vegetable Tournés Cut the vegetable to approximate desired length of the tourné. Hold trimmed vegetable in the guiding hand. continued

Technique: Preparing Vegetable Tournés Place thumb of the knife hand on or near the end of the vegetable. Make one continuous cut starting at the top of the vegetable drawing the knife toward the bottom in a slightly rounded fashion. continued

Technique: Preparing Vegetable Tournés Turn vegetable 1/7th revolution and make another cut. Right-handed cooks turn the vegetable counterclockwise, while left-handed cooks turn the vegetable clockwise. Finished tourné should have seven equal sides.

Objective Implement the proper technique when using a slicer or serrated bread knife.

Using the Slicer and Serrated Bread Knife To use a slicer or serrated bread knife, wrap your hand around the handle with no fingers on the blade use a long, sawing motion with minimal downward pressure

Review Describe the procedures for preparing a workstation for knife work Clean and sanitize cutting board; place damp towel between cutting board and worktable to prevent board from shifting; adjust height of worktable or cutting board, if necessary; select appropriate knife; use correct stance continued

Review Explain the proper technique for cutting with a chef knife When cutting, fingertips of the guiding hand are curled under for safety and accuracy Guiding hand guides the knife as it makes uniform cuts using a smooth, forward and downward motion continued

Review What types of knife cuts are made with the chef’s knife? Slices, sticks, dices, mince continued

Review Describe the proper technique for using a boning knife All fingers grip handle; all fingers grip handle except for index finger resting on back of blade; or all fingers wrap around handle with blade pointing down During cutting, the guiding hand maneuvers the food item being cut continued

Review What is the paring knife commonly used for? carving, peeling, trimming, and making tournés continued

Review Explain the correct technique for cutting with a slicer or serrated bread knife Sawing motion with little downward pressure; product should not be smashed