How to Develop Your Knife Skillz at Home
When it comes to special talents, we may not be great jugglers or fantastic on a unicycle, but we do have a few party tricks up our sleeve. We can julienne, brunoise, batonnet, allumette, and chiffonade like pros. Have no idea what these fancy terms mean? We’re talking slicing, dicing, chopping, and cutting; we’re talking knife skillz. With the proper weaponry toolz and hours of perilous careful practice, any enthusiastic amateur can develop Ratatouille-worthy cutting skills.
Firstly, we recommend that every home chef looking to improve his or her chops to acquire at least one dependable chef’s knife. This does need to the fanciest or most expensive utensil in your kitchen (that would be the Batman waffle iron), but it does need to feel comfortable in your hand. We suggest you Goldilocks it: testing the weight and length of a variety of knives will help you find the one that feels just right. Your knife should also be sharp enough that it does not require excessive force to cleanly slice through ingredients. If you find yourself damaging soft-skinned fruits and vegetables like tomatoes as you attempt to chop them, your knife is too dull. A dull knife is not only frustrating to use and genuinely won’t cut it for butternut squash or beet carpaccio; it is hazardous. The most dangerous tool in most kitchens is a dull knife.
Knife sets abound, and they can certainly seem like a bargain compared to an à la carte approach, coming as they often do with their own carrying cases and/or knife holders, but for most home chefs looking to build their arsenals, a set is not as turnkey a solution as it looks. Just as our drawers are filled with neglected pants while our favourite jeans get worn to shreds, most of us will rely heavily upon a few knives from the set– often an 8- or 10-inch chef’s knife, a long serrated knife for bread and soft-skinned, firm-fleshed fruits and vegetables, and a smaller pairing knife– using them until they’re well past dull, and leaving the other, more obscure knives to languish sadly with the apple corers and crème brulé torches of the world. It is often more economical to concentrate your investment on the versatile knives that you’re likely to use frequently, and ensure that you are buying for quality and durability.
Safe slicing and dicing begins with a secure hold on your knife. One of the most common knife handling mistakes is an incorrect knife grip. Hold the knife in your dominant hand, so that the base rests comfortably in your palm, with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers curled around it. These three fingers should be on the handle and behind the bolster of the knife. (FYI: the bolster is the metal area located between the handle and the flared knife blade.) Your thumb and index finger should rest slightly above the bolster, on either side of the blade. Many incorrectly extend the index finger along the top edge of the knife. Instead, your index finger should be curled around the knife, resting at the base of the blade. This grip will provide the most stability and balance for a variety of slicing techniques.
Finally, always ensure you have set up a safe cutting space. This means your cutting board is positioned on a countertop where it will lay flatly without jostling. Your non-dominant hand can rest on the top edge of the blade for precision, or use it to hold whatever food item you are cutting in a claw-like grip, curling fingers inward and away from the sharp blade. For those who, like us, are in this for the shock and awe of friends and party guests, we suggest plenty of pre-party practice to master these techniques (and perhaps demonstrate your skillz early, before the night gets too, ahem, spirited.)
The secret to our knife-related success lies in our extensive study under the culinary direction of the masters at L’École YouTube. Read on for our five favourite at-home lessons:
The Julienne—the French term “julienne” refers to a cutting technique whereby a chef cuts thin “matchstick” style strips that are roughly 1/8-inch thick and 2 ½ inches long. In this webisode of Kitchen Conundrums, “The Trick to a Quick Julienne,” chef Thomas Joseph demonstrates a traditional julienne for viewers, but also presents a practical alternative technique that is faster and results in less food waste.
The Chiffonade—Chef Jon-Paul Hutchins demonstrates two ways to master the chiffonade method on LeCordon Bleu’s official channel. This technique is used to cut leafy vegetables and herbs into thin strips for cooking and garnish.
The Mince—Mincing, or cutting ingredients into very small pieces, is perhaps not as fancy as the julienne or chiffonade, but what the mince lacks in glamour, it makes up for in practicality. Mincing garlic is an essential skill for at-home chefs. Epicurious enlists chef Kelly Senyei to help viewers master the technique on cloves of garlic.
The Onion Chop—who better than Gordon Ramsay to demonstrate how to finely chop an onion, without waste or dreaded tears? The secret to chopping without crying is in the root—leave it intact as you slice, Ramsay instructs.
The Avocado Rose—Avocado roses are trending. Popsugar provides a useful video that will help you quickly create a blooming flower from half an avocado. Cut it, roll it, plate it, snap it, and upload it for instant Insta-admiration.
-GHJC
For Further Reading and Viewing:
Learn more about proper knife selection and grip from The Kitchn, Craftsy, and Serious Eats.
Watch the pros julienne, chiffonade, mince, chop onions, and chop and fold avocado roses.