If you are a newbie in the kitchen, learning how to use a kitchen knife properly and choosing the best equipment to get your job done is an important way to add to your cooking experience and do it comfortably. Learn how to choose the right knife for the job, use it properly, and care for the knives you have.
If you're interested in using survival knives, throwing knives, or fighting knives, check out the related articles on wikiHow to learn tips and techniques.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Knife
Step 1. Purchase a utility knife
If you only have room for one knife in your kitchen, use a standard knife. This knife is great for cutting, slicing, and making a variety of other cuts. A quality all-purpose knife is the most practical tool you can use in the kitchen. Even if your other utensils are cheap and not great, one good kitchen knife can keep you going.
There is no such thing as a “best knife” or a knife that is perfect for the kitchen. If you're in the market for a knife, consider buying one good knife and an additional one that's cheaper. You can cut in a variety of ways in the kitchen using just a standard knife, about 12.7 cm long, triangular in shape, and made of stainless steel or other material
Step 2. Use a chef's knife to cut and slice
A chef's knife is also commonly referred to as a "kitchen knife" and is used for heavy work. For some cooks, a good chef's knife is the only tool needed in the kitchen, which is useful for cutting fruit into small pieces, crushing garlic, and chopping onions.
Kitchen knives can be made of ceramic, metal, or a variety of polycarbonate blends. Western-style kitchen knives are usually wider and used for cutting, while Japanese-style kitchen knives are slimmer and usually use a strong metal
Step 3. Use a paring knife to peel the fruit and vegetables
A paring knife is a common kitchen tool, usually a little small and used for peeling and slicing. However, this knife is not used for cutting or doing heavy work in the kitchen that requires a knife.
A paring knife is suitable for fresh fruit and is useful for peeling apples, pears, or fruit with a single seed
Step 4. Use a bread knife to slice
A serrated knife is useful for slicing knives. Toasting fine brown bread and crushing it with a kitchen knife as you cut it is extremely frustrating. The serrated knife is also suitable for slicing meat and other foods, so it can be a useful addition to the kitchen.
Step 5. Choose a knife with good weight and balance
A good multipurpose knife has a good balance of weight and balance between the blade and the handle, as well as the metal that extends to the handle of the knife. The best knives should be made of one type of metal and should be balanced. Try the knife by balancing it on top of your finger, at the top of the handle. A good knife should feel solid in your hand, so you can start using it.
Part 2 of 3: Using a Kitchen Knife
Step 1. Learn how to hold a kitchen knife properly
Hold the kitchen knife as if you wanted to shake the knife handle. When you lift a kitchen knife, your index finger should be on the outside of the blade (on the flat side) and your middle, ring, and pinky fingers should be on the top of the handle on the blade. The knife should be parallel to your body. This grip is called a pinch grip, and is a great way to hold the knife, as it provides optimal control and accuracy for your cut. Since your finger is closer to the blade, you can control it better and make it point in the direction you want.
- When you hold a knife, always point the tip and blade down for safety. Kitchen knives must always remain sharp, so be careful when near kitchen knives.
- Many inexperienced cooks use a "hammer grip" when lifting knives. This grip is done with four fingers apart from the thumb holding the handle, with the blades pointing outward and perpendicular to their bodies. It shouldn't be like this, you'll look like Jason from Friday the 13th when you hold a kitchen knife this way.
Step 2. Learn how to cut properly
The first step in learning how to use a kitchen knife properly is cutting. While there are several different types of cuts, there are basic guidelines that beginners can learn and follow. Learning how to keep your main finger secure and to cut properly is essential to maintaining safety in the kitchen.
- In the cutting method using the tip of the knife as a support, the tip of your knife will never leave the cutting mat. You will use the tip of the knife as a support to lift the blade up and down, then forcefully push the knife down against the food you are cutting.
- In a cutting method that uses the wrist for support, the black side of the blade, which is close to where you hold it, will never leave the cutting mat, and the blade will rise and fall from its rear pivot to cut food. This method is commonly used when chopping garlic or other vegetables.
- Never slap your knife on a chopping mat to chop vegetables. There's no reason to do this. This is dangerous and can dull your knife.
Step 3. Learn how to direct food properly
Hold the knife in your dominant hand and form the other hand in a claw position. Make sure all your fingers are bent inward. Practice using carrots or onions and placing your paws over the food you want to chop. Place the flat side of the blade against the clenched side of your claw, with the fist going in without blocking anything. Aim the food under the knife with your claws and use the blade with your dominant hand.
Many chefs like to show off by doing this quickly. What they do looks dangerous and cool. While this is the "proper" method of cutting, the pointing finger adjacent to the knife makes many cooks tense. It's safer than having your fingers out and about, but it will take a lot of practice to get used to it. Do what you feel comfortable doing and do it slowly until you gain experience
Step 4. Learn how to cut the top and tail
Cutting round or circular objects can be dangerous, which is why a flat surface is used for chopping, slicing, or doing any type of cut to work your vegetables and fruits. Top and tail cutting is a way of cutting the bottom and ends of an object, which is sometimes dried or thin, to produce a flat surface on which to work.
Potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and anything else that is round should be cut top and tail before you begin. Hold the vegetables firmly on each side then cut off the ends and remove them. The usual way to cut tomatoes is to divide them in half, then chop or dice each part separately
Step 5. Use these dice pieces to produce smaller pieces of the same size
Chopped vegetables are cut into bite-sized pieces, while these vegetables are much smaller, usually in squares measuring a few centimeters (dice). Small dice are usually uniform in size, and these can be obtained by slicing vegetables and fruit before cutting them at right angles.
Slice the vegetables in both directions at equal intervals, then dice with a knife at an angle perpendicular to your slices
Step 6. Chop the vegetables to dissolve them
Chopping here refers to cutting vegetables and other products into very small pieces so that they dissolve in the pan when you cook them. Garlic is also usually chopped. To chop something up, you have to cut it into cubes, then beat your knife rapidly over the pile of dice a few times, to make the smallest possible pieces. The end result should be slightly coarser than pasta and much smaller than a dice.
Step 7. Use the Chiffonade technique for herbs and other leafy greens
This technique produces uniform curls of greens and fresh herbs, and is commonly used to slice garnishes as a finishing touch for salads, soups, and grilled meats or pastas. Spinach and basil are probably the two vegetables most often cut in a chiffonade way. This way of cutting is actually much simpler than its name (which comes from French) suggests.
To cut in the chiffonade method, you will need to roll each leaf of the vegetable you are going to cut into very small rolls and then cut them evenly. The result will be a beautiful, flat strip of vegetables that you can use to decorate your food
Step 8. Use the Julienne technique on vegetables to decorate
Julienne is one of those expert cutting techniques you can learn and it's a fun way to make food interesting or make decorations. If you have ambitions to produce good work, do the julienne with the knife trick. Carrots, beets, cucumbers, and root vegetables are usually julienned. Vegetables should be firm enough to cut. Tomatoes may not be julienned.
Cut the food you want to cut into equal-sized pieces that are 0.3 cm thick, then stack the pieces together and slice them into thin strips. Each cut should be about the space between the rivets on your knife
Part 3 of 3: Caring for Knives
Step 1. Clean the knife with dish soap and warm water after use
Immediately wipe the knife after use with a clean towel to remove food residue from the knife blade. The longer a knife is wet and dirty, the lower the quality of the blade and metal will be. Keep the knife clean and dry before reuse.
- Wash the knife yourself using warm, soapy water and be careful. Don't throw kitchen knives at the bottom of the sink until you have a hard time finding them. The knife does not need to be soaked for any reason.
- Do not use the dishwasher to wash knives, especially if the handle is made of wood or other material that absorbs water.
Step 2. Sharpen the blade regularly
Sharpening a knife involves the process of removing cracks, burrs, and damage to the blade to rearrange the angle of the tip. This should be done with a metal blade at an angle of 20 degrees, regularly. If you use your knife a lot in the kitchen, it's best if you sharpen it after every use or after a few uses.
Step 3. Sharpen the knife regularly
A dull knife is a dangerous knife. Kitchen knives need to be sharpened on the whetstone at an angle between 20 and 23 degrees. You can have your knife professionally sharpened by paying a few tens of thousands of rupiah for a knife, and it's a great way to sharpen your knife if you have several high-quality knives. Always sharpen the blades in the same direction using even pressure and long, even strokes.
- If you use your knife more often, it will be more appropriate to sharpen your knife regularly. If you cut carrots with your kitchen knife every day, you may need to sharpen the knife more regularly. If you cut carrots with your kitchen knife every day, you should maintain their usefulness by sharpening them regularly, perhaps every two months.
- A sharp kitchen knife can cut a sheet of paper easily. If your knife is dull, there's a greater risk of slipping when cutting vegetables and causing the knife to hit your hand, so know that it's important to use a sharp knife. A dull knife is still sharp enough to cut your finger and that makes it more dangerous.
Step 4. Use a cutting mat made of wood or plastic
Cutting on stone or granite is a fast track to damage to the knife, as well as destroying your fine cutting surface. Cutting on a wooden or plastic surface is the best way to maintain the performance of your knife.
Tips
- Learn how to sharpen a knife.
- Know that a dull knife is a dangerous knife.
- If you can afford it, use a sharp knife to speed up the cut and get a less messy finish.
