MAXIMIZING YOUR KNIFE SKILLS Elevating your culinary excellence

Video By: Chef Erica | Article By: Chef Kendra

To maximize your home cooking experience, learning the culinary basics are essential to building confidence and proficiency in the kitchen. If you’re new to cooking, the kitchen can be an intimidating place — but it doesn’t have to be. Here, in the Prairie Street Culinary Kitchen we strive to replace any anxiety or fear with excitement and curiosity. When your toolkit is filled with knowledge, cooking becomes fun — not a chore.

Let’s start with the cook’s ultimate tool: the Chef’s Knife. In our Knife Skills video we go into depth on things like sharpening and caring for your knife, but let this article serve as a quick guide on how to hold your knife and a few iconic cuts. If you want, follow along with our video so you can practice alongside the instruction as we demonstrate how to dice an onion, mince some garlic, and chiffonade parsley.

You & Your knife

1

Start by wrapping your three lower fingers (pinky, ring, and middle) around the handle of your knife and then grip the blade at the heel with your index finger and thumb.

2

Be sure to choke up on the blade with a firm pinch as this will give you the power and control you need when chopping.

3

Your freehand will be managing the food. Use “spider fingers” to keep your knuckles curled and fingers tucked so you cut your food, not your fingers!

If you want, follow along with our video so you can practice alongside my instruction as I demonstrate how to dice an onion, mince some garlic, and chiffonade parsley.

— Chef Erica

Bete’avon !

— Bon Appétit !

Dice

Dicing is similar to chopping, except it is more precise. While some recipes will specify a size for the dice, most dice cuts are typically about a ½ inch cube — the size of a die — and are consistent in size and neat in appearance. The purpose for dicing is so the ingredients cook and appear in a uniform way allowing for even distribution of flavor and texture.

Pro Tips

from CHEF KENDRA

How you approach dicing a vegetable or fruit is first dertermined by the shape of the ingredient. Regardless if round, long, or whatever, the goal is to first start by creating a flat surface of the food. From there, you’ll want to cut those pieces into evenly sized planks or sticks (known as batonnet). Finally, cut down the batonnets into your desired dice.

Mince

Mincing can quickly be done using a food processor; however, a sharp knife and a steady rocking motion will keep you in control and cut down on unnecessary dishes. Mincing releases the maximum amount of flavor from an ingredient because it creates the most surface area and therefor exposes the highest amount of essential oils. The motion can be done by placing a flat hand on the top of the knife while moving the knife over the chopped pile.

Pro Tip

from CHEF KENDRA

Want a big garlicky flavor? Take your mince to the next level. Create a garlic paste by adding a little coarse kosher salt and running the flat of your blade over the minced garlic until a smooth paste forms.

Chiffonade

We love a good ol’ chiffonade! It’s a delicate garnish and a lovely way to finish your dish with a last pop of flavor. Chiffonade is a basic cut used to finely slice herbs (including basil, sage, mint, spinach, lettuce, etc.) into long, thin strips — or ribbons. First, stack your herbs or leafy greens into a neat pile. Next, roll your pile of herbs or leafy greens into a tight, cigar-like shape. Finally, run your knife through the tightly rolled-up leaves using a perpendicular slicing motion — being careful to keep your slices very thin. Sprinkle your green ribbons as the finishing touch to your dish.

Pro Tips

from CHEF KENDRA

Make sure your herbs and leafy greens are completely dry before you begin the chiffonade. If wet, they have a tendency to stick and clump together.

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