How to Use a Chef Knife Easily- Best Practice
- Published: October 28, 2021
- Last Modified: May 13, 2022
Whether you are a novice or professional chef, a chef knife helps you to serve healthy fresh fruits and vegetables. Despite the variety of knives available, you should have a set of knives, no matter what type of cooking you are going to implement. The only skill you need is how to use a chef knife.
What is a Chef Knife and What is it Used For?
A chef knife is used for food preparation. It is called a cook’s knife. A chef knife’s blade is usually 8 inches in length and 1.5 inches in width. The blade of a chef’s knife is made of stainless steel, carbon steel, a combination of both stainless steel and carbon, or ceramic. Chose the best chef knife for your daily use.
There are two common types of western chef’s knives, French and German. German- Style knives are curved along with the whole cutting edge while the French- Style knives are straighter until the end but the tip is curved.
The Japanese Santoku knife is smaller, lighter, and has a sharp edge along with a different blade shape. The Chinese chef’s knife is different from other Western chef’s knives and resembles a cleaver. A modern chef knife uses for multi-purpose tasks. Knife cutting techniques are used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, fruit, and meat.
How to Hold a Chef’s Knife
Are you not sure how to hold a knife and how to use a chef knife? Are you a novice with a knife hand? Don’t get worried! A chef knife is an asset at a culinary school and when accurately held and wielded. It is a little bit frustrating to use the wrong tool to prepare food. It is said that practice generates familiarity, with familiarity generates skill.
Learning how to use a chef knife properly can keep you and your fingers safe. Apart from this, practice will help you to chop or slice food quickly and easily.
There are two ways of holding a chef’s knife. (a) The handle grip and
(b) The blade grip.
There are two ways of holding a chef’s knife. (a) The handle grip and
(b) The blade grip.
The handle Grip or All-Purpose Grip:
Place your dominant hand around the handle where the metal meets the handle. This spot of a knife is called a bolster.
Pros
Cons
The Blade Grip or Pinch grip
The second blade grip is preferable to those who have some experience. The thumb and the index finger are placed in front of the bolster on the blade.to stabilize the knife while cutting. It seems a little freaky but it’s a controlled grip.
Pros
Cons
How to Use Manual Knife Sharpener Chef’s Choice
Your chef knife is an asset to you. A sharp knife cuts well. On the other hand, using a dull knife is hazardous and cuts food unevenly. Cutting with a dull knife is not only hazardous but also can be dangerous. If you use a dull chef knife, you have to put extra pressure than necessary that may damage your knife, produce poor results, increase the chances of injury happening.
Knowing how to sharpen kitchen knives and how to use a chef knife is a genuine art form. To sharpen your chef knife, you need time and practice along with general knowledge.
There are many manual knife sharpeners available in the market. Among them, Whetstone or Waterstone is the best. While sharpening, you have to maintain the angle between 15 to 22 degrees. If you are ignorant or simply do not know how to sharpen a chef knife, you may damage your blade.
How to Slice with a Chef Knife
Place your cutting board in a stable position. To avoid slipping, you can use a wet towel underneath the cutting board.
To cut large vegetables and fruits, slicing is commonly used. First, you have to stabilize the ingredients on your cutting board. If the vegetables or fruits are round, cut them in half or slice a small piece off the top or bottom so that they can lie flat on your cutting board.
To slice, place the tip of your knife against the board in front of your fruit or vegetable. Then you have to push a rocking motion back and forth to complete the slice. The tip of the knife should have adhered with the board, and the whole motion should be circular while cutting.
How to Chop with a Chef Knife
If you want to cut your food into small precise pieces, chopping is the way to go. Chopping somehow resembles slicing in reverse. Learning how to use a knife like a chef is an essential skill in food preparation.
Professional and home cooks alike need to master how to use a chef knives to make decadent dishes. If you don’t know knife cutting techniques, your dish’s outcome may go in vain.
The skills on how to chop with a knife hand can be summed up in two ways.
Grip:
A chef grip is necessary when learning how to use a chef knife. Your index finger and the thumb should meet on either side of the handle. Your other fingers should be curled on the bottom part of the handle. The force should come from your index finger and the thumb.
Guiding hand:
Use your guiding hand to prevent food from slipping. It helps you to keep the food in place while chopping.
To chop food, here are some ways on how to use a chef knife.
- Be sure that your knife is sharp. Dull knives cut food unevenly.
- Make sure that your cutting board is slip-resistant.
- Always use a cutting board while chopping.
- Chop Uniformly up and down with your dominant hand.
How to Mince with a Chef Knife
One of the basic skills of any cook is a rough chop. Mincing is simple and most of the cooks do it without realizing or even needing to be taught. Mincing means chopping a step further by breaking down those roughly cut pieces into a very fine cut.
Garlic, shallots, herbs like jalapenos, capers, and olives are especially minced. Actually, any kind of vegetables can be minced. Mincing helps to infuse the flavors into your dishes more evenly and enhances overall quality.
Mincing is an easy knife cutting technique that will teach you how to use a chef’s knife to mince rapidly like a professional chef.
- Be sure that you have selected the right knife for mincing.
- Select a smaller chef’s knife which is an all-purpose tool used for a variety of knife cutting techniques.
- Next, wash your knife in hot or soapy water to kill any germs or bacteria that can contaminate your food ingredients.
- Then cut the vegetables into small, precise pieces.
- Gather your diced ingredients into a small pile on a cutting board.
- Rock the knife back and forth across the pile of vegetables until the vegetables appear small.
- If you see the vegetables releasing liquid, stop cutting. You never want them to become a paste.
Additional Tips:
A high-quality sharp knife is an important tool to implement your cooking tasks. It is a precious tool for a professional chef. It serves a multi-purpose function with ease and comfort. Proper care and maintenance will ensure its longevity and performance.
Here are some additional tips below on how to hold a knife and how to use a chef knife-
- Always hold your knife with your dominant hand.
- Use a cutting board to slice, chop, mince, and dice vegetables and meat.
- Wash your knives with soapy water.
- Avoid using dull knives.
- Don’t use your palm as a cutting board.
- Be sure that your cutting board is stable.
- Don’t drag your knife against the cutting board.
- Don’t keep submerged your knife in water with other dishes.
- Preserve your knives in a safe place.
Conclusion
Now you are knowledgeable about how to use a chef knife.to prepare delicious dishes. Sharp knives are crucial in every kitchen.
Chopping, Slicing, Dicing, Mincing vegetables, and Meat are essential skills for a cook. Doing otherwise can damage your dishes. Using dull knives can lead to accidents and injuries.
At the same time, proper maintenance and storage will increase the sustainability and longevity of your knife.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does a Chef Knife look like?
Ans: A chef’s knife blade is usually 8 inches in length and 1.5 inches in width although the range varies from 6 to 14 inches.
Q: What are 5 safety points to remember when working with knives?
The five safety tips are:
a) Use a sharp knife. b) Secure your cutting board. c) Hold the knife with your dominant hand. e) Wear Gloves. f) Keep Patient.
Q: Can a chef knife do everything?
Ans: A chef knife is an important tool to a chef. It is used for chopping, slicing, dicing, mincing vegetables and meat. You can use a chef knife for anything you want to do.
Q: What is the most versatile Knife?
Ans: A chef knife is one of the most versatile knives in your kitchen. It is an all-purpose knife used for a variety of tasks.
Q: Are dull knives more dangerous than Sharp?
Ans: A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife. If you use a dull knife, you have to put more pressure to cut which increases the chances of injury happening.