Basic Knife Skills Family Consumer Science Annual Meeting

Holding the Knife The thumb grips the knife around the top of the blade, with the hand wrapped around the bolster of the knife The index finger and thumb should be opposite each other on either side of the blade while the remaining three fingers are sort of loosely curled around the handle.

Holding the Knife

Cutting Vegetables and Herbs Basic Knife Cuts Include: Chopping, Chiffonade, Dicing, Diamond, Mincing, Julienne and Batonnet, Paysanne, Rondelle, bias, oblique, or roll cuts

Standard Vegetable Cuts Before chopping or cutting, remove roots, cores, stems, ribs, and/or seeds Cut a slice from each side and both ends of the vegetable to make an even rectangular solid or cube

Mincing/ Chiffonade and Shredding Finely mince the herbs by continuing to cut until the desired fineness is attained Green onions and chives are sliced very thin rather than minced The chiffonade cut is used for leafy vegetables and herbs Make parallel cuts lengthwise to produce a shred For greens with large leaves, such as romaine, roll individual leaves into cylinders before cutting crosswise

Julienne and Batonnet Long rectangular cuts – Difference between the cuts is the final size – Square off the vegetable, then slice the vegetable lengthwise, making cuts of even thickness – Stack the cut slices, aligning the edges, and make even parallel cuts of the same thickness for batonnet – Thinner slices in both directions make julienne – To dice, gather batonnet or julienne and cut them crosswise into even intervals

Other Vegetable Cuts Paysanne style used in dishes for rustic appeal – Square off vegetable, make large batnonet- make even parallel cuts crosswise to produce paysanne cut Rounds are cutting cylindrical vegetables crosswise Oblique cuts are used primarily for long, cylindrical vegetables such as parsnips or carrots – Roll vegetable a quarter turn slice through it on the same diagonal-forming a piece with two angled edges