Knives

Parts of a Knife

A. Point B. Tip C. Blade D. Back

Parts of a Knife

E. Cutting Edge F. Bolster or Shank-spot where the blade and the

handle come together. Prevents food particles from entering the space between the tang and the handle.

G. Heel

Parts of the Knife

H. Rivets-metal pieces that fasten the handle to the tang. Should be smooth and lie flush with the handle’s surface.

I. Handle-can be made of several types of material. J. Tang-part of the blade that continues into the knife’s

handle. Some knives have a full tang and some have a partial tang.

Knife Construction

Metals most often used for knife blades are stainless steel and high-carbon stainless steel.

Stainless steel is a hard durable metal made of chromium and carbon steel. It doesn’t rust or discolor and will not transfer a metallic taste to food. It is hard to sharpen.

Knife Construction

High-carbon stainless steel is a mix of iron, carbon, chromium, and other metals that combine the best features of stainless steel and carbon steel.

It does not rust, discolor, and can be sharpened easily.

High-carbon stainless steel is the most common metal used for knives in the professional kitchen.

Types of Knives

Chef’s Knife Also called a

French Knife is the most important tool in the chef’s tool kit.

Used for peeling, trimming, chopping, slicing and dicing.

Types of Knives

Utility Knife Smaller, but similar in shape to a

chef’s knife. It is an all-purpose knife with a 5-7”

blade. Mainly used for peeling and slicing

fruits and vegetables.

Types of Knives

Slicer Has a long, thin blade

that is ideal for cutting large foods such as meat and poultry.

The blade may be rigid or flexible. It may also be serrated.

Used to slice coarse foods such as bread and cake without tearing.

Types of Knives

Boning Knife A small knife with

a thin, angled 5-7” blade.

Used to remove bones from meat, fish and poultry.

Can also use the knife to trim the fat from meat.

Types of Knives

Paring Knife Has a rigid blade

that is only 2-4” long.

Use the paring knife to pare, or trim off a thin outer layer or peel from fruits and vegetables.

Types of Knives

Tournée Knife Similar in size to

the paring knife. Has a curved blade

that looks like a bird’s beak.

Used to trim potatoes and vegetables into shapes that resemble footballs.

Types of Knives

Fillet Knife Has an 8-9” blade

with a pointed tip. The blade may be

rigid or flexible. Mainly used to

fillet fish.

Types of Knives

Butcher Knife Has a 6-14” rigid

blade whose tip curves up at a 25° angle. It is sometimes called a scimitar because its curved blade resembles a saber by that name.

Used to cut meat, poultry and fish.

Using a Knife Safely

Use the correct knife for the task. Keep knives sharp. A dull knife is

more dangerous than a sharp one. Always cut with the blade facing

away from your body. Always cut on a cutting board. Do

not cut on glass, marble or metal.

Using a Knife Safely

When carrying a knife, hold it point down, parallel and close to your leg as you walk.

A falling knife has no handle. Do not attempt to catch a falling knife; step back and allow it to fall.

When you are passing a knife to someone, lay the knife down on the work surface and pass it by carefully holding the dull side of the blade with the handle facing out toward the other person.

Using a Knife Safely

Never leave a knife in a sink of water; anyone reaching into the sink could be injured or the knife could be dented by pots or other utensils.

Never use a knife to perform inappropriate tasks, such as opening a can or a bottle or prying something apart.

Carefully wipe the blade from its dull side. Do not wash knives in commercial

dishwashers. The heat and harsh chemicals can damage the edge and handle.

Sharpening Knives

Use a sharpening stone called a whetstone to put an edge on a dull knife blade.

To use a whetstone, place the heel of the blade against the whetstone at a 20-degree angle. Press down on the blade while pushing it away from you in one long arc. The entire length of the blade should come in contact with the stone during each sweep.

Sharpening Knives

A steel does not sharpen a knife.

It is used to hone or straighten the blade immediately after and between sharpenings.

Place the blade against the steel at a 20-degree angle. Draw the blade along the entire length of the steel. Repeat several times on each side of the blade.

Gripping the Knife

Grip There are several

ways to grip a knife. Use the grip that is most comfortable for you or the one dictated by the job at hand.

Grip the knife firmly but not so tightly that your hand gets tired.

Avoid placing your index finger on the top of the blade.

Controlling the Knife

To make safe, even cuts, you need to guide the knife with one hand while you hold the food firmly in place with the other hand.

Use the sharp edge of the blade to do the cutting.

Use smooth even strokes and never force the blade through the food.

Controlling the Knife

Keeping your fingers curled back, grip the item being cut with three fingertips and your thumb. Keep the tip of the knife on the board and lift the heel of the knife.

Controlling the Knife

Using the second joint of your index finger as a guide, cut a slice using a smooth, even, downward stroke. Adjust your fingers after each slice.

Controlling the Knife

Knife Cuts

Slicing Use a chef’s knife to cut the food into

large, thin pieces. Slicing is typically used to create

three specialty cuts: Chiffonade, Rondelle, and Diagonal.

Knife Cuts

Chiffonade A preparation of

finely sliced or shredded leafy vegetables used as a garnish or a base under cold presentations.

Knife Cuts

Rondelles Disk-shaped

slices.

Knife Cuts

Diagonals Elongated or oval-

shaped slices of cylindrical vegetables or fruits.

Produced with a cut similar to that used to cut rondelles except that the knife is held at an angle to the item being cut.

Knife Cuts

Horizontal Slicing To horizontal slice

is to butterfly or cut a pocket into meats, poultry or fish.

It is also a method of cutting used to thinly slice soft vegetables.

Knife Cuts

Mincing To cut an item into

very small pieces. The terms finely chopped and minced are often used interchangeably.

Most often used on items such as garlic, shallots, herbs and other foods that do not have to be uniform in shape.

Knife Cuts

Dicing To cut an item into

cubes. Most often used when

uniformity of size and shape is important.

Before an item can be diced, it must be cut into sticks. These sticks are then reduced through dicing.

Use a chef’s knife.

Knife Cuts

Julienne A stick-shaped item

with dimensions of 1/8” thick.

When used with potatoes, this cut is sometimes referred to as an allumette.

A fine julienne has dimensions of 1/16”

Knife Cuts

Batonnet Are thicker than

julienne cuts. Batonnet cuts are

stick-shaped with dimensions of ¼”

Knife Cuts

Cutting Julienne and Batonnet

Knife Cuts

Brunoise A cube shaped

item with dimensions of 1/8”x1/8”.

A 1/16 “ cube is referred to as a fine brunoise.

Knife Cuts

Dice Small dice is ¼” cube

shaped. Medium dice is ½”

cube shaped. Large Dice is ¾” cube

shaped. Paysanne is a flat,

square, round or triangular item with dimensions of ½”x ½” x 1/8”.

Knife Cuts

Dicing an Onion

Knife Cuts

Chopping Garlic

Knife Cuts

Tournée A cutting technique

that results in a foot-ball shaped finished product with seven equal sides and flat ends. The size of the finished product may vary, the most common being 2” long.

Knife Cuts

Parisiennes Small balls or

spheres of fresh melon can be used in fruit salad, while tiny spheres of carrot, turnip, squash can be used as a side dish or to garnish soup or an entrée.

Knife Cuts

A mandoline is a nonmechanical cutting tool.

It does jobs that can be done with a chef’s knife, such as a very thinly sliced apples or large quantities of julienned vegetables quickly, easily, and very accurately.

Storing Knives

Knives must be stored safety to prevent damage to blades or to people.

A good way to store knives is in a slotted knife holder that is hung on the wall, not on the side of a table.

A knife kit is safe storage unit. Custom-built drawers or magnetized

bars are other storage options.

Storing Knives