Essential Knife Skills You Need to Know

Ready to slice and dice like a culinary ninja? Get ready to sharpen your knife skills and chop your way to kitchen precision. In this post, we'll talk about all the essential knife skills you need to know, from the perfect grip to cutting techniques that will have you chopping like a pro.

I'll be honest - when I first started learning how to cook, I didn't know how to properly use a kitchen knife. It's important to learn these essential knife skills you need to know, in order to improve your efficiency when cooking and baking.

What Knives Do You Need?

There are really only three essential knives you need in a home kitchen: a chef's knife, a paring knife, and a serrated knife. All the rest are for specific types of cooking and food preparation.

If you're going to be butchering your own meat, a cleaver and carving knife could be helpful. If you're preparing your own fish, a boning knife and filet knife may come in handy. But before we get too fancy, let's review the three essential kitchen knives.

1. Chef's Knife

Chef's knives are broad, heavy knives that are usually 6 inches to 12 inches long. They are wildly versatile, since they can be used for anything from chopping through chicken bones to mincing delicate vegetables. 

2. Paring Knife

Paring knives are much smaller than your chef's knife, usually between 2.5 inches to 4 inches long. They’re lightweight and easy to maneuver, so they're great for peeling and deseeding produce. You can also use them to cut smaller items like herbs, garlic, and ginger.

3. Serrated Knife

The serrated edge looks like it has sharp teeth, which makes it great for slicing bread along with tomatoes, tough vegetables, and meat roasts. Similar in length to a chef's knife, they're usually 6 inches to 10 inches long. 

These three essential knives can get pretty much everything done in the kitchen that beginner home cooks may require. 

Kitchen Knife Tips

• Use a sharp knife. A dull knife can actually be more dangerous than a sharp knife. You need to work harder to cut your food, and the knife can slip off hard-to-cut foods like squash or watermelon.
  
• Stabilize your cutting surface. You don’t want to cut on a cutting board that’s wobbly or moving around, since this could cause your knife to slip.
  
  Pro Tip: put a damp paper towel under your cutting board to prevent it from sliding around on your counter.
  
• Cut with confidence, but start slow. You don’t need to be chopping like Gordon Ramsay on the first day. Be deliberate, stay focused, and cut slowly to get the technique right. Safety over speed!
  
• Keep the knife on the board. Keep the front tip of the knife on the cutting board, rather than lifting the whole knife up after each cut. This will prevent your knife from getting higher than your hand, which risks the knife coming down on your fingers.

How to Grip a Knife Properly

1. Hold the handle in your dominant hand like your shaking someone’s hand.
   
2. Fold your fingers around the handle. Your grip should be firm enough that you have full control over the knife, but not so tight that your fingers get tired quickly.
   
3. Pinch the base of the blade with your thumb and the inside knuckle of your forefinger.

Pro Tip: It might take a little getting used to, but this grip allows you the most control over your knife.

How to Hold Food While Cutting with a Knife

Use a “claw grip” to keep your fingers out of your knife's line of fire. Guide the knife blade with your knuckles, and avoid your blade ever coming higher than your knuckles.

Types of Cuts: Sliced vs. Chopped vs. Diced vs. Minced

When I first started learning how to cook, I was so confused by the different descriptions of how to cut food. How big is a slice? How small is a dice? Thankfully, there are approximate measurements for these seemingly obscure descriptions.

Slice

There's no set width for a "slice". Therefore recipes usually dictate the size of slices recommended. Slices are cut straight through the food to create uniform pieces.

Chop

Chopped food is uniform half-inch cubes.

Dice

Diced food is uniform quarter-inch cubes.

Mince

Minced food is basically as small as you can cut something. This method is often used for garlic, ginger, and other aromatics. You can also use a food processor, blender, micro plane, or cheese grater to mince fruits and vegetables. 

Tips for Cutting Common Vegetables

• Tomatoes: Use a sharp serrated knife to easily cut through the skin. A non-serrated knife may press down on the tomato, rather than easily cut through it, causing all the juice to squeeze out.
  
• Onions: I find onions the most dangerous to cut, since halftime I'm cutting blindly, with my eyes full of tears. To prevent yourself from crying while cutting onions, put your onion in the fridge or freezer for at least 15 minutes. And always cut in a well ventilated area. Turning your kitchen vent or a nearby fan on can help.
  
• Garlic: Peel, trim off the hard bottom, then cut garlic cloves according to the recipe. (Usually garlic is minced.) You can peel garlic easily by either using a garlic peeler, or by shaking them in a glass jar with a lid. 
  
• Bell peppers: Slice the top and bottom off a bell pepper. Then use a knife to remove the inner white membrane. You can then lay the bell pepper flat to slice and dice it.
  
• Broccoli: Cut the stems into smaller pieces and cook it with the florets. The stems are just as tasty, but they need to be cut a little smaller since they’re more fibrous. 
  
• Herbs: Roll fresh herbs into a tight bundle, then slice through to avoid bruising them, which can cause herbs to lose their aromatic flavor. Or trim herbs with kitchen scissors directly onto your dish for garnish.