Culinary Demo 1: Knife Skills, Fruits, and Vegetables

Knife skills are one of the most important parts of cooking. The knife can make your prep time shorter, but by going too fast, could result in serious injury. We will give you the knife skills you will need to become comfortable cutting in the kitchen.

Hold Your Knife: The first step in learning how to use your knives is to find the correct grip. For the most control, choke up on the knife, with the thumb and index finger gripping the heel of the blade. Make sure you’re working with a sharp knife.

Use the “Bear Claw:” Proper positioning can protect the fingers. Using the “bear claw” grip to hold the products you are cutting, tuck fingertips in and away from the knife to hold food in place and minimize danger by resting knuckles against the blade. During the upward motion of slicing, reposition your guiding hand for the next cut.

Cutting an Onion: Many chefs lop off both the top and the root end before chopping an onion. However, for the average home cook, we find that leaving the root intact makes it easier to keep the layers together as you make each cut. The distance between the cuts made in steps two through four will determine the size of the final pieces. For chopped or diced onions, leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch between each cut. For minced or finely chopped onions, leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch between each cut.

Step 1: Halve the onion pole to pole—that is, cut through top and root end. Peel onion and trim top. It’s much easier to remove the skin once the onion has been cut.

Step 2: Lay the peeled onion half flat side down on the cutting board. With your hand on top of the onion, make several horizontal cuts from one end to the other, but don’t cut through the root end.

Step 3: Make several vertical cuts. Be sure to cut up to but not through the root end.

Step 4: Rotate onion half so the root end is in back. Slice the onion thin across previous cuts made. Use your knuckle as a guide for the knife while holding the onion with your fingertips. Pull your fingertips in towards your palm, extending the knuckles outward when cutting for more control.