What Are the Proper Uses of Kitchen Knives?
Not only are kitchen knives useful tools, working with them safely is important. They will make you a more effective home chef or, if you are in culinary school, a professional chef. It is important to use kitchen knives properly to cut and chop different types of food. This article will explain different foods you can cut and how to use a kitchen knife to cut them. Does this Spark an idea?
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Kitchen Knives
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There are variety of different types of kitchen knives that are useful. There are paring, chopping, steak/cutting and bread knives. All of these knives have different types of blades and provide different types of cutting capability. Cutting bread is best with a bread knife due to the "teeth" that cut through softer material; fruit is also a good food to cut with a bread knife.
Proper Sharpening of Kitchen Knives
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Prior to using a kitchen knife for preparing food, it is important to ensure the knife is properly sharpened. A dull blade could lead to the knife slipping against tougher or softer foods and causing a potential injury to the operator. When cutting a tomato or a similar food, it is important to have sharp knives because you can mangle the food if the knife can't make it through the food evenly.
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Holding Kitchen Knives
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It is important that prior to chopping and preparing food, the operator is holding the knife correctly. The picture demonstrates a proper hold on a kitchen knife to prevent catching a finger or thumb under the blade.
To dice food with a kitchen knife, it is important to remember to hold the knife this way so that you can get a good rhythm with the knife and ensure an even chopping/dicing of the food item.
Applying Kitchen Knives
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Using a kitchen knife of any type is easy. It's important to remember to protect your fingers. A minor slip with a kitchen knife due to mishandling or protruding digits can lead to deep cuts and injuries. Make sure you hold the knife as mentioned above and apply it to the food you are cutting against a curled fist of fingers. This ensures your fingers are held toward your palm and away from the sharp blade.
You can use a curled fist or comfortable variation of this on any food you are cutting or chopping. When skinning fish or working with complicated cuts of meat, it is important to keep your fingers on the underside of the meat or flat on top of the fish to protect yourself from injury. It is also important to use a gutting knife that is extra sharp to cut fish and tougher cuts of meat.
Cleaning and Storing Kitchen Knives
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Cleaning and storing kitchen knives is important to proper use. When cleaning them, it is important to face the blade away from you to ensure it doesn't slip and cause and injury. It is also important to store knives in a knife block. Storing them in a drawer could cause injury if someone is retrieving them.
Common Sense for Proper Use
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It's important to note that many kitchen knives serve multi-functional purpose. Always use common sense when using a knife. If it slips or is not cutting properly, think about the type of food you are cutting and try another knife.
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