It may be the No. 1 thing you can do to help you cook comfortably: Learn how to cut like a chef. Learning the proper knife techniques will keep you safe and get the work done more quickly.
Before you start, remember that a sharp knife will always be safer than a dull one. Sharpness will ease your movements, instead of making you force your way and fumble.
Most chefs can cut a carrot at 300 slices a minute, all while watching TV from across the room. This is not because they are magicians, although some of them seem to be. Rather, chefs learn early the golden rule of cutting: safety before rapidity. Experience is what increases speed.
First, you need a good cutting board (no glass boards, please!) and a chef's knife, which has a broad, tapered shape and a fine, sharp edge. Its blade ranges in length from 6 to 12 inches and measures at least 11/2 inches at the widest point. It is designed so it rocks on a cutting board as it cuts food.
Your chef's knife has to be a serious, capable kitchen tool, not a dull piece of scrap. Make sure you pay the price, as this is the most important and most often used utensil in the kitchen. A good knife can last a lifetime.
These instructions are for right-handers; left-handed cooks will invert these directions. Let's first dissociate your hands. Your hands will have to work together, yet follow different techniques.
Your left hand is a guide. Put your inner wrist and the tips of your joined fingers in contact with the cutting board. The second set of knuckles is vertical, and will later let the side blade of the knife come in contact with it. The left hand should be a solid block, and will remain in the same position at all times. Make sure your thumb is tucked safely behind your fingers, as this is a common mistake among novice cooks.
The right hand works independently - yet in harmony - with the left. Hold the chef knife as close to the blade as possible, for increased control. You may even want to put your index finger knuckle over the blade-handle joint, as illustrated in the accompanying photo.
Now that your hands have recipes for success, they need to come together. Your left hand is on the board, and your arm from elbow to hand is parallel to the edge of the table. The left, flat side of the blade comes in contact with your left hand knuckles. You should feel the metal comfortably touching your outer fingers. At all times during cutting, slicing or chopping the knife should be in contact with, and guided by, your left hand. This is your insurance. Do not forget this rule.
With the left hand functioning as a guide, the right hand can start moving. In a smooth motion similar to the wheel system of a train engine, you cut by pushing forward, then lift the back of the blade away from the board and back. And so on. Note that the blade tip stays in contact with the board, and your left hand. Before you give your next cut, your left hand will have moved slightly left on the carrot, or whatever you are slicing. Again, the left hand is the guide and therefore decides the thickness of each of the slices.
To maintain your knives, which is what makes all this chopping so easy, take them to a specialist. Alternatively, use a good sharpening device, like a ceramic whetstone or an electric sharpener like those sold in kitchen stores.
Note that a steel does not sharpen your blade per se. It only maintains the sharpness by removing the microscopic burrs and returning the blade to its original condition. Either way, you will need to sharpen the blade after a while.
There you have it, folks, as Emeril would say. You now have a few weeks of practice, until my upcoming column on dicing.
- Chef Gui Alinat welcomes questions about cooking and will respond to those of general interest in future columns. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or answer individual requests. Send questions to him in care of Taste, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail him at chefgui@chefgui.com Please include your name and city of residence.
CHEF DEMONSTRATION
Gui Alinat will demonstrate seafood preparation at 7 tonight at the Reef Seafood Market, 17811 Gulf Blvd., Redington Shores. Hors d'oeuvres and wine available. Price is $30. Call (727) 391-2000 to RSVP.
