Knife Skills

This lockdown has made all of us a chef, as a huge amount of us have been cooking home-cooked meals daily to save cost. With that, knife usage is highly likely. Therefore, here are some basic tips that you may have already know of or haven’t that can slightly improve your knife techniques and safety.

Tip 1:  Use the “choke” hold

Normally, we would hold the knife by the handle (which is in fact a big no-no in most knife tips) , as it’s safer to move your grip higher. Your hand should straddle the ridge where the metal meets the handle, with your thumb and index finger grasping the flat edge of the blade. This helps you better balance the weight of the knife and have more control when chopping.

Tip 2: Center yourself

Most of the time, you’ll slice with the center of the blade. But when working with harder-to-cut items, like carrots and bone-in chicken, shift the focus to the back, or “heel,” of the knife to have better leverage when chopping. For delicate items such a small cuts in meat, fish, and vegetables, use the tip rather than the center.

Tip 3: Curl those fingers

Curl your fingertips beneath your knuckles and place them on the food to hold it in place. Then slice so the blade of the knife is alongside your knuckles while your fingers are safely tucked away.