To maximize your home cooking experience...
Learning the culinary basics is essential to building confidence and proficiency in the kitchen. If you’re new to cooking, the kitchen can be an intimidating space, but it doesn’t have to be. Here in the Prairie Street Culinary Kitchen, we strive to replace anxiety or fear with excitement and curiosity. When your toolkit is filled with knowledge, cooking becomes fun—not a chore.
Let’s start with the cook’s ultimate tool — the Chef’s Knife.
In our Knife Skills video I go into depth on things like sharpening and caring for your knife, but let this article serve as a quick guide on how to hold your knife and a few iconic cuts. If you want, follow along with our video so you can practice alongside my instruction as I demonstrate how to dice an onion, mince some garlic, and chiffonade parsley—and then print out the next page as a reference.
Photo Courtesy of: Prairie Street
Holding your knife
Whether you prefer an 8 to 10-inch Chef’s Knife or a Sontuko Knife, it’s important that you work with an instrument that comfortably fits in your hand. Start by wrapping your three lower fingers (pinky, ring, and middle) around the handle of your knife, and then grip the blade at the heel with your index finger and thumb. Be sure to choke up on the blade with a firm pinch, as this will give you the power and control you need when chopping. Your free hand will be managing the food. Use “spider fingers” to keep your knuckles curled and fingers tucked so you cut your food, not your fingers!
Dice
Dicing is similar to chopping, except it is more precise. While some recipes will specify a size for the dice, most dice cut is typically about a ½ inch cube—the size of a die—that is consistent in size and neat in appearance. The purpose of dicing is so the ingredients cook and appear in a uniform way, allowing for an even distribution of flavor and texture. How you approach dicing a vegetable or fruit is first determined by the shape of the ingredient. Regardless of whether it is round or long, the goal is to first start by creating a flat surface of the food. From there, you’ll want to cut those pieces into evenly sized planks or sticks (known as batonnet). Finally, cut down the batonnets into your desired dice.
Illustration Courtesy of: Prairie Street
Mince
Mincing can quickly be done using a food processor; however, a sharp knife and a steady rocking motion will keep you in control and cut down on unnecessary dishes. Mincing is a technique that allows the maximum amount of flavor to infuse into the dish you are cooking. This is because it exposes the most surface volume of the ingredient, which exposes the highest amount of essential oils from that ingredient. Take garlic for example, if I want only a hint of garlic flavor in my dish, I’ll just gently break it with the side of my knife and add it to my dish whole. If I want a big garlicky flavor, however, I’ll smash the garlic, chop it, and then run my knife over it until it is fine. The motion can be done by placing a flat hand on the top of the knife while moving the knife over the chopped pile.
Illustration Courtesy of: Prairie Street
Chiffonade
I love a good ol’ chiffonade! It’s a delicate garnish and a way to finish your dish with a last pop of flavor. Chiffonade is a basic cut used to finely slice herbs or leafy green vegetables (including basil, sage, mint, spinach, lettuce, etc.) into long, thin strips—or ribbons. Plus it is fun to do! First, stack your herbs or leafy green leaves in a neat pile. Next, roll your pile of herbs or leafy greens into a tight, cigar-like shape. Finally, run your knife through the tightly rolled-up leaves using a perpendicular slicing motion—being careful to keep your slices very thin. Voila! Sprinkle your green ribbons as the finishing touch to your dish.
Illustration Courtesy of: Prairie Street
Click here to watch FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL.
Bete’avon!
Feature Photo Courtesy of: Prairie Street