I would like to improve my knife skills

[leftyclimber]

but I'd like to hear some suggestions for how I can do it without mortally wounding a bunch of food in the process.

I have a set of high-quality kitchen knives and know how to sharpen and otherwise care for them properly, so that part of the equation is taken care of.

I know speed comes with practice. I'm just wanting to get better at cutting things really fine (julienning, really fine dicing, those sorts of things). Is it just repetition? Are there any tricks that might help me? Good technique books with good pictures that people would recommend?

If I lived out west I'd just shanghai my brother the chef and make him give me cooking lessons. I live in a small town that doesn't have any cooking classes (because Shoney's doesn't offer that sort of thing :rofl:), so that option's out.

Any good videos, any general tips?

TIA!

[Lucinda]

1. I haven't been through these videos, but it looks like youtube has several

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=kitchen+knife+skills&aq=f

There may be other kitchen knife class videos online, but I usually start wiith youtube.

[leftyclimber]

2. Thanks! I'll give them a look.

[Warpy]

3. Julia Child taught me my knife skills

and the description in Barbara Tropp's book allowed me to develop good Chinese cleaver skills. These days, all my knives are Asian: santoku for slicing, Chinese cleaver for chopping. I have a great set of Sabatier knives I never use because the Asian knives feel better in my hands.

The best way I know of to perfect your knife skills is to buy a vegetarian cookbook and start cooking out of that several meals a week.

(If anybody wants a set of Sabatier stainless knives in a black knife block, PM me and we'll work something out)

[leftyclimber]

6. I recently picked up a santoku. I'm addicted.

Hadn't thought of Julia Child. She's so delightful to watch, too, so that's a double bonus. (In my family we always "pooched" eggs -- in falsetto -- in honor of her ... if you can get to the Museum of American History in DC her entire kitchen is preserved there.)

I have Shaw's Essential Vegetarian Cookbook and recently got it back from a loan to a newly-vegetarian friend who wasn't eating right (he's doing much better now), so it sounds like this is a doubly good opportunity to revisit it.

[Tab]

4. Culinary Institute of America has some videos

including one on knife skills. I haven't seen them myself.

I think they sell for about $100.

A lot of it really depends on how anal you want to be about precision cut vs. rough cut. As far as I'm concerned, if I remember to keep my fingers curled so they don't get chopped off, I'm happy.

It would be fun to learn some of the "extras", like how to make flowers out of potatoes or whatever, but you're just asking about the basics. Usually the three words are "consistency, consistency, and consistency". It might be specific to a recipe that it be a certain size, but as long as they are all consistent, they should cook uniformally.

Fortunately I don't work at a 5-star restaurant, so I'm not bent out of shape if they're not perfect, but some people are.

Anyway, you might want to check out the video. $99.95

http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/cookbooks_dvds/knife.asp

Knife Skills
Discover the fundamental techniques used by the pros.

* The Guiding Hand – learn the different holding styles
* Vegetable Cuts – long, diced, shaped, and decorative
* Meat Fabrication – sirloin, tenderloin, pork butt, veal cutlets, leg of lamb, and rack of lamb
* Fish Fabrication – roundfish, flatfish, and shellfish
* Poultry Fabrication – knife usage, legs and wings, boneless breasts, and pieces
* Knife Care Review – sharpening, sanitation, and types of knives

Order now for just $99.95!

[leftyclimber]

7. Oo. That's definitely on the "when I win the lottery" list.

Thanks!

[Tab]

9. I *might* get it when I win the lottery

but it ain't at the top of the list.

Nothing against the video...

[leftyclimber]

11. Oh, hell, I'll probably just hire my brother to teach me stuff if I win the lottery.

He's taught all this junk. I just can't drive 3,000 miles to learn stuff from him right now. :D

[eleny]

5. One simple thing I learned this week....

You know how some chefs sometimes rock the big knife when they cut vegetables? Well, resting the hand that's not holding the knife handle on the top of the knife near the blade tip gives so much control. I feel what the knife is doing and I can nudge it where I want it while cutting in a smooth rocking motion.

Here's a guy who is doing it mincing shallots. He's not rocking the blade. But you can see the hand that isn't holding the handle. It's very short -
http://www.ehow.com/video_2347977_mincing-shallots-veal-marsala.html

[leftyclimber]

8. That's something I'm doing now

I think my issue is consistency. I only recently replaced some cheap-ass crappo knives that squashed everything I subjected to them. The knives I have now are Henckels, so they're not total awe-inspiring knives or anything, but they have a nice edge and get the job done. I have another year to go in grad school, so the chef's-grade knives won't enter my life until I'm done with that and have a job where I can afford to equip my kitchen in a manner to which I plan to become accustomed. ;)

Everything I've done since I got the new knives, though, is remarkably inconsistent. Regardless, I can't seem to cut anything into small enough bits for my taste when I'm trying to do a fine dice or a mince. I think I may be rushing.

[Tab]

10. You need a proper knife for that

not some ginsu POS.

A good Henckel (my choice) chef's knife is weighted there and rocking is most easy, and very efficient.

Cheapo knives aren't weighted for rocking, and so there's no major benefit (affordability aside) to them.

I once thought spending $100 on a knife was ridiculous, but I'll probably have my Henckel the rest of my life, unless my dogs hide it or something.

I have a bunch of knives, but the two I mainly use are the Henckel pro chef's knife, and the smaller 9-inch parer. I also have some cheap $1 paring knives (three to a pack) that are helpful. And a bread knife. With all that I do, I find myself basically just using these few ones. Now THAT is a mark of a good knife.

Bread aside, forget the serrated crap. Give me a good Henckel and a Master Chef sharpening machine, and I'm set for life.

[eleny]

12. I invested in a couple of Wusthof knives

A large chef's knife and a small chef's knife. They've made all the difference in the world.

[JustJeking]

13. Love my Wusthofs too

I think my chopping skills have improved immensely since using them.

[eleny]

14. Mine, too and I also feel they make the job safer since they're so efficient

[susanna]

15. Here are a couple you might look at...

I just completed knife skills in culinary school. I'm an old dog learning new tricks these days. :-)

One of my biggest fears was knife skills, but I did okay. Got a 90 on my practical and we did a lot of julienning, brunoise, tournade, small/medium/large dice. A lot of speed does come with repetition (and boy did I kill some carrots and potatoes), but there are good references on the web to get you started.

If you sign up up for his newsletter with your e-mail at http://freeculinaryschool.com/ there is a knife skills primer that is pretty good (.pdf format, IIRC).

The website eGullet also has a "eGullet Culinary Institute" forum where they discuss things like this. The Basic knife skills thread is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25958

People could Q&A the original writer in the follow up thead here:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25957

Maybe these can help you out? Have fun! :-)