As a food editor, I've been #blessed with the opportunity to take all kinds of fun cooking classes: how to prep Alaskan salmon, winter soups, a stellar Christnukkah (Christmas + Hanukkah), and seasonal salads. The one I'm embarrassed never made the calendar? Knife skills. Basic, chef-approved knife skills.
Now that doesn't mean I don't know how to do my fair share of slicing and dicing. I chop at least 20 cloves of garlic and nearly a half dozen onions in the Delish kitchen every week. But I definitely don't have the chops (see what I did there?) to wield a knife in a truly professional kitchen. I wanted to change that.
Last night, I learned the classic French cuts—julienne, batonnet, paysanne—and will probably never use them again in my entire life. They're way too fussy for everyday prep. But what I will take away forever and ever: How to hold my knife! Turns out, where you place your hands while you chop isn't just important so you don't lose a finger, but also helps you chop more precisely—and faster.
Here's a visual: You want your thumb and pointer finger to grip, almost pinch, the actual blade, not the handle contrary to what you've likely been doing. Your other fingers will grip the portion of the handle closest to the blade.
Oh, and that other hand is super important, too: You're going to make a claw on whatever it is you're chopping (lemon, onion, potato), with your top knuckles curled under, and the blade pressed against your index finger. This will help guide your cut and make sure you're safe from the blade.
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