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The Basics: Knife Cuts

Knife Cuts #mince #dice #slice #thebasics

Happy Monday all! I hope you all had a great weekend!  If you were MIA this weekend I just wanted to let you know that I had a fun surprise this past Saturday.  I am teaming up with two other awesome bloggers, Lyuba from Will Cook for Smiles and Gloria from Simply Gloria to bring you an awesome link party called Show Stopper Saturdays!  This party opens at 8am on Saturday mornings and ends Tuesday, so that means you still have till tomorrow to link up your best posts!  Also, be sure to stop by and say hi to Gloria and Lyuba!

Have I told you that my mom is in culinary school? Yup, she is actually in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and just finished her first 6 weeks last thursday!!! {she aced her classes by the way 🙂 go mom!} Anyways, while I was talking to her she told me all the stuff she was learning. Like basic stuff that she just didn’t know, such as when to season and when not to season. How to saute, how to boil, how to sear… etc. As I was talking to her it made me think.  I wonder if all my awesome readers know how to make basic knife cuts or know what I’m talking about when I say “julienee this pepper.” Or if they are like “jul-what?” I know some of you are Masterchefs and some of you are just trying to start cooking. But in either case it’s never a bad thing to get a quick refresher. 🙂

Here we go! 🙂

How to slice:  It is defined as a thin flat piece cut off from a larger piece.  In order to slice, cut off the end of vegetable or fruit, place the object vertically and cut in a downward motion to produce one round flat slice {or ring} about 1/4″ thick. Slices can vary on thickness depending on recipe. {Picture below}

sliced tomatoes

How to dice: Just think cubes. These cubes again can vary on size depending on what the recipe calls for, but the sizes are large dice, medium dice, and small dice. You will need to keep this in mind when cutting. But the basic premise of making dice cuts is this: slice, sticks, cubes. Meaning slice the vegetable then cut into matchstick, and then cut again to make cubes! {Picture below}

choppedpears

How to julienne: A julienne is a type of cut that makes a long thin strip. It is actually sometimes is referred to as a “matchstick” cut because it resembles the look of a matchstick.  It is usually a square or rectangular shape, but can vary on thickness and width depending on what the recipe calls for. {picture of julienne cut below}

juliennedpeppers

How to Mince: When mincing, keep your non-dominant hand flat and place the tips of your fingers on the tip of the knife. You can now use the tip as a pivot point for the blade. This will allow your dominant hand to mince quickly without your hands being in the way. The cuts will be irregular but very very small. {picture below}

mincedgarlic

For more awesome tips on safety, handling of knives, types of knives, and exact measurements of cuts a great resource is Chasing Delicious!

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22 comments on “The Basics: Knife Cuts”

  1. Avatar photo
    Andi @ The Weary Chef

    What a great post with awesome photos, Krista! How cool that your mom is attending culinary school! I’m sure I would learn a ton if I did that since I’m just a home cook. What does she plan to do when she finishes?

    1. I know right… so proud of her. šŸ™‚ She is planning on working with a catering company and moving down by us to be closer to her grandson. šŸ™‚ She thought about starting her own catering company but wanted the freedom to get up and leave whenever she wanted. Thanks for the sweet comments Andi! šŸ™‚

  2. What great info and tips!! Thank you SO much for posting-
    I really needed this!

    Cait@ Little Lovey Doves

    1. Awesome Cait, so glad to hear that it helped you out! Cutting can be one the most important and confused parts. But once you master it and learn to cut things the same your cooking will be so much better because the food will cook evenly. I promise! šŸ™‚ Thanks for stopping by!

    1. haha.. I don’t know about that, I’m thinking Mrs. Masterchef Caterer over there has better. But I’ll take a compliment when I get one. šŸ™‚ Thanks Tahny!

  3. Avatar photo
    Allie | Baking A Moment

    Such a useful post, Krista! There are so many of us learning to cook and bake online, it’s great to be able to get some basic info like this. Terrific post! šŸ˜‰

    1. Thanks so much Allie, that means alot. I was just thinking of my husband and whenever he proofreads my posts he is always asking what this means or what that means. Hopefully it helps out a few people. šŸ™‚ Thanks for stopping by, your so sweet!

    1. Thanks Eric, definitely on of the more important cooking skills. I hope it helps out some people. šŸ™‚

  4. Avatar photo
    Cindy Eikenberg

    Krista, great post and I know this will be so helpful to a lot of people! Thanks for sharing – pinning and buffering! Have an awesome day! šŸ™‚

    1. Thanks Cindy, I really hope so. I know for sure it was helpful to at least my hubbie. šŸ™‚ Thanks for sharing and buffering! šŸ˜‰

  5. Avatar photo
    Julie @ This Gal Cooks

    Go mom! That’s so awesome! You know, I would really LOVE to go to culinary school. LOVE TO! Unfortunately, I do not have a good one near my home (just one at the community college but the campus it is located on is an hour from my house.) Who knows, maybe one day. A girl can dream, right?

    Love all of these tips. Thanks for sharing, Krista!

    1. I know! She is doing awesome, especially for a lady her age. šŸ™‚ hehe… she wants to join a catering business and move by us. Soon! šŸ™‚ I am so with you on wanting to do a cooking school, it was would awesome right! A girl can totally dream! For now I just go to the random 1 time cooking classes at a Viking Cooking School near us. So fun, do they have any of those by you guys? You and Ken should definitely try one, we did a date night theme one time and had porterhouse steaks with LOTS of wine. šŸ™‚

  6. Avatar photo
    Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor

    That is awesome that your mom is in culinary school. I love “how to” posts and this one is great!

    1. I know right? So proud of her, and can’t wait to some of her tips and tricks. šŸ™‚ Thanks for the encouraging comments Ashley, always love seeing your name in my comment section! šŸ™‚