Unit 3 Structure of Knife 58

UNIT 3 – STRUCTURE OF A KNIFE

LESSON 9 The Knife

LESSON 10 Caring for Kitchen Knives
LESSON 11 Basic Knife Skills
LESSON 12 Classic Knife Cuts

Time Duration: 8 hours

Introduction

A kitchen knife is intended to use in food preparation. It is one of the essential tools in
the kitchen, and regardless of whether you are a chef or a home cook, you should
have good quality and well-maintained knives. A sharp, good quality knife is much
safer to work with and yields far better results than low quality, blunt knives will.

Learning Outcomes

LO 1. Enumerate the different parts of the knife.

LO 2. Care properly for knives.
LO 3. Apply basic cuts on foods.
LO 4. Familiarize with the safe ways of using knives.

PRE_TEST

Direction: Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided before
each number. (1pt. each)

___ 1. It is part of the blade of a knife that is used for detailed or delicate cutting.
a. heel b. point c. tip
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 2. This knife is the perfect friend of any cook.

a. Cleaver knife b. boning knife c. chef’s knife
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 3. It is part of the handle of a knife that the metal pins are used to join the scale
to the tang to form the handle.
a. butt b. rivet c. scale
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 4. It is a long metal rod with a handle intended to sharpen the edge of a knife.
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a. sharpening steel b. sharpening stone c. both a and b

Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 5. It is a knife that is mostly used for peeling fruits and veggies.
a. paring knife b. serrated knife c. carving knife
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 6. It provides balance for the knife and also helps to protect the hand from getting
in the way of the knife edge.
a. edge b. bolster c. spine
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 7. This type of kitchen knife comes in groovy edges that replicate the saw.
a. paring knife b. serrated knife c. carving knife
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 8. It is the top of the knife blade, opposite the knife edge.
a. edge b. bolster c. spine
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

__ 9. Julienne of potato is sometimes referred to:

a. paysanne b. alumette c. brunoise
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 10. It is a tiny but less fussy cut of vegetables, with no specific dimensions except
that it should be quite small.
a. mince b. paysanne c. chiffonade
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 11. It is used to slice thin cuts of meats, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other
large cooked meats.
a. paring knife b. serrated knife c. carving knife
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 12. This is the best type of kitchen knife when it comes to cutting through meat
and bones.
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a. Cleaver knife b. boning knife c. chef’s knife

Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 13. This kind of kitchen knife's primary use is to cut mean and separate meat from
the bones.
a. Cleaver knife b. boning knife c. chef’s knife

Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

__ 14. It is the part of a knife where the edge and spine come together.
a. heel b. point c. tip
Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

___ 15. It is a fine slice or shred of leafy vegetables or herbs.

a. mince b. paysanne c. chiffonade

Yes, I know the answer No, I am guessing

Lesson Proper

LESSON 9 KNIFE
It is a utensil that has a handle and a blade that may or may not be sharp-edged.
Available in different types and sizes, a knife is used for cutting, chopping, dicing,
slicing, mincing, peeling, separating, and other kitchen tasks where the thin metal shaft
of a blade is of value for food preparation.

Parts of a knife

Handle and bladé are the two main parts of a knife. Each of these two parts can also
be subdivided into its features.

Blade
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Point – Part of the knife where the spine and edge come together. The point is used
for piercing often.

Tip – The forward part of the knife and includes the knifepoint is the tip. It is used in
delicate cutting or detail.

Edge – The cutting part of the knife’s blade. The edge extends to the heel of the knife
from the point.

Heel - Rear part of the edge is the heel, opposite the point of the knife.

Spine - The top of the knife blade is the spine, opposite the knife edge.

The bolster - Band that joins the blade of the knife to its handle is the bolster. It
provides balance for the knife and also helps to protect the hand from getting in the
way of the knife edge.

Handle
Tang - Part of the blade that extends into the handle of the knife is a tang. Its handle
is attached within the blade.

Scales – Part of the knife that creates the handle is the scale. It is often synthetic or
wood type. Scales of a knife are attached to the tang with rivets.

Rivets – Rivets are metal pins used to join the scales to the tang to form the handle.
Butt – End part of the handle of the knife.

Types of Knives

Specific Use of Kitchen Knives and its different types:

1.) Cleaver: This is the best type of kitchen knife for cutting through meat and bones.
This knife can have straight or curved edges and resembles the Chinese chef knife.

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2.) Serrated Knife Also known as a bread knife, this type of kitchen knife comes in
groovy edges replicating the saw. They are generally used for cutting bread and other
delicate food materials. Delicate fruits like tomatoes can also be cut easily using a
serrated knife.

3.) Boning Knife: The major use of a boning kitchen knife is to cut mean and separate
meat from the bones. This knife is typically five to six inches in length and can either
be straight or curved.

4.) Chef’s Knife: This type of kitchen knife comes with a triangular blade, which may
be around eight to nine inches in length. There are many different variations to the
chef kitchen knife, the most popular ones being the French, Chinese, Japanese, and
German-style kitchen knives.
Typically used for chopping, mincing, and slicing, the knife is the perfect friend of any
cook, be it a professional chef or a house cook. As it has a triangular blade, the chef
knife can chop easily using a rocking motion. The chef kitchen knife is, by far, the most
widely used in the kitchen around the world.

5.) Carving knife

It is a large knife (between 20 and 38 cm (8 and 15 inches)) used for slicing thin cuts
of meat like roasts, pork, hams, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife is much
lighter than the knife of a chef (Specifically at the spine), allowing thinner and more
accurate slices. Generally, they are shorter and wider than slicing knives.

6.) Paring Knife: the paring knife is relatively smaller in size can come with a blade of
around three to four inches in length. The paring knife is mostly used for peeling fruits
and veggies. They can also be used to trim meats and carry out other cutting that does
not require

General Kitchen Knife Safety and Etiquette

• Wash, sanitize, and dry hands.

• Stand comfortably on working tables.
• Use a clean wooden cutting board. It is the only proper surface to cut food items
and not on metal, glass, marble, rubber, or plastic.
• Ensure the stability of the cutting board on the surfaces of the working table.
Place a clean damp towel at the bottom of the cutting board to keep it steady.
• Sharpen, wash, and dry up the kitchen knives before using.
• Hold a kitchen knife comfortably with the dominant hand.
• Keep the sharp blades in constant contact on the cutting board. Firmly hold
food items on the cutting board while cutting.
• Cut gently, carefully, and with complete concentration.
• Wash kitchen knife immediately after use. It is washed separately from other
dishes. Wipe it dry.
• Place the kitchen knife back to its proper storage. Never leave a kitchen knife
anywhere else.

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• Carry the kitchen knife by firmly holding its handle. Keep the kitchen knife close
on the side of the body. The kitchen knife is pointing downwards.
• Do not catch a falling kitchen knife. Let it fall on the ground.
• Ask permission in borrowing a kitchen knife and return it punctually.
• Never attempt to grab the kitchen knife when someone else holding it.
• Lay the kitchen knife down on the surface of a table nearby and let the other
person take the kitchen knife. Never hand over the kitchen knife directly to
another person.
• Never use a kitchen knife in opening cans or cutting objects other than foods.

LESSON 10 – CARING FOR KITCHEN KNIVES

Sharpening Knives

According to McGovern (2011), having a sharp knife ensures an even cut because
dull knives can become dangerous once applied extra pressure while pressing down
on the knife. The additional pressure leads to less control.

Sharpening steel is a long metal rod with a handle intended to sharpen the edge of
a knife. It is also known as truing steel, honing steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod,
butcher’s steel, and chef’s steel.

A sharpening stone is a bar of stone with the coarse surface on one side and a fine
surface on the other side used in sharpening the cutting edge of a knife and is
classified as a water stone. There are three types of sharpening stones: (1) water
stones; (2) oil stones, (3) diamond stones.

Ways to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife are:

1. Using a wet stone/sharpening stone (a stone for grinding the cutting edge of a
knife).
2. Using a handled sharpener or a chef’s steel (a long steel rod for raising the
edges of a knife).
3. Using an electric sharpener.

Hand-Held Knife Sharpener

The sharpener kitchen knife makes knives sharper by straightening the edge out. Hold
the knife in dominant hand to use a knife, and the steel, on the other hand, pressing
the sharp tip into a solid waist-high surface. Hold the base of the knife at a 20-degree
angle at the top of the steel. Draw the knife slowly down the length of the steel, draw
the knife back so that the whole blade moves against the steel, from base to tip, as if
slicing off the steel pieces. On the other side, repeat. Conduct it 5 or 6 times.

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LESSON 11 – BASIC SKILLS USING KNIFE

Basic knife skills are an essential component of the repertoire of every chef -whether
you plan to earn a living in the kitchen or just please yourself, your friends, and
family. Learning to wield a knife properly will speed up the preparation time, and food
items designed in standardized shapes and sizes will help ensure even cooking in a
meal. Moreover, the mastering of certain classic knife cuts and techniques will
significantly enhance the look of your food, garnishes, and plate presentations.

Fulcrum Placement and Knife Grips

The right way to hold a chef's knife is to grasp the blade firmly between your thumb
pad and your index finger's knuckle just in front of the bolster, curling the remaining
fingers around the bottom of the handle. If you handle your knife correctly, at the
base of your index finger, you eventually develop an excellent callous near the palm.
Avoid the habit of running your index finger along the knife's spine because this
practice results in a lack of control of the angle to which you're working.

Correct grip for a chef’s knife (front view)

(Rear)

When cutting food with your chef's knife, there are two different methods to select
from. That is to use the wrist as the stroke's fulcrum, Moving the tip in an arc up and
down:

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(Sample Method of Wrist-fulcrum)

The other method is to place your knife's tip on the cutting surface and move the
knife's rear up and down. It is the method I prefer since it allows for a smoother
movement range and more controlled.

Tip-fulcrum

It's essential to be mindful of the position of your "guide" hand, no matter what
approach you follow. Still keep your thumb tucked securely behind your guide's gently
curled fingers. This can avoid numerous cuts, and will make it easy to use your
knuckles to direct the knife's edge to the correct position for the next cut:

The correct position for guiding hand

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LESSON 12 – CLASSIC KNIFE CUTS

(Excerpted from Culinary Insiders, Inc., 2008)

• Submerge several peeled potatoes in cold water to keep crisp and white.
1. A large dice is a cube measuring 3/4 “ on the side. At first, cut one side of the
potato off to provide a flat, stable surface for the next cut (Culinary Insider, Inc.,
2008):

Cutting a Flat Surface for Stability

Be aware of the knife blade in relation to the cutting surface. This must be a 90 -
degree angle. To make the proper angle is to cut with the head directly over the cutting
surface and product. So it is best to use a high table or counter to cut on- otherwise,
an aching back will occur after as little as a few minutes.

Next, set the potato on the newly created flat side, and begin cutting “planks” ¾” wide
(Culinary Insider, Inc., 2008): Cutting the “planks.”

Planks Cutting

Next, lay over the planks and cut them into “logs” (Culinary Insider, Inc., 2008):

Cutting logs for a large dice

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Lastly, trim one end of the log and cut as many ¾” large dice as one can. Time will
come that one will gain proficiency in cutting several stacked planks into logs at a time,
and several logs-by-side at once into dice. (Culinary Insider, Inc., 2008).

Dicing logs Large dice

This same method (flattens aside, cut logs, cut planks) Most of the potato cuts in this
section will work. For example, a medium dice is simply a perfect ½” cube, same
method, smaller cubes.

2. A paysanne is a decorative cut that is medium dice related, 1/8 thick squares (1/2”
x 1/2” x 1/8”) sliced. Most often used as a garnish. (Culinary Insider, Inc., 2008).

Paysanne Cut

3. Batonnet
It is a stick-shaped cut (resembling a french-fry) that measures ¼” x ¼”: x 2-to-
2 ½” inches. Cut ¼” squares logs as outlined earlier and trim to the correct length.
One easy way to tell if the batonnet is of classic dimensions is to compare them to
rivets on a chef's regular knives.

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Standard chef’s knife often have ¼” rivets – a perfect reference for batonnet
cuts (Culinary Insider, Inc., 2008)

On a regular chef's knife, the opposite edge of successive rivets allows a good
batonnet-length guide

4. Small dice
It is a ¼” cube, the beginnings of batonnet made from.

(From ¼” square logs) Cutting small dice

5. Allumette.
Also called as julienne of potato. 1/8” x 1/8” x 2-2 ½” dimension of a true julienne.

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1/8 inches planks, ready to be cut into julienne

Once again, the knife handle provides a handy reference for the length of a classic
julienne. Your knife's tang gives a guide for appropriate widths:

6. By merely dicing julienne logs into 1/8 "cubes, julienne can be fashioned into
classic brunoise. Brunoise, made of carrot or pepper, is more likely to be used as a
garnish:

(Diced julienne logs to Classic Brunoise)

7. Fine julienne
It is the same length as julienne, but the width and depth are 1/6 inches x 1/16
inches.

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Fine julienne Cut

8. Fine brunoise is 1/16” cubes.

Cutting fine julienne to Fine Brunoise Cut

9. Mince. It is a tiny, but less fussy, vegetable cut, with no particular dimensions except
that it should be quite small, usually to promote quick flavor infusion into a dish. Cut
the product into manageably small slices or segments to achieve a quick mincing, then
rock the knife's edge back and forth across the cutting surface while pressing the palm
of the guiding hand down on the knife's spine—Arch the palm to bring the fingertips
out of the blade's way.

Mincing a shallot Minced shallot

Tips for Cutting Certain Fruits and Vegetables

10. Dicing an Onion

Firstly, create a flat surface by slicing off a small portion of the stem end to set the
onion.

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Holding the onion on the just produced flat surface, cut it through the root end in half.
Don't trim either half of the onion off the root end.

Next, use a paring knife to remove or peel the skin from each half of the onion.

11. Peeling skin from half of the onion

When the onion is peeled, place it cut-side down, and make vertical cuts from root to
stem end to the desired thickness. Do not cut through the root end all the way.

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Create a vertical slice

Now make horizontal cuts; beware of not cutting through the root end again. You'll
need to hold the onion's sides together with your guide's fingers, so be careful – During
this step, it is easy to nick yourself:

Do the horizontal cuts

Slice down across the cut grid to make your dice.

Completing the dice The diced onion

12. A chiffonade is a slice of fine leafy vegetables or herbs or shred. Only stack a few
leaves, roll them into a cigar shape, and slice them to chiffonade. Remember removing
any tough, woody stems you wish to remove from your food preparations.

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Roll the leafy vegetable Slice and roll leafy vegetables

The Chiffonade Completed

13. Pepper Fillet

To cut the ribs from a bell pepper without making unnecessary waste, simply cut the
pepper's top and bottom (reserve them for dice or garnish). Slice the pepper's body
open and lay flat. Then simply run your knife inside the pepper, detach the pale ribs,
and slice as desired. Note-cut off from yourself always:

Removing the ribs from a bell pepper

14. Mango Diced

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Breakdown of mango is troublesome since the peeled flesh is very moist

and slippery, and is bisected by a large, flat pit. Slice the fruit (unpeeled) at
either side of the pit.

Removing the side of the mango Cutting the crosshatch Dice of mango, ready to be cut off the
peel

Make a crosshatch of the desired size using a paring knife carefully, without cutting
through the peel.

Finally, invert the peel by pressing your fingers on it. You can then run your knife's
blade under the cubes next to the peel's inside.

15. Diagonal and Rondelle Carrots

A rondelle is a slice of a cylindrical vegetable shaped like a coin. You may create a
diagonal by simply turning the knife at an angle to the carrot's axis. Bear in mind that
to produce this appealing form, several cylindrical fruits, vegetables, and bread should
be sliced into diagonal slices (squash, cucumber, baguettes). Sometimes a vegetable
peeler creates flat planes with a particularly tender carrot (or due to enthusiastic
peeling), which produce rondelles or diagonals with several flat sides, forming a
geometrical or octagonal shape.

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Rondelles and Carrot diagonals.

Note the flat sides which the vegetable peeler makes

16. A portion of Citrus Fruit

In countless recipes, citrus fruits are used, but the traditional "score the rind and
peeled" method produces sections that are still covered by the thin yet bitter skin
and can contain seeds. With your knife with a curving stroke, remove the rind and
pith from the whole fruit's outside to produce attractive, skinless citrus sections.

Remove the rind from pink grapefruit and its very thick pith.

Slice off the ends, freeing the sections in between from all but the skin side panels.
Then make a "v" cut between the flesh and the skin on either side of the section.

Cutting between the section and the skin Removing the skinless section

Slide-out the loosened section, at last. In salads, those skinless sections look great.

Specialty Cuts

17. A classic tourne is a blunt-ended cut with seven fair sides, football-shaped.
These will take a lot of practice to produce ideal tourne (particularly those with an
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odd number of equilateral sides!). Still, they make an attractive presentation of the
dish, particularly for dense root vegetables, such as carrots and turnips. Practicing is
a good idea with a potato, though, since a potato's softer texture is more forgiving
when you start.

I typically peel and quarter a medium-sized potato, then cut off the quarter's tapered
end to produce another flat end for grip stability:

Preparing to carve a tourne

From this point, two schools of thought proceed on how to proceed. First, I find it
easier to carve the product into a basic football shape, then set out to create the
seven sides. Others insist that the seven sides are easier to create, and then even
them up. By trial and error, you'll quickly figure out the method is easier. Another tip:
hold the product onto the profile of the surface you carve, rather than pointing it up to
your face. That means you have your cutting surface background to serve as a
contrast to the vegetables – these would make it easier to see what you are doing.

Carve the tourney Tourne of potato

When the sides are even, finish by cutting off the "football" tapered end. This should
be possible to balance a classic tour at the end.

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Why? Who? Who knows?

18. A fluted mushroom is one of the most difficult cuts to learn and may require a lot
of practice. You'll want to use big, firm white buttons or mushrooms with criminis.
The first step is to softly or gently peel off the outer skin from the mushroom cap to
create a soft carving surface:

Peeling the mushroom

The fluting knife grip is unusual, and at first, it feels awkward. Support the knife
handle with ring and pinky fingers. Place your index and middle finger pads on top of
the blade near the control handle. Place the thumb pad (with care!) over the tip to
prevent it from scoring the mushroom – You can use the center of the knife-edge for
cutting and not the tip of the knife.

Knife grip for fluting

Using your guiding hand to grasp the mushroom by the stem. Gently carve a trench
starting in the middle of the top of the cap. One side of the cut will form the part of
your blade closer to the handle, and the part of your blade closer to the tip will form
the other side. To follow the mushroom curve down the side, drop the handle of your
knife and your wrist.

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Fluting a mushroom

Along with the first one, lay the next cut right. I flute in a counter-clockwise direction
by turning the mushroom, but many other people do the opposite way. You will
probably find that one direction is easier for you than the other.

A well done fluted mushroom should have the cuts meet at the cap's apex in an
attractive swirl. If you find that this doesn’t happen as often as you want, you can
cheat by pressing the tip of your knife softly into the center to form a star.

Press into the flute from a star-shaped mushroom Flute mushrooms

Finally, cut off the stem to create an elegant garnish design. You should wipe the
cap with a small amount of lemon juice to prevent it from turning brown too fast.

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Application

After having discussed the basic knife skills, you are now ready to do the classic knife
cuts. Follow the steps in the previous lesson.

Take some pictures of your work using the template below and print it.

You can also watch the video; here is the link.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8VBnaFhOEn8

TOOLS NEEDED:

A sturdy cutting board

A (sharp!) chef’s knife
A (sharp!) paring knife
A vegetable peeler

SHOPPING LIST:

A pack of diced potatoes

A pile of carrots
Few big onions
Some handfuls of leafy herbs or vegetables (would be best for large-leaf basil or
spinach, but cabbage would suffice)

EXAMPLE:

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KNIFE CUTS TEMPLATE

LARGE DICE MEDIUM DICE SMALL DICE

BATONNET JULIENNE FINE JULIENNE

BRUNOISE FINE BRUNOISE MINCE

CHIFFONADE paysanne RONDELLE

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Learning Insights

The most important I have learned in this lesson:

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How will I use what I've learned in the future?

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Does the lesson leave you with any questions?

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Post-Test

Name: _________________________________ Score: ______________

Course/Year/ Section: ___________________ Date: _______________

DIRECTIONS: Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided before each
number. (1pt. each)

_____1. It provides balance for the knife and also helps to protect the hand from
getting in the way of the knife edge.
a. edge b. spine c. bolster

_____2. The type of cut is a fine slice or shred of leafy vegetables or herbs.
a. mince b. chiffonade c. paysanne
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_____3. It a tiny, but the less fussy cut of vegetable, with no specific dimensions except
that it should be quite small.
a. paysanne b. chiffonade c. mince
_____4. It is part of the handle of a knife that the metal pins are used to join the scale
to the tang to form the handle.
a. butt b. rivet c. scale

_____5. It is a long metal rod with a handle intended to sharpen the edge of a knife.
a. sharpening steel b. sharpening stone c. both a and b

_____6. This is the best type of kitchen knife when it comes to cutting through meat
and bones.
a. Cleaver knife b. boning knife c. chef’s knife

_____7. Parts of the blade that is used for detailed or delicate cutting.
a. heel b. tip c. point

_____8. It is the part of a knife where the edge and spine come together.
a. heel b. tip c. point

_____9. This knife is the perfect friend of any cook.

a. Cleaver knife b. chef’s knife c. boning knife

_____10. This kind of kitchen knife's major use is to cut mean and separate meat from
the bones.
a. Cleaver knife b. boning knife c. chef’s knife

_____11. It is a knife that is mostly used for peeling fruits and veggies.
a. serrated knife b. paring knife c. carving knife

_____12. It is the top of the knife blade, opposite the knife edge.
a. spine b. edge c. bolster

_____13. This type of kitchen knife comes in groovy edges that replicate the saw.
a. paring knife b. carving knife c. serrated knife

_____14. It is used to slice thin cuts of meat, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other
large cooked meats.
a. paring knife b. carving knife c. serrated knife

_____15. A julienne of potato is referred to_____.

a. alumette b. paysanne c. brunoise

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