Kitchen Knife Basics: One cook’s lesson in cutlery

Guest Post by Dan Pearson of Lake Oswego, IGT student

I’m a self-taught cook who knows his way around a kitchen. I’ve made do with minimal training and fancy equipment, and I can cook a mean beef wellington from scratch.

But, when it comes to the technical stuff, I could use some professional instruction. So, I took to the In Good Taste (IGT) cooking calendar to see how I could enhance my cooking credentials. 

While I’m no stranger to the stockpot, grill pan or food scale, I know very little about knives. The cooking shows that I watch don’t offer much in the way of basic knife skills, as much of the ingredients are already washed and prepped prior to airtime. And, the cookbooks I use don’t go in depth about the type of knives one needs for a particular dish.

Naturally, the IGT Hands-On Knife Skills class caught my attention. The basic knife set that I own is reaching middle age, so I thought that it might be in my best interest (and my wife’s) to update my technique and equipment.

Garbed in my favorite apron and with my wife in tow, I went to the class ready to learn how to dice, julienne and rondelle with finesse. The class, which was led by Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School alum Wes O’Neal, focused on the fundamentals: knife anatomy, knife safety, knife handling and knife cleaning.

By the end of the class, I knew how to properly rondelle a cucumber, dice an onion (without crying), batonnet a potato, chiffonade fresh sage, mince garlic and more. I learned knife tricks that will help me save time, prevent injury and enhance the appearance of my ingredients.

Some key takeaways from the class (other than that I need a new knife set) included:

Knives 

Knife Type
According to Chef Wes, the classic chef’s knife handles about 80 percent of his professional needs. His everyday standard is an eight-inch, high carbon stainless steel blade by Shun with the preferred, distinctive “tang” (a finger notch that aids balance). But, other brands abound. 

The Chef’s Resource online store carries nearly 30 brands and lists more than 15 special-purpose knives, mostly from Japan, Germany and Switzerland, made to handle everything from deboning to utility. Chef Wes advises expecting to pay between $70 and $150 for a chef’s knife that should last a lifetime.

Knife Maintenance

Keep it sharp by properly storing it between uses and by using a sharpening or honing steel, or both. And, don’t leave a knife exposed to moisture for long periods of time, like one would in a dishwasher or in a sink filled with soapy water.

Cutting Boards

Material

Don’t use glass because it dulls the blade. If you use a wood cutting board, throw the board away when and if it splits at the edge. “It’s a perfect place for bacteria to form,” chef Wes warned.

Board Type

You don’t need to have separate boards for meat and produce, if you rinse well between uses and clean the board periodically with a mild bleach solution.

Best of the Best

Chef Wes’s cutting board of choice is a pressed wood product by Epicurean. Apparently, it’s durable, dishwasher safe, easy to handle and can be had for as little as $25 from online retailers such as Williams & Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sears.

For more information about the IGT Hands-On Knife Skills class or other classes, visit the website or call (503) 248-2015.