Let's Cut to the Chase!

Hi everyone - Vanessa here today. Karen will be talking to you this week about knife skills, by request, which I think is great! Using a knife is probably something everyone CAN do. But using a knife skillfully can seem like out of reach for many people, and it might be a barrier to preparing more meals at home. I want to get this out of the way: having good home knife skills doesn’t mean you have to be fast. Nor do you have to be 100% precise, cutting everything into perfect 90-degree angled squares. I cook just about every day and I can maybe think of a handful of times that I have used that technique. But what I lack in poor geometry skills, I make up for in general knife confidence. And that’s what I hope you take away from this week’s EatWell.

Knife confidence means, to me, the following things:

• Having the tools you need to do the job you have. In this context, that means a chef’s knife, paring knife and serrated (bread) knife. That’s it!
• Keeping those knives sharp (or paying someone else to do it).
• A stable cutting board. Wood, plastic, or bamboo – it’s your choice. But it should be flat and not sliding around your counter. A great trick is to wet a kitchen towel (or thick paper towel) and put it underneath your board. Voila: instant grippiness!

But what about the actual cutting, you might ask? Practice! It takes practice. No one (or at least no one not annoying) is good at something the first time they try. Pick up that sharp knife, stable cutting board and that onion (or carrot or apple) and make that first cut. You can do it!