KNIFE GRIPS AND LEARNING THE DIFFERENT CUTS Knife Grips and Fulcrum Placement The proper way to hold a chef’s knife is to grasp the blade firmly between the pad of your thumb and the knuckle of your index finger just in front of the bolster, curling your remaining fingers around the bottom of the handle. If you hold your knife correctly, you will eventually develop a nice callous at the base of your index finger, near the palm. Resist the temptation to extend your index finger along the spine of your knife, because that method results in a lack of control of the angle you are working with. Some Classic Knife Cuts A large dice is a cube measuring ¾” on a side. First, cut one side of the potato off to provide a flat, stable surface for the next cut. It’s important to be aware of the angle of your knife blade in relation to the cutting surface – this should be a completely perpendicular, 90-degree angle. The best way to ensure the proper angle is to cut with your head directly over the cutting surface and product. So it’s best to use a high table or counter to cut on – otherwise you are in for an aching back after as little as a few minutes. Now, set the potato on the newly created flat side, and begin cutting “planks” ¾” wide. Next, lay the planks over and cut them into “logs”. Finally, trim one end of the log and cut as many ¾” large dice as you can. As you become more proficient, you will be able to cut several stacked planks into logs at a time, and several logs side-by-side at once into dice. This same method (flatten a side, cut planks, cut logs) will work for most of the potato cuts in this section. For instance, a medium dice is a simply a perfect ½” cube. Same method, smaller cubes. A small dice is simply a ¼” cube, made from the beginnings of batonnet. A classic batonnet is a stick-shaped cut (resembling a french-fry) that measures ¼” x ¼: x 2-to-2 1/2” inches. Cut ¼” square logs as outlined earlier and trim to the correct length. The dimensions of a true julienne are 1/8” x 1/8” x 2-2 ½”. I find that when the cuts get this small and smaller, for some reason it is easier to trim planks to the correct length before cutting logs. A mince is a tiny, but less fussy cut of vegetable, with no specific dimensions except that it should be quite small, usually in order to promote quick infusion of flavor to a dish. To accomplish a quick mince, cut your product into manageably small slices or segments, then rock the edge of the knife back and forth over the cutting surface while pressing down on the spine of the knife with the palm of your guide hand. Arch your palm to keep fingertips out of the way of the blade. Dicing an Onion The first hurdle I had to overcome in learning to dice an onion was to learn an efficient method of peeling it. Attempting to peel a whole onion can be an exercise in frustration. First, make a flat surface to set the onion on by slicing off a small portion of the stem end. Now, balancing the onion on the flat surface just created, cut it in half through the root end. Do not trim the root end off either half of the onion. Next, peel the skin from each half of the onion, using a paring knife. Once your onion is peeled, place it cut-side down, and make vertical cuts of the desired thickness from root to stem end. Do not cut all the way through the root end. Now, make horizontal slices, once again being careful not to cut through the root end. You may need to hold the sides of the onion together with the fingers of your guide hand, so be cautious – it’s easy to nick yourself during this step. Finally, slice down across the cut grid to produce your dice. Chiffonade A chiffonade is a fine slice or shred of leafy vegetables or herbs. To chiffonade, simply stack a few leaves, roll them into a cigar shape, and slice. Remember to remove any tough, woody stems that you want to exclude from your preparation