A Strong Foundation
The basic technique is the same for every cutting method. You hold the knife in your dominant hand. The hand you're not cutting with is your guiding hand. With this hand, you determine the thickness of your slices. You place this hand on the product like a tiger claw. Keep your fingertips and thumb tucked back and place the knife against your knuckles. Then, make a circular cutting motion. Make sure you don't chop, but rather keep slicing. Practice makes perfect! 😎
Julienne, Brunoise, and Carré
Lesson number one at culinary school is Julienne cutting. With this cutting technique, you'll slice ingredients into long, thin strips, the size of a matchstick. Start by cleaning your carrot, cucumber, or other vegetable. Divide your product into several coarse pieces of equal length. Then slice these pieces into equal planks, and from these planks, cut strips. If done correctly, you should end up with uniformly shaped rectangular sticks.
Do you want your ingredients even smaller? Then you can cut your sticks into uniform cubes. These are ideal for soups, sauces, and stews. Small cubes of about 5mm by 5mm are called brunoise. If you make larger cubes, about 1cm by 1cm, this is called carré.
These cutting techniques are not for novicesSlicing and Chopping
Once you've mastered cutting sticks and cubes, it's time for the next step: slicing and chopping. You slice softer products like mushrooms, zucchini, or pickles. With this technique, your knife completely lifts off the cutting board. So, be extra careful with your (tiger) claws!
To further refine products, you can also chop them. This technique is ideal, for example, when using fresh herbs. First, finely chop your ingredients. Then, hold your chef's knife in your dominant hand and place your other hand on top of the knife's tip. Next, make a rocking motion to finely chop your product.
Good Tools Are Half the Battle
Professional cutting techniques naturally require professional knives. You can view our entire collection of knives here. Additionally, it's important for cutting that your knives are sharp. Even the best knives get dull with use. To always glide through food like a hot knife through butter, you can sharpen your knives with a knife sharpener. Curious for more? You can read all about it in our knowledge base.If you master these cutting techniques, you'll definitely impress in the kitchen. Your dishes will not only look fantastic, but they'll also be quicker and easier to prepare. So get to work and show who's boss in the kitchen! 💥
