Knife Tips From Professional Chefs: 3 Ways to Save Your Knives While Cooking Like a Pro by Susan Evind

I have been working in a cookware shop that also houses a culinary school, so I picked up a lot of tips from the professional chefs who teach there. Here are three points to knife skills that to me were a revelation:

1. You really only need three knives to work with. Seriously!

• chef’s knife (a 6-inch, 8-inch or 10-inch knife)
• serrated knife
• paring knife (a 3-inch or 4-inch knife)

2. When you hold a knife, wrap your full hand around the handle – never stretch out your index finger over the top of the blade, even though it’s tempting to do so. You can eventually get carpal tunnel in your wrist from over using and cramping the hand in that position. With your other hand, make a fist so that only your knuckles touch the side of the knife while cutting or chopping. This will save your fingers from being added to the recipe.

3. Buy a bench scraper to save your knife edges. Yes, it’s a thing! It’s a 6x6-inch flat square of metal or plastic with a rolled handle at top that you scrape or push your chopped food into the cooking pan or bowl. Never slide the food off the cutting board sideways with your knife because you will seriously wear down your knives in no time. It’s often used for cutting pastry dough.

Have a knife tip to share? Tell us below!

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