Knife Skills

FOODS II
 5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food
preparation
Types and uses of knives 5-16-2017

Bell ringer: 4.05 Quiz code: XU8FA5MA2

Read Chapter 10 p.231-234 check knowledge 1-
3/Culinary Essentials (turn in) p.239 write the
questions
Teacher Input: Parts of a Knife ppt
Student Input: notes
Lab Demonstration: knife construction
Teacher Input: Types of Knives ppt.
Lab: Knife Scavenger Hunt
 Blade Composition

 Carbon Steel
 Stainless Steel
 High-Carbon Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel-is a hard durable metal made of

chromium
High carbon stainless steel.
Is a mix of iron, carbon, chromium.
Advantages: Doesn’t rust or discolor
Can be sharpened easily
 Carbon Steel

 Alloy of iron and

carbon
 Can hold its edge
very well and stay
sharp
 Blade can rust and
stain
 Requires
maintenance
 Knife Construction

 Stainless Steel
 Made of iron,
chromium, and other
metals
 Won’t color or rust

 Won’t transfer a
metallic taste to foods
 Difficult to sharpen
and keep an edge
 High-Carbon Stainless Steel (the best
knife material available)
 Mix of iron, carbon, chromium, and other metals
that combines the best features of stainless steel and
carbon steel
 $$$$
 Doesn’t rust or discolor
 Can be sharpened easily and holds an edge.
 Knife construction

 In order to know which knife to use for a specific

task, you must have a working knowledge of the
different parts of a knife.
 Knives

 They are the most commonly used kitchen tools

which is why they are such an important part of any
chef’s tool kit.

 Which knives are found in your kitchen?

 Knife Parts
Point
Tip
Blade
Back
Cutting edge
Bolster
Heel
Rivets
Handle
Tang-on handle below rivets
 Rivet

The Tang is attached to the knife

handle with Rivets.
Metal pieces that fasten the handle
to the tang.

For Comfort and sanitation the rivet

should be smooth and lie flush with
the handle surface.
 Knife Tang
 Full tang-Most powerful
 Partial tang

Chef knives,
Cleavers
have full
Tang’s.
Utility knives-
partial tangs.
 Parts of the Knife

 Tang
 Part of the blade that continues into the knife’s handle
 Gives the knife stability and extra weight
 Full Tang—long as the whole knife handle
 Gives knife extra power and strength
 Ex: Breaking down bones
 Partial Tang—does not run the entire length of the knife
 Used for knives that do light work
 Ex: Paring veggies
 Bolster

 Some knifes have a shank or bolster in the

spot where the blade and handle come
together.
 Knives with Bolsters are very strong and
durable.
 Advantages: helps prevent food particles from
entering the space between the tang and the
handle. (adds weight and balance and keeps
the cook’s hand from slipping forward onto
the blade.
 Knife skills Video

 Parts of the knife and matching the right knife for the
skill/food:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLYnG81ATHw
 Individual/Group
Lab Activity 15 minutes

 Go into your kitchen find several chef knives place

them on the counter
 Draw a picture of a Chef’s Knife
 Label all the parts
 Use Construction Paper
 Stay within your kitchen
 Each person will construct a knife
 DO NOT PLAY WITH THE KNIVES!!!
 5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food
preparation
Types and uses of knives 5-18-2017

Bell ringer: none

Teacher Input: Types & Uses of Knives ppt
Student Input: graphic organizer
Teacher Input: Knife cuts videos
 Types and Uses of Knives

 Chefs
 Slicer
 Boning
 Paring
 Tournée
 Fillet
 Butcher Utility
In the kitchen you are not a Boy Scout or in the
Swiss Army

 Kitchen knives are

designed to do specific jobs
and to do those jobs very
well.
 Chefs and line cooks who
are serious about cooking
have their own knife kit.
Your knife is your friend.
Get to know it well.
 Types of Knives
A must have
knife for any
serious cook
 Chef’s Knife
 Also known as the cook’s knife
or a French knife.
 All purpose knife used for
slicing, chopping, dicing and
mincing.
 Curved to allow the cook to rock
the knife on the cutting board
 Blade is generally 6 or 8 inches.
Some are 10 and 12 inches. Most important for chopping
vegetables
Average is 8 inches
 Slicer
 Long thin blade
 Used for cutting large food such as meat and
poultry

Most
appropriate for
carving a roast
at a buffet
 Serrated Slicer
 Toothed like
 Used for slicing soft foods such as cake, bread and
tomatoes
 Types of Knives

 Slicing (nonserrated)
 Long stiff blade for
slicing meat and
carving.
 Good for carving
whole chickens and
roasts.
 Types of Knives

 Boning Knife
 Thin angled 5-7” blade
 Used to remove bones
from cuts of meat
 Used to trim fat
 Stiff boning knife
 Good for beef and pork
 Flexible boning knife
 Preferred for poultry and
fish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFf6RN
8VV0o 1 min
 5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food
preparation
Types and uses of knives 5-18-2017

Bell ringer: none

Teacher Input: Types & Uses of Knives ppt
Student Input: graphic organizer
Teacher Input: Knife cuts videos
Individual: Surprise!
 A must have
Types of Knives knife for any
serious cook
 Paring Knife
 Only other knife a cook
MUST have
 Small, rigid, plain knife
that is 2 to 4 inches long
 Ideal for peeling and other
small intricate work
(deveining shrimp, cutting
small garnishes, carving
melons)
 Used to pare
 Trim off a thin outer layer or
PEEL
 Tournée Knife
 Curved bladed knife used to trim potatoes and other
vegetables into football shapes

Similar in
size to a
paring knife
has a curved
blade that
looks like a
bird’s beak.
Uses: Trim
Potatoes,
vegetables
into shapes
that resemble
footballs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IWty
8bKFnw 3.0 mins
Tournée Cuts
 Utility Knife

Smaller but similar in shape to a chef’s knife

All purpose knife with a 5-7 in blade.

Uses: Peeling and slicing fruits and

vegetables. Medium-length blade will do light work
of a chef’s knife and heavier work of a paring knife.
Since it is in between the two most used knives, it
has declined in popularity
 Types of Knives

 Utility knife
 Medium-length blade
will do light work of a
chef’s knife and
heavier work of a
paring knife. Since it is
in between the two
most used knives, it
has declined in
popularity
 Types of Knives

 Utility knife
 Medium-length blade
will do light work of a
chef’s knife and
heavier work of a
paring knife. Since it is
in between the two
most used knives, it
has declined in
popularity
 Fillet Knife

Fillet fish
Types of Knives

 Fillet Knife
 8-9” very thin and
flexible blade with
pointed tip
 Allows blade to easily
move along the
backbone and under
the skin of fish
 Used mainly to fillet
fish
 Types of Knives

 Butcher Knife ( aka

Scimitar)
 6-14” rigid blade
whose tip curves up at
a 25° angle
 Called a scimitar
because it resembles a
sword of that name
 Used for heavy work
and to cut meat,
poultry, and fish
 Extra Knives
 Cleaver
 Cut through bone with shear force
 Soft Cheese Knife
 Holes in the blade to prevent the
cheese from sticking
 Hard Cheese Knife
 Sharp blades to cut exact slices and
forked tip to allow to be used as
serving utensil
 Ceramic Knife
 These knives stay sharp longer than
steel knives. They are also extremely
brittle and will shatter or crack when
used to pry. They chip on the edge if
used roughly.
Extra Knives
 Usuba Bocho
 Japanese knife used for chopping
veggies
 Tomato knife
 Small knife with serrated blade
 Oyster knife
 Short thick blade used to pry open
oysters
 Grapefruit knife
 Small, slender blade ideal for separating
the grapefruit from the rind
 Santuko
 current fad in trendy cooking circles –
Asian knife with no bolster and large
squarish blade.
 Quiz

1.What are the parts of a knife? Name all 10

2.Where is the Tang located? It can be either _________ or _______.
3.I am a smaller and lighter version of a chef’s knife (used for cutting,
slicing and peeling). Which knife am I?
4.Which knife is MOST appropriate for chopping vegetables?
5.Which knife is used to pare or trim of the peel of fruits/vegetables?
6.What does ‘Serrated” mean? Which type of knife is used?
7.Which knife is specially designed for filleting fish. It has a very flexible
blade?
8.I am a type of paring knife, with a curved blade, making cutting
rounded surfaces easier. Hint: I am known as a bird’s beak
knife. Which knife am I?
5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food preparation-

 Bell ringer: Knife Care ppt

 Individual: Knife Safety Care & Storage (booklet)
 Video- sharpening steel
 Lab Activity-Honing Knives

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Scktc0iSdM sharpening steel

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U9XpRkT4iU&list=PL9C7E9693
549EC00F&index=13 sharpening stone
 Knife Care

Sharpening
Truing
Sanitizing
Storing
 Knife Sharpening

 Using a whetstone
 Hold knife at 20° angle
 Draw knife across
stonehttps://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=-Scktc0iSdM sharpening steel
 sharpening stone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBXRk
MZfIXk
 Knife Trueing

 Draw the knife blade slowly along the entire length

of a steel at a 20° angle
 Knife Sanitizing

 Wash in hot soapy water after each task

 Air dry
 Sanitize after each use to prevent cross
contamination and the spread of
microorganism
 Knife Storage

 Do not store in utensil drawer

 Storing Knives

 Slotted knife holder

 Knife Kit
 Custom built drawer
 Magnetized bar
 Knife Safety

 Correct Knife for task

 Keep knives sharp
 Blade away from body
 Make a claw out of holding hand
 Use cutting board
 Carry a knife with blade pointed down
 Don’t catch a falling knife
 Pass carefully
 Never leave in sink filled with water
 Wash and sanitize before you put away
 Store properly
5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food preparation-
5-19-2017

 Bell ringer: Return quizzes

 Individual: Knife Safety Care & Storage (booklet)
 Lab Activity-Honing Knives/Group
 Create a Safety and Sanitation Book

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37IR0HcIB5o
 Include all Guidelines which are outlined on page 238.(Culinary
Essentials Book)
 Include two ways to store knives properly p.239
 Include how to sanitize knives
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q2moKEB8gg
 Use illustrations, magazines, etc.
 Construction paper
 Hole puncher/stapler etc
 Yarn etc/pipe cleaners

 Sanitizing and cleaning knives

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcvQXpM1cz4
 Kitchen Group Activity/I only need 1 poster

 P. 118 in the Culinary Arts Book

 Construct 1 poster per kitchen group of sharpening with a
stone and honing with a straightening steel .
 Each time we perform a task with a knife it will be honed
first.
 Use Construction Paper/Poster Board
 Designate 1 group member to place your poster in the
appropriate kitchen
 The group with the best drawing will receive 5 extra points
on the next test (per person)
The Guiding Hand p.107
5.01 Apply knife skills commonly used in food preparation-
5-22-17

 Bell ringer: Sample Cuts

 Individual: Knife Safety Care & Storage (booklet) (Turn in)
 Teacher Input: Knife cuts ppt
 Student Input: notes
 Group: Practice Knife/videos
 Group: Workplan for tomorrow’s Lab
 “Homemade Salsa & Chips”
 Bellringer 5-22-2017

 Sample Cuts p.114

 Place in your notebooks
 Culinary Arts Book
 Rondelles
 Diagonal Cuts
 Brunoise
 Small, medium & Large dice(Cube)
 Julienne
 Batonnet
 Knife Cuts

Slicing
Mincing
Stick/Julienee
Dicing
 Types of Cuts

 Slicing-slicing cleanly through food should be no problem if a knife is

sharpened properly. Simply guide the knife through the food.
 Mincing-generally small than chopped food.
 What food comes to mind when we think of “Mincing?”
Dicing-use your chef’s knife. To cut it into 1/8 to 5/8 in cubes you will
need to cut the food into sticks.
Julienne-Cuts are 1/8 in thick matchstick shaped cuts. Carrots are
often cut Julienne.
 How to hold a knife safely and make basic cuts:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2-SbDS2hc4
 Part 1: (home cook style) knife skills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV0c7qiNjuI&lis
t=PLAA8F552BC36A8161&index=6 Chef Tomm
 Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSTBJ82nUts&
list=PLAA8F552BC36A8161 Chef Tomm (practice
batonnet (with potatoes)
 Knife Cuts: Slicing

Cut food into large thin pieces

 Knife Cuts: Specialty Slicing

 Chiffonade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34sQn3
pzAtc
 Knife Cuts: Specialty Slicing

 Rondelle – Disc shaped slice from cylindrical fruits

and vegetables such as cukes and carrots
 Diagonal rondelle-Hold the knife at 60°
 Knife Cuts: Mincing
 Food cut into smallest pieces
possible
 Garlic and onions

https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=VQlo8Wr9Z0c
 Knife Cuts: Stick Cuts

 Fine matchstick: smaller than 1/8”

 Julienne: 1/8”
 Batonnet: ¼”
 Stick: 3/8”
 French Fry: 5/8”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VBna
FhOEn8 Julienne
 Knife Skills: Dicing
 1/8” to 5/8” cubes * Carrots are normally diced into
¼ inch cubes
 Large Dice: 5/8” cubes
 Medium Dice: 3/8” cubes
 Small Dice: 1/8” cubes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydc_Sa
Q_eRQ
Demonstration of Chopping and Dice
 Kitchen Group Activity
Read pages 109-112/continued
 Let’s Practice…Julienne Cuts,) Batonnet (use potatoes) &
Mincing (julienne cuts use carrots) (diagonal cut)
 Peppers (use one of the above cuts) Chopping/Julienne
 Work with your kitchen Groups
 Individual Activity Complete. A one paragraph explanation
of the use of knives and versatility of cuts demonstrated
such as: Batonnet, Julienne, and mincing. How easy or
difficult was the task that was given based on today’s
activity? What challenges did you face or successes?
 Complete work plans for Homemade salsa and chips for
tomorrow
 Kitchen Labs/Homemade Salsa & Chips
5-23-2017

 Appearance (Proper Attire) Hairnets (hats) aprons

 Remember Safety and Sanitation
 Proper Knife holds and positions
 Teamwork
 Professionalism while in the kitchen, use of
appropriate language (focus)