Foods- Safety & Sanitation

Knife Skills

What household object accounts for the most visits to the Emergency

room?

KITCHEN KNIVES!!!

Knife Skills• Tips—– KNIVES are the basic cutting tool in the kitchen.

• Peelers, shears, and choppers are also helpful with cutting tasks.

– Always make sure your knife is SHARP. Dull knives cause more accidents than sharp knives. Why?• Sharpening knives- sharpening steel/knife sharpener

– Wash your fruits and veggies before cutting them!

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIz8QNVb4P8

Knives

BREAD KNIFE- How is this one different?

PARING KNIFE

Knives• Chef’s (or French)

Knife– The best knives are

forged from a single piece of steel that runs the entire length of the knife. (It should be held together with at least 2 rivets.)

– This steel in the handle is what makes the tang.

Proper way to hold a chef’s knife

• The thumb grips the knife around the top of the blade, with the hand wrapped around the bolster of the knife.

• This hold provides extra control over the blade.

Parts of a Knife

• Tang: the continuation of the blade that extends into the handle. Designed for balance.

• Blade: used to cut/slice.• Handle: built to guide the blade for cutting.• Bolster: joins the blade of the knife to the handle.• Rivets: metal pins used to join the tang to the

handle

Parts of the Chef’s Knife

Blade

1

Tang

2

3

Bolster

Rivet

Handle

Slice & Dice• Slice- to cut food

into large, thin pieces

• Cube/Dice-to cut food into square pieces – Cube- ½ in. pieces– Dice- 1/8-1/4 in.

pieces

• http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/knife-skills-slicing-and-dicing-zucchini/1dnqt7umh

• http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video+how+to+dice+tomatoes&view=detail&mid=28918BBB7C26BA5EFB5C28918BBB7C26BA5EFB5C&first=0

Julienne• Cutting food into

1/8in. X 1/8 in. x 2-inch strips

• http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/knife-skills-julienne-and-batonnet-cuts/17uxhbn51

Chopping/Mincing• Chop- to cut food

into small, irregular pieces.

• Mince- chop finely

• http://www.monkeysee.com/play/16858-how-to-mince-jalape-os

Pare/Score• Pare- to cut off a

very thin layer of peel with a paring knife or peeler

• Score- make straight, shallow cuts in the surface of food– Helps with

tenderizing meat

Types of

Knives

Chef’s Knife• All-purpose knife.• Used especially for chopping, slicing and

mincing

Cleaver• Used for chopping and cutting through

bones.

Paring Knife• A small knife usually used for trimming small fruits

and vegetables.

Serrated Slicing Knife

• Used for cutting bread, cakes and similar items.

Steak Knife

• Excellent all-purpose table knife, great for cutting cooked meat.

Knife Safety

Safety• Keep knives sharp.

• SHARP knives tend to be safer than DULL knives because you do not need to press as hard to cut foods.

• When carrying a knife through the foods lab always have the blade point of the knife pointing DOWN.

Safety cont.• When cutting, curl your FINGERS under in the hand

holding the food.

• If a knife falls, step AWAY from it. Never try to catch a falling knife.

• When cutting, always use an appropriate CUTTING surface.

• You should NOT test the sharpness of a knife by running your finger along the edge of the blade.

Safety cont.

• It is not safe to leave KNIVES to soak in a sink full of hot, soapy water.

• Cutting a Bagel:– Place the bagel flat on the cutting board, lay your

hand down flat on top of the bagel, and slice the bagel in half from the side.

Truing a Knife on sharpening steel

1. Hold the steel away from the body in one hand and the knife in the other.

2. Holding at a 20º angle pass the blade along the entire length of the steel. (keep pressure even and light)

3. Keep blade in contact with the steel for the last few inches.

Truing a Knife on sharpening steel (contd.)

4. Return knife to 1st position, this time on the other side, to sharpen the 2nd side of the blade.

5. Use the thumb to maintain even pressure.

6. Finish the second pass making sure the entire length is properly sharpened.

True or False– Dull knives are safer than sharp knives.FALSE– A cleaver is used for cutting breads.FALSE– The Rivet is a metal pin used to hold the tang and the

handle together.TRUE– When carrying a knife have it pointing toward you.FALSE– NEVER catch a falling knife.TRUE

Recipes

•Pico de Gallo

•Vegetable Stir-Fry