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Excellent knife skills are essential for any chef worth their salt, and though it can take years to reach a kind of knife Zen, when the tool almost becomes an extension of the body, an extra limb, there are basic knife skills every chef should have in his or her arsenal.
And for the amateur cook, strong knife skills can make the whole cooking process infinitely more enjoyable and enable you to turn out higher quality dishes that will wow your guests.
Here then are four great videos covering basic knife skills, plus one that demonstrates just why the countless hours of knife practice are worth all the toil. Also, check out five knife grips to master and seven knife cuts to perfect for more knife skill tutorials.
Firstly, you need to ensure that your knife is sharp enough. Let Bob Kramer, maker of some the world’s best chef knives show you how to test for sharpness.
Next, legendary French chef Jacques Pépin shows you how to chop an onion, one of the most basic, but essential skills of the kitchen.
In this video, How Stuff Works explain three basic knife cuts every chef should know: chiffonade, batonnet and tournée.
More from Pépin, as he shows us how to prep an artichoke. See more videos from this series here.
And finally, the things this Japanese chef can do with a single cucumber are extraordinary. Take a look:
