Comments on: Kitchen Fundamentals: Basic Knife Skills

By: David

David — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:18:43 +0000

I just don’t know why they didn’t introduce chopping some leafy Cilantro as the herb.
Combined, the tomato, onion, pepper (Jalepeno) and Cilantro–plus a little salt–makes a great homemade fresh salsa. So easy and delicious!

By: David

David — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:16:53 +0000

Kiki, “Kosher” doesn’t have to do with the dietary laws in this context, it has to do with texture.
The Kosher Salt they’re referring isn’t a dense, square crystal, it’s got a light, flaky texture. And yes, because of surface area ratios and such, this *does* make a difference.

By: Kiki

Kiki — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:54:54 +0000

I will never understand people’s need to specify the salt be ‘kosher’.

NaCl is NaCl.

By: Health Coach

Health Coach — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:39:18 +0000

The author forgot to mention the most important part – tuck in your fingertips! I used to chop things like such a klutz until I started practicing more often – still always make sure that my knuckles protect my fingertips.

By: Phil Doyle

Phil Doyle — Sat, 07 May 2011 07:11:24 +0000

Agree with Arron.

The cutting technique is sound but the author does not hold the knife correctly nor guard his fingers of the “off” hand in any regard. Pretty basic stuff. Tuck in the finger tips and keep the thumb behind the cutting plane first and foremost. Diced epidermis is a lousy addition to any dish. The knife hand should grasp the topside of the steel blade forward of the handle to control the torsional movement while slicing, Just google it, plenty of pro chefs have youtube vids with proper technique

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:46:29 +0000

A small point for sure, but I learned to chiffonade rolling along the length of the herbs. Also I would reccomend if possible to try to avoid cutting into the root (other than cutting in half). Most of the chemicals that make people cry are there, so by not cutting into it you save yourself some discomfort.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:12:27 +0000

@JeffC Yes, I was being a bit snarky about the “losing a finger” comment but the point is still valid. You always want very sharp knives and when you’re dicing onions with this technique its common for the knife to slip through the back end (particularly if you just started to learn this method). So don’t be put off by the snarkiness and take the warning for real: Don’t hold the onion that way when you’re making those cross cuts. Put your fingers on top and if the knife is properly sharpened you won’t have an issue with the cross cuts – it’ll cut to the base no problem.

By: Roger

Roger — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:45:40 +0000

Thank you for your onion dicing instructions. I am no stranger to cooking, but my onion dicing techniques always ended up with variable results and a mess around the cutting board.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:12:26 +0000

The way I cut onions is to cut off both ends, slice down the middle… and that’s about it really, as the layers are easily separated.

Then again that’s for my daily stir-fry…

By: Bryce

Bryce — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:21:57 +0000

Great article. I just kind of wanted to add on to what Aaron wrote. I believe that the method for mincing an onion described above is an older “classical” way. One newer technique, the technique I was raised with (I am a young-un) is to cut it in half just as you said and lay it flat on the table just as you said. However, instead of making graph cuts like you did, you make a series of cuts almost lengthwise around the axis of the onion (don’t cut completely through the root and then go through the other end. they should look like wedges but still be connected) Then you make perpendicular cuts like the last step you described. This way is a bit faster, but your way works just as well. I just thought you may like to keep that in mind in your future chopping adventures.