Knife Skills

The handy dandy chef’s knife is one item that anyone worth their salt in the kitchen knows to be on the list of items that they would need if they ever were stranded on an island. The sheer versatility of a good blade will help keep you fed, able to defend yourself, and can be a utility player in your survival. However, the point of this discourse is more akin to the use of the venerable chef’s knife in a more staid kitchen setting.

Terms to Know

• Chop (hiwa, putol, tadtad) – Cut into small pieces with no defined size or measurement.
• Mince (pinong hiwa o tadtad) – Cut into very small pieces.
• Shred (himay) – Cut into long thing pieces or strips.
• Julienne – Cut into match stick sized pieces.
  • Fine Julienne – 1/16 x 1/16 x 2 in.
  • Julienne – 1/8 x 1/8 x 2 in.
  • Batonnet – 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 in.
• Dice – Cut into cube shaped pieces.
  • Fine Dice | Burnoise – 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 in.
  • Small Dice | Macedoine – 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 in.
  • Medium Dice | Parmentier – 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 in.
  • Large Dice | Carré – 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 in.

To learn how to handle that knife I present to you a short video from Allrecipes.com