- In this video, I'm
gonna cover Knife 101.
(dramatic music)
When it comes to maximizing your Cutco
and feeling a little bit more
comfortable and confident in the kitchen,
it really comes down to making sure
that your prep station is fully functional
and that you're being safe.
So, for cutting surfaces,
you're gonna wanna use
a soft cutting surface,
like a Cutco cutting board
or a really nice wooden cutting board
that's been properly
oiled with food grade oil.
If you have any questions,
please drop them in the comment section.
We'll be happy to answer those for you.
The next thing is finding the
right tool for the right job.
The best way to do this is
by familiarizing yourself
with each of the tools
and you can watch our entire
How to Use Knives series
where we actually cover each
individual piece for you.
Now, outside of being
perfect with your Cutco
just remember that it's guaranteed forever
and it's not designed for chefs.
It gives a little give and take in there
because we know that they're
eventually gonna go dull
or break and we've got you covered.
But what are the main rules
when picking the right knife?
The two things to think about is
the size of what you're cutting.
You know, we wanna make sure
that the blade is bigger
than what we're cutting.
So, picking up a paring knife
might not be the right thing
to go through a grapefruit
or a cantaloupe.
Also, you know, you don't
really wanna have a knife
that's overwhelmingly large
when you're just tryna cut
something small like a kiwi.
So, find a nice knife
that's about the size
of what you're cutting.
The next step is deciding
whether you're gonna be
sawing or chopping.
So although there's
lots of different tools,
your main go-to knives
are going to be your
Cutco trimmer, your Cutco petite carver
and your Cutco carver.
Again, you can see how the
different lengths of the blades
can really relate to the rule number one.
Picking the right size of the
knife that you're looking for.
Number two is if you're gonna be chopping,
you really wanna make sure
that you have a chopping tool.
Many people like having multiple tools
'cause usually there's more
than one person cooking
and considering that
vegetables are chopped
more than any other food in the kitchen.
And having multiple
meals throughout the day,
it's pretty easy to think about
how your knives are
gonna be easily dirtied
throughout the day.
So having backups makes both of these jobs
really simple and easy.
The next step is how to
hold a chopping knife.
For this, you're gonna wanna
use what's called a pinch grip.
With a lot of the smaller knives,
you're simply just gonna grab that grip.
This design already into the handle
and it's gonna feel really good.
With chopping knives,
they're a little bit bigger
and can feel a little bit overwhelming.
The easiest way to have
control over these knives
is buy holding them correctly.
So, ditch the finger point
'cause this is the easiest way
to lose the control over the knife.
Instead, grab simply the
knife around the middle
just passed the handle
and easily and comfortably wrap,
wrap the rest of your
fingers around the handle.
I can control this entire knife
with just these two fingers
comfortably and confidently
and you can too.
When it comes to your other hand,
you're gonna wanna grip
the food with the clock.
If you're feeling really
overwhelmed, guess what?
It's okay, you're not a professional chef.
Just keep your fingers
far back from the knife.
A great technique to use
is to actually be right up on the knife
and actually use one
or both of your fingers
to actually glide the blade of the knife.
Do this slowly as you get
started using this technique
and slowly you're gonna get
more comfortable and confident
in it as you go.
(slow jazz music)
The next main tips when
it comes to knife 101
is understanding the two
main chopping techniques
with your chopping knives.
The first technique is
gonna be what's called
the locomotive cut.
It's really going pushing down and forward
and then lifting up the knife
and making the circular motion.
It's really just resetting
and understanding
and getting used to this one cut,
is gonna change your cutting
and cooking experience.
(slow jazz music)
The second main tip, here in
holding your cutting knife
is going to be the rocking technique.
You can simply use a couple
of your fingers or the palm
to hold down the tip
and simply move the back of the
knife forwards and backwards
to help get smaller dices, chops and cuts.
So, you can use mince your
garlic, nuts, herbs and spices.
Now let's see that technique in motion.
Pinching the blade,
keeping the tip connected
with the cutting board
and cutting with the
back part of the blade.
We're gonna push down and forward, lift.
Down and forward and lift.
Soon, you too will be
comfortable with this.
So grab some food and practice
and soon it will be very comfortable.
Also, you can see where
if I put my finger here,
I can actually guide the knife.
When I do this, I can
slowly move my fingers back.
If I move them back
slowly, I get thin cuts.
If I move them back quickly,
you can see that I get wider cuts.
Again, go slow and you too
will get this technique down.
Thanks for joining us for this video.
I hope you got a lot out of it
and if you did, hit that like
button and subscribe button
to keep up to date with
the tips and tricks
to make your life easier
and your time in the kitchen
as enjoyable as possible.
We'll see you in the next video.
And until then, remember:
It's not the food that
you serve on the table
that matters most,
it's who you share it with.
