Knife Skills for Better Cooking

When I first started cooking, my kitchen felt like a battleground. Dull knives required excessive force to slice vegetables. Picture me destroying an onion with what I thought was a good knife, or trying to cut a tomato with a knife that had the cutting power of a plastic spoon. Don’t worry—if I could go from that onion slaying to cooking dinner, you can do it too.

Most dishes start with cutting. Getting comfortable with a sharp knife will boost your confidence and speed up prep time. Basic skills can upgrade your cooking, starting with essential knives and the importance of keeping them sharp. No more ordering takeout because chopping vegetables feels daunting.

These knife skills will help you prepare any dish efficiently, whether you're cooking traditional family recipes or trying something new. While I share my techniques, you may already have favorite tools or cutting methods that are different. These tips can complement what you know.

Before we begin, let’s get the warning out of the way. These tools are dangerous, and if you’re not careful, you can injure yourself. Nobody wants a trip to the ER during dinner prep, so have these two basics down:

• Keep your knives sharp - A sharp knife cuts through food easily. A dull one requires more force, increasing the risk of the blade slipping into your fingers. If you're sawing at your vegetables like you're cutting down a tree, your knife needs help.

• Get a sturdy cutting board - An essential kitchen item. A basic plastic one from the dollar store works fine to start, just make sure it's big enough for your veggies and stable before cutting. Use a sticky shelf liner underneath to prevent it from moving. And, glass cutting boards are knife killers. Please don’t buy those.

The Two Knives Every Home Cook Needs

Forget fancy 12-piece knife sets that cost more than your grocery haul. For knife skills, simplicity is key. You need two knives for most kitchen tasks: a big one and a small one.

Chef's knife - This is your kitchen MVP. It's ideal for chopping vegetables, slicing proteins, and most cutting tasks. It's like the kitchen equivalent of your favorite pair of jeans; you'll use it daily. The size typically range between 6 and 10 inches.

Paring knife - Your detail guy. It's smaller and more delicate, perfect for precision work, like peeling fruits and vegetables.

Invest in the best quality chef knives you can afford. You don’t need fancy, expensive brands. A sturdy, reliable knife from Victorinox or Mercer will last you and improve your cooking experience. I got my Mercer bread knife for about $20 three years ago, and it has survived daily use and still cuts like a dream. Before buying, if you can, try them out. Test a few to see how they fit your hand and what size works best. For paring knives, I keep a few inexpensive ones. The best knife is a sharp one! Check out my anti-gadget kitchen set-up to learn what other tools can help up your cooking game.

Slicing Your Food

Here's where the magic happens—or in my early days, where the chaos unfolded. Ever tried to dice an onion and ended up with chunks ranging from "bite-sized" to "why-is-this-still-whole"? Let's fix that.

Stabilize the food - The items you’ll be cutting come in various shapes and sizes, sometimes rolling off the counter. Before cutting, roll it to find a stable groove. For rounder shapes, cut the top and bottom off to create a flat surface.

Hold your knife steady - Think of it like holding hands with your knife. Pinch your blade with the thumb and forefinger and let the other fingers wrap around the handle to maintain control while cutting.

• Keep the food down - The best way to hold it while cutting is using the claw grip. This keeps your fingers out of the way and helps you control the food using your knuckles as a guide.

• Eyes on the food - Cut when your eyes are on the food. If you look away, stop cutting. It’s not the time to catch up on your feed.

Let's discuss cutting technique without the fancy talk.

• Slicing - This involves thin, even cuts, ideal for everything from vegetables to chicken strips. Use a smooth, down and forward gliding motion. Let the knife do the work while you glide it across the food. Aim for even size pieces for consistent cooking. The size of your cut pieces will dictate cooking time. The smaller the piece, the faster it cooks. I’d recommend focusing on cutting technique above all else. The speed will come with experience.

• Chopping - This is your rough-and-ready technique. It’s technically a slicing variation, but with less precision. These rough pieces don’t require even sizes, like in a stew with slow-cooked ingredients or roughly chopped salad.

Regardless of how you cut your food, if your knife isn’t sharp, you’ll struggle and be annoyed every time you prep. You can avoid this with a few simple tricks and minimal investment.

How to Keep Your Knives Sharp

Have you ever tried to slice a tomato and ended up with something that looks like it went through a paper shredder? That's what happens with dull knives. Here’s how to keep yours sharp:

• Sharpening - You can sharpen your knife at home with a sharpener or a whetstone, a flat stone for sharpening knives. The home sharpener removes too much steel and doesn’t produce a good edge. While better than the home sharpener, depending on the knife, using the whetstone takes practice. Both of these options come with a cost and time investment. In my case, I let the pros handle it while I do my groceries and pick it up on the way back. $5-10 per knife every three months is worth not fighting with my food.

• Honing - Consider this as knife blade alignment, not sharpening. Use a honing rod, a long, thin tool with a slightly rough surface, regularly to realign the blade and maintain its sharpness.

• Use a bench scraper - Your knife isn't a shovel. Scraping food with your knife dulls it and can chip the blade. A $2 bench scraper will save your $40 knife.

• Keep it out of the way - The dishwasher and knife drawer are where good knives go to die. Keep it on a knife bar or in a block with the blade side up.

Let’s make some food!

You don't need to be a fancy chef to make food you want to eat at home. This is about getting dinner on the table faster, saving money on pre-cut vegetables, and impressing yourself (and maybe others you live with) a little bit along the way.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with knives! How many do you have? Share your story or burning questions in the comments below, drop me an email, or join me on Instagram to continue the conversation. Let’s do this cooking adventure together.

How to Make Food Taste Better with Salt

I'll never forget the day I discovered the power of salt. Sitting in my favorite local bakery, I took a bite of their turkey sandwich. It wasn’t my first time eating the sandwich but for reasons I can’t remember, it was the first time I paid attention to the lack of flavor it had. Everything tasted meh. Even the cheese was about as exciting as the white bread. Next week, I asked to have salt on my tomatoes. The tomatoes tasted more vibrant, more... tomato-y than any I'd ever made at home. Suddenly, that same sandwich was singing! That moment changed the way I seasoned food.

I used to be that person who only thought about salt when the food was already on my plate. Learning when and how to use salt is the foundation of good cooking, and it's a skill anyone can master. Let's explore how to enhance your food, starting with the basics.

The Only Salt You Really Need

Let's keep this simple. You don't need fancy pink salt from the Himalayas or expensive sea salt blessed by mermaids. Regular kosher salt (I stick with Diamond Crystal) from the grocery store will do the trick. Here's why I love it:

• Melts like a dream - No weird crunchy bits in your food.

• Easy to handle - Your fingers can grab just what you need (unlike that runaway table salt).

• Less salty per pinch - Harder to over-salt your food (we've all been there).

• Just salt - No weird stuff added.

For most of my cooking, I stick to this salt for easier flavor control without oversalting. While this is my preference, other cultures have traditional seasoning choices that are super tasty. Beyond kosher salt, for example, I also use ingredients like soy sauce and fish sauce, which add both saltiness and complex umami flavors to dishes.

Quick tip: Park a little bowl of salt next to your stove (this visual reminder will nudge you to use it). Nothing fancy – just make sure you can fit your fingers in it. This beats going back and forth to the cupboards every time you need to season something. Plus, you'll look like a proper chef doing that finger-pinching thing. Start with two fingers, work your way up to five – you'll get the hang of it!

Why is salt essential for flavor?

Ever bite into something and think, "Meh, this is missing... something"? Nine times out of ten, that something is salt. It's like turning up the volume on your favorite song – suddenly you can hear all the instruments clearly. Salt doesn't just make food taste salty; it's more like a flavor DJ, mixing and amplifying all the tastes in your dish.

Here's the cool part: salt makes sweet things sweeter, sour things tangier, and those fancy umami flavors... well, more umami-er. A pinch of salt can elevate the sweetness of roasted vegetables or enhance a citrus-based sauce. In savory dishes, it balances bitter notes or enhances the earthiness of ingredients like mushrooms or lentils. Unlike spices that add their own flavor, it is a seasoning that improves flavor.

Without salt, eating is like scrolling through your phone without color. Not the same experience.

Strategies for Improved Seasoning During Cooking

Want to know the big secret? Salt. As. You. Go.

That's it.

Seriously though, don't wait until the end to add all your salt. Every time you throw something new in the pot? Add a little pinch. For most cooking tasks, adding it at each stage is best for managing seasoning. Building flavors is like building a house – you need a solid foundation at every step, not just a fancy roof at the end.

Here's how to do it right: Hold your hand about 6 inches above your food (roughly the length of your phone) and sprinkle away. Use your fingers, not a spoon – you'll get better at eyeballing it this way. Starting out? Use less than you think you need. You can always add salt, but it’s hard to remove it. Fixing an over-salted dish is about as fun as doing taxes. In case you do use too much, here's your rescue plan:

• Add more of everything else

• Throw in some acid (lemon juice, vinegar)

• Sweeten it up (yes, really!)

• Try water

• When all else fails, order pizza 🍕 (you’ll have another chance tomorrow)

Training Your Taste Buds

Time to level up your salt game! The secret? Taste everything (use common sense here, raw chicken is not a good idea – let's not get salmonella). Think of yourself as a flavor detective, investigating every step of the cooking process.

You can try this right now:

1. Grab an onion

2. Chop it up (try not to cry)

3. Heat up a pan and add some oil

4. Throw some onions in

5. Taste a piece (careful, it's hot!)

6. Add a pinch of salt

7. Wait 30 seconds

8. Taste again

Magic, right? Did you notice how the onion's sweetness suddenly comes through? That's not just salt you're tasting – it's the transformation of a humble ingredient into something superb. As you add more flavorful ingredients like garlic, herbs, or spices, add another pinch. You add salt and build layers of flavor.

In summary, taste! Add a pinch of salt. Taste again. Repeat until the dish is flavorful and impressive, but not salty.

Too much work? Take two slices of tomato. Salt one, not the other. Let it sit for a few minutes. Taste the one you haven’t salted. Taste the salted one. Right?

Let’s make some food!

You're gonna mess up sometimes. We all do. But that's how you learn! Every kitchen disaster is just a funny story waiting to happen (and maybe a good reason to order takeout).

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with seasoning food! Which salt do you use? Share your story or burning questions in the comments below, drop me an email, or join me on Instagram to continue the conversation. Let’s do this cooking adventure together.