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.