How I Teach Knife Cuts.

Unit Plan
Day 1:
Knife Safety 

• use the correct knife for the task at hand
• always cut away from yourself
• always cut on a cutting board 
• do not use glass metal or marble only plastic cutting boards
• place a damp towel underneath the cutting board to keep it  from sliding
• keep knives sharp; a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp
• when carrying a knife, hold it point down, parallel and close to your leg as you walk 
• do not attempt to catch a falling knife, step back and allow it to fall
• never leave a knife in a sink of water

Parts of the Knife: (for more info see other blog post)

Types of Knives and Uses

***** Tip

Create a table for you students to take notes in.

1 column (name of the knife)

2 column (sketch of the knife)

3 column (information and use of the knife)

Chefs Knife

• AKA French Knife
• this is an all purpose knife it can be used for peeling, trimming, chopping, slicing, and dicing.
• 8-14in triangular blade

Slicer

• long, thin blade
• ideal for cutting large foods such as meat and poultry
• pointed or rounded tip
• may be serrated- usually for breads 

Paring Knife

• 2-4 in long blade
• used to pare a thin outer layer or peel from fruits and vegetables
• pare: trim off

Utility Knife

• 6-8 in long blade
• all purpose used for cutting fruits and vegetables and carving poultry

Boning Knife

• 5-7 in thin blade
• Used to separate meat from the bone
• Flexible 

Steel

• a magnetic abrasive, steel rod used to hone or straighten a blade after and between sharpening

How to use a Steel:

Knife Grip:

Demo

****** Tip

Create a table where your students can measure out the cut and write measurements, definitions, and directions about each cut in the same location.

Knife Cuts:

Stick Cuts:

Julienne: Matchstick

Julienne: 2 1/2 in x 1/8 in x 1/8 in

Batonnet Knife Cut: 2 1/2 in x 1/4 in x 1/4 inc

Dices:

Brounise: Cube cut from a Julienne

Brounise: 1/8 in x 1/8 in x 1/8 in

Small Dice: Cube cut from a Batonnet

Small Dice: 1/4 in x 1/4 in x 1/4 in

Medium Dice: 1/2 in x 1/2 in x 1/2 inch

Large Dice: 3/4 in x 3/4 in x 3/4 inch

Oblique Cut: cut food at a 45 degree bias, quarter turn it toward you so the cut side faces up, cut again at 45 degree right through the middle of the cut face. Quarter turn it again and repeat the process.

Rondelle: cutting is to cut something into a circular shape. It is basically cutting a round food into round slices.

Concasse: to crush or grind. Most often the term applied to a tomato that has been peeled, seeded (seeds and skins removed), and chopped to specified dimensions.

Chiffonade: in french means little rags.

Chiffonade is a chopping technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables (such as spinach and basil) are cut into long, thin strips.

Tournee: seven sided football shape

Day 3: Open Lab

Day 4 Open Lab

Day 6: Open Lab

Day 7: Knife Cut Practical

This can be used for entry level and advance level students. All you need to do is choose what knife cuts to teach at what level.

Tips:

Have your students work in partners. Each student is to watch for safe hand techniques

Have your students use a ruler to mark there index finger with an ink pen at 1/8 in, 1/4 in, 1/2 inch, 3/4 in, and 2 in. They can use this to help them measure their knife cuts. After a while the students will be able to memorize where on the finger the mark was and will no longer need the mark.

Carry around a red marker and mark their finger when you see incorrect hand holds or other safety mistakes.

*I will continue to update.