ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY

SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA
MODULE 1: KNIFE SKILLS

INTRODUCTION
A knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of
this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives, there are also many
specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks. Kitchen knives can be made from
several different materials.

ANATOMY OF KNIFE

POINT The very end of the knife, which is used for piercing
TIP The first third of the blade, which is used for small or delicate work
EDGE The cutting surface of the knife, which extends from the point to the
heel
HEEL The rear part of the blade, used for cutting activities that require more
force
SPINE The top, thicker portion of the blade, which adds weight and strength
BOLSTER The thick metal portion joining the handle and the blade, which adds
weight and balance and keeps the cook’s hand from slipping
FINGER The portion of the bolster that keeps the cook’s hand from slipping
GUARD onto the blade
RETURN The point where the heels meets the bolster
TANG The portion of the metal blade that extends into the handle, giving the
knife stability and extra weight
SCALES The two portions of handle material (wood, plastic, composite, etc.)
that are attached to either side of the tang
RIVETS The metal pins (usually 3) that hold the scales to the hang
HANDLE The lip below the butt of the handle, which gives the knife a better grip
GUARDS and prevents slipping
BUTT The terminal end of the handle

1. GENERAL KNIFE
 Chef's knife -also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation.
The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts
of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most western cooks.
A chef's knife generally has a blade eight inches (20 centimeters) in length
and 1 1⁄2 inches (3.8 cm) in width, although individual models range from 6 to 14 inches
(15 to 36 centimetres) in length. There are two common types of blade shape in western
chef's knives, French and German. German-style knives are more deeply and
continuously curved along the whole cutting edge; the French style has an edge that is
straighter until the end and then curves up to the tip.

1|P a g e MODULE 1
ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA
 Bread Knife-  are used for cutting bread and are one of many kitchen knives used by
cooks. The serrated blades of bread knives are able to cut soft bread without crushing
it.
 Offset serrated- similar to a bread knife, and arguably a type of bread knife, an offset
serrated knife is a knife , an offset serrated knife is a knife with a serrated blade and
an offset handle that ensures the cook’s knuckles will not touch the cutting surface
when he blade had cut all of the way of the way through the food. These knives are
particularly popular with chefs, though they have not become very popular with
home cooks.
 Paring knife- is a small knife with a plain edge blade that is ideal fro peeling and
other small or intricate work. It is designed smaller. Paring knives are usually
between 6cm to 10 cm, as anything larger that about 10 cm or 12 cm is typically
considered a utility knife.
 Utility knife- it is a medium size knife of conventional pattern intended for a myriad
of cutting duties. Utility knives can either have a plain edge blade or a serrated blade,
some of which are considered tomato knives. They are usually between about 10cm
and 18 cm in length.
 Steak knife- is used at the tables to cut through especially tough foods, such as
meat.it is about 10cm to 15 cm long ans usually serrated through some are not.

2. MEAT KNIVES

 Carving knife- A knife with an 8 to 15 inch blade used for carving large roasts,

poultry, and filleting large fish. The blade edge of a carving knife is either smooth or
beveled. The blade should be large enough to carve across the cut of meat, poultry,
or fish in one sweep.

 Slicing knife- Similar to carving knives, slicing knives have long, thin blades with
either a round or pointed tip. With a more flexible blade than a carving knife, they
are used to cut thinner slices of roast, fruits and vegetables

 Cleaver knife- cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a
rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife is mostly
intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and through thick pieces of meat.
The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation (such as
garlic) and can also be used to scoop up chopped items.

 Boning knife- A boning knife is a type of kitchen knife with a sharp point and a

narrow blade. It is used in food preparation for removing the bones of poultry, meat,
and fish. ... A stiff boning knife is good for boning beef and pork, but a very
flexible boning knife is preferred for poultry and fish.

 fillet knife-  (also called a filleting knife) is a kitchen knife used for filleting. It gives
good control and aids in filleting. It is a very flexible member of the boning knife
family that is used to filet and prepare fish. Fillet knife blades are typically 15 to
28 cm (6 to 11 in) long. This allows them to move easily along the backbone and
under the skin of meat

 Ham slicer- is a special type of slicer, with a long blade and rounded tip, that is
offered by some manufacturers. They are specially tailored to cutting ham, as they
are generally thinner and more flexible .

2|P a g e MODULE 1
ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA
3. SMALL KNIVES

 Peeling knife - AKA tourne knife or bird’s beak knife, it has a pointed tip that curves
downward sometimes upward and side to side. They are often used for many of the
same tasks as paring knives. They can used to cut decorative garnishes, slice soft
fruits,or peel skins or blemishes

 Decorating knife- is any knife with a decorative blade. The most common pattern is a
simple zigzag. It is used for making fancy cuts for garnishes and presentation.

 Trimming knife- usually about 5cm to 8cm long, a trimming knife has a small curved
blade that is shaped somewhat like a boning knife. Trimming knives are idea for
small tasks such as decorating and peeling.

 Fluting- usually about 5cm to 10cm long, a fluting knife has a small blade that is
very straight. Fluting knives are ideal for small tasks such as decorating and peeling.

4. Cheese knives

 Soft cheese- are specially designed for slicing soft cheese. They generally have holes
in the blade to prevent the cheese from sticking

 Hard cheese- are specially designed for slicing hard cheese. They are sharp, so they
can cut exact slices, and often have a forked tip, allowing them to be used as a
serving utensils as well.

 Parmesan cheese- are specially designed for slicing very hard cheeses. They have
very short, thick blades that allow the user to put pressure into the cut.

5. JAPANESE KNIVES

 Santoku-Santoku bōchō (Japanese: 三 徳 包 丁 ; "three virtues" or "three uses")

or Bunka bōchō (文化包丁) is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan.
Its blade is typically between 13 and 20 cm (5 and 8 in) long, and has a flat edge and
a sheepsfoot blade that curves down an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point.
The term Santoku may refer to the wide variety of ingredients that the knife can
handle: meat, fish and vegetables, or to the tasks it can perform: slicing, chopping
and dicing, either interpretation indicating a multi-use, general-purpose kitchen
knife. The Santoku's blade and handle are designed to work in harmony by matching
the blade's width and weight to the weight of the tang and the handle.

 Usuba bōchō -is the traditional vegetable knife for the professional Japanese chef.
Like other Japanese professional knives, usuba are chisel ground, and have a bevel
on the front side, and have a hollow ground urasuki on the back side. Usuba
characteristically have a flat edge, with little or no curve, and are tall, to allow
knuckle clearance when chopping on a cutting board. Usuba literally means "thin
blade" indicating its relative thinness compared to other knives, required for cutting
through firm vegetables without cracking them. Due to its height and straight edge,
usuba are also used for specialized cuts such as katsuramuki, shaving a vegetable
cylinder into a thin sheet

 Deba bōchō (Japanese: 出 刃 包 丁 , "pointed carving knife") are Japanese style

kitchen knives primarily used to cut fish, though also used when cutting meat. They
come in different sizes, sometimes up to 30 cm (12 inches) in length. ... It is designed
to behead and fillet fish.

6. SPECIALTY KNIVES

3|P a g e MODULE 1
ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA
 Tomato knife- is a smaller knife with a serrated blade. Typically about the size of a
utility knife, tomato knives are ideal for cutting through the tough skin and soft flesh
of tomatoes

 Oyster knife- AKA clam knife has a short, thick blade that is used to pry open oyster
and seperate their meat from the shell.

 De-veining knife- is a small knife used to remove the vein from the back of shrimp

 Grapefruit knife has a long, fat, dull blade that is used to separate the flesh of
grapefruit from the peel and inner membranes

 Mincing knife- to mince chop or cut foods into smaller bits for seasoning sauces,
soups, salads, and other dishes. Mincing knives can be either single or double bladed
to cut a variety of foods into very small pieces. A mincing knife is also referred to as
a Mezzaluna, Mezzaluna chopper, Mezzaluna knife, or chopper and chopping knife.
Another version of a mincing tool is the rolling mincer or rotary mincer. This utensil
consists of numerous circular blades, close together mounted on a handle, enabling
the user to roll the tool back and forth over the herb as the blades do the mincing.

ACCESSORIES

1. Cutting board- A cutting board (or chopping board) is a durable board on which to

place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food;
other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting
boards are often made of wood or plastic and come in various widths and sizes. There are
also cutting boards made of glass, steel, or marble, which are easier to clean than wooden
or plastic ones such as nylon or corian, but tend to damage knives due to their hardness.
Rough cutting edges—such as serrated knives—abrade and damage a cutting surface
more rapidly than do smooth cutting implements.

2. Carving fork

3. Honing steel- A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, whet

steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel, is a rod
of steel, ceramic or diamond-coated steel used to re-align blade edges. They are flat, oval,
or round in cross-section and up to 1 foot (30 cm) long. The steel and ceramic honing
steels may have longitudinal ridges, whereas the diamond-coated steels are smooth but
embedded with abrasive diamond particles

4. Shears

BASIC KNIFE TECHNIQUES

A. KNIFE GRIPS

1. Handle grip

2. Blade grip

4|P a g e MODULE 1
ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA

B. GUIDING HAND

1. THE CLAW METHOD

2. The parallel finger method

C. CUTTING STYLES

boning chopping cubing juleinning mincing

slicing filleting

Filleting fish

5|P a g e MODULE 1
ALDERSGATE COLLEGE CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS WITH LABORATORY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTOR CHERRY ANN JOY N. ABON,MBA
Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXSgGtMkgro

Skinning fish

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKledhPdfxk

Deboning fish

Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyaIU1PDyzU

6|P a g e MODULE 1