Knife skills: how to, and how not

[buzzard767]

Knife skills.....NOT! The first video is a Santoku about as sharp as a hammer. Santoku non-skills

The second is the funniest, no, the scariest knife use I've ever seen. The knife is a Nakiri about 165mm long. Nakiris have one purpose only and that is slicing non-hard skinned vegetables and fruits. This absolutely incredible . The way the blade is tossed around in front of her fingers makes me believe that maybe she has a fake hand. LOL

There are knife skills and there are knife skills. Curtis Chung is an Internet friend of mine. He used to work under Wolfgang Puck and is now a head chef. The knives in the following video are Chuckabochos, about 220 X 110mm in size. A Chucka is the Japanese version of a Chinese cleaver but is made specifically for vegetables. Anyway, here he is.

[luvnit]

Interesting videos! Thanks for sharing that Buzz.

[coco hernandez]

Very interesting videos, especially the last one. Doing all that would take me for ever to accomplish.

[buzzard767]

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Very interesting videos, especially the last one. Doing all that would take me for ever to accomplish.

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Curtis is a pro and spends hours a day perfecting his craft. We home cooks can do better than we think if we give it a little practise. Here's another of Curtis's videos, this time with a Gyuto (Japanese version of a chef's knife) which is more familiar to most of us.

[cjs]

practice, practice, practice...

[coco hernandez]

Before practice comes, it's learn how. That's where I am. These videos help a lot. Brenda

[buzzard767]

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Before practice comes, it's learn how. That's where I am. These videos help a lot. Brenda

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When you're watching the Food Network, close your eyes when RayRay picks up a knife but pay close attention to Jamie Oliver.

[pjcooks]

Good knife skills are so important, and I cut so much fruit and so many veggies everyday that mine are getting pretty good, it's that practice thing you all are talking about.

Most times neatness counts. But there are really busy days when it all goes out the window. That's when the Ditto Dean becomes my friend (I can hear you all groaning, remember, I'm in production)

PJ

[DFen911]

Ok why such a big knife to cut veggies?

[buzzard767]

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Ok why such a big knife to cut veggies?

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LOL I can see that this forum is going to be fun.

Chuckabochos have been around for centuries. The wide blade provides a good base to rest against the knuckles when working fast. If you think a Santoku with its "wide" blade is good at scooping veggies off the cutting board the Chucka makes it look tiny by comparison.

Curtis's Chuckas sit dead flat on the cutting board. Did you notice the one section of the video where the tip stayed on the board? So much for the myth that German style big blade bellys are needed for "rocking". There is a learning curve but the Chuckabochos are as versatile as they are fun to use.