Knife Skills

There's no magic trick or secret formula to learning to dice — the only way to improve your dicing skills is to dice more.

Watch the video to learn how to cut a mango.

I’ve always thought that kohlrabi looks like an alien spaceship. The weirdly cylindrical shape, the skinny arms — what is this stuff? Lucky for us, kohlrabi isn’t alien at all but a delicious addition to summer salads and slaws. To consume them, there are three ways to get past this vegetable’s eccentric appearance and slice it up so you can eat it.

Whether you're using a Roma tomato, supermarket staple, or heirloom variety, learning how to dice a tomato properly is key to making salads, salsas, and much more. Get expert tips in this step-by-step visual guide.

"Perfect slices every time."

If you watch food competition shows, you’ll probably see a competitor or chef expertly running their knives over that steel tool pictured above. In fact, you might even own one of those steels if you have a big knife set or knife block. So do you know what that tool is? It sharpens knives, right? But here’s where you’re wrong: That tool, no matter what it is labeled, is decidedly not a sharpening steel. The tool many think of as a sharpening steel is actually a honing steel.

Before watching Brendan McDermott’s series of knife skills lessons, I thought I knew my way around a chef’s knife. You guys, I was wrong. In under two hours, this mini class taught me more about slicing and dicing than decades of trial-and-error experience in my home kitchen. Watch it right now and you’ll see exactly what I mean. Oh and best of all? It’s completely free. Brendan McDermott has cred to spare when it comes to culinary instruction.

For guacamole, smoothies, salads, avocado toast, and so much more!

Learn to wield an eight-inch blade (safely!) as well as any sous-chef in the business.

When a local kitchen store called to see if I would be interested in trying one of their classes, I jumped at the chance. I’m a self taught cook and I have the scars and culinary tragedies in my past to prove it. Hoping to save at least one of my children from their own mistakes, I brought my 12 year old son Xander with me to the class. It was a lot of fun and we both learned how to use knives in a safer, more efficient way. By the time it was over, we were pros!

Watch the video to learn how to peel and cut a butternut squash.

A good knife should last pretty much forever — that is, if you take good care of it. But what exactly does that mean? We asked our “cutting board” of knife experts to weigh in. Here’s what they had to say. This may seem obvious, but it’s worth saying: Never put your knife in the dishwasher. Why not, you ask? Well, there are two big risks, according to Taylor Erkkinen, founder of Brooklyn Kitchen. The first is that you’ll dull your blade.

While there’s definitely an argument to be made for taking your knives to a pro to get sharpened, there’s also a case to be made for doing it yourself. “I highly recommend knife sharpening,” says Eivin Kilcher, homesteader, cookbook author, and one of our “Cutting Board” knife experts. “It really is a great skill to bring into your life and an important thing to be able to do at home.

Whether you’re making a fancy cocktail garnish, putting together a festive bowl of fruit salad, or serving appetizer-friendly fruit skewers, cutting your watermelon into stars adds a fun element to any summer spread. Here’s our simple method for cutting a whole watermelon down into cute little stars! Cutting watermelon into stars is easy. Once you trim the melon and cut it into slices, all you need is a star-shaped cookie cutter to stamp those stars out.

Removing the pit from an avocado is one of those supposedly “easy” food prep tasks that we think could actually use a little explaining. How do you hold the avocado still? Do you have to use a chef’s knife? How do you keep from cutting yourself? If you’ve never done it before, all of this can definitely feel a bit scary! Well, here’s a close look at how we do it so the next time you’re faced with an avocado, you know exactly what to do.

Whether you’re an experienced chef or just learning your way around the kitchen, all cooks know good knives are essential for success in the kitchen. And while knife choice is an extremely personal decision, a carbon steel knife is a great choice. Although stainless steel is the most common material for kitchen knives, carbon steel is often the preferred choice of culinary professionals.

Dicing onions: one of the most elemental tasks in the kitchen. Have you ever wondered whether you’re doing it right? Watch our super-short video tutorial on dicing onions; it will give you a couple of pro secrets for chopping onions quickly, safely, and neatly! The method demonstrated here is very basic (spoiler: yes, you’ve probably been dicing an onion right all along!).

Chopping chocolate for things like brownies and fudge was always one of our least favorite kitchen tasks. That is, until a pastry chef friend suggested we try using a serrated bread knife!Chocolate is naturally quite brittle and will fragment under pressure. The grooved “teeth” on a serrated knife are like many tiny wedges pushing into the chocolate and getting it to fragment in several places at once.

From the sweet coconut water hidden inside to the soft pulp scooped straight from the shell, fresh coconut is a treat like no other. But if you’ve ever succumbed to the allure of one of these coconuts at the store, you know that cracking it open and getting your treat can present some challenges. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps. One thing that will make your life much simpler is to buy a coconut with the husk already removed.

Cutting up a whole pineapple can seem like a daunting task. With prickly leaves and a tough outer skin, it’s a surprising pick for the international symbol for hospitality. Nonetheless, it’s easy to break down a whole fruit with the method I’ve laid out here! Pineapples are available year-round, but did you know that it’s peak season right now? They’re at their best from March through July, just in time for all of your favorite tropical, warm weather recipes.

Today’s Lesson: Knife Skills The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

There are certain foods that just scream “summer,” and watermelon is definitely one of them. From its bright-colored flesh to it sweet, refreshing taste, this fruit is a summer essential. While there’s not one right way to cut a watermelon, there are certain ways that are faster and less messy. Here’s my favorite. Whole watermelons can be tedious to cut up. They’re large, kind of awkward to work with, and super messy.

I love acorn squash. You love acorn squash. But these gourds can be a real pain in the you know what to cut in half. Let’s just make sure we all survive the winter with our fingers intact and no visits to the ER for stitches. Here’s the best way I’ve found to cut an acorn squash in half. Use your sharpest, sturdiest chefs knife for this task.

Slicing a tomato is pretty boring. In general, just use a serrated knife and aim for uniform steaks. Pop one or two on your burger or salad and dinner is served. But sometimes plating calls for something more inspired. Maybe you’re trying to impress someone, or maybe you just want to treat yourself. Whatever the case may be, you’re in luck! Jacques Pépin has spilled his technique for turning a humble tomato into a work of art.

There are some kitchen chores that grow tedious when volume becomes a factor. For example, slicing a handful of cherry tomatoes goes quickly, but when you have a pint or two to get through, the task feels daunting. Cutting cherry tomatoes is a necessary evil because slices are easy to eat in salads and cook faster in quick pasta sauces. So how can you cut a bunch of cherry tomatoes in half at once instead of slicing a whole pint one by one? There’s a trick.

There are a dozen different ways to cut a tomato, but the best method depends on the tomatoes’ intended use. Tomato wedges are ideal for salads of all kinds — tomato salads, green salads, or for just eating drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. The goal for cutting tomatoes into wedges is to keep the tomatoes’ seed jelly intact once cut. Thinking about how a tomato grows and learning its parts will make slicing it much easier.

Sometimes it’s the littlest things in the kitchen that can elicit the feeling of pure joy. For me, it’s a kitchen tool I received as a wedding gift — one that, right now, is making the bounty of perfectly ripe summer tomatoes even more enjoyable. Roughly the size of a utility knife, with a serrated blade and a sharp, two-pronged tip ideal for coring, tomato knives are a tool of pure genius. For a true tomato-lover, these knives are the darling of the knife block.

Maybe instructions for slicing a tomato seem silly, especially since no matter how you slice a ripe tomato, it will still be meaty, juicy, and mouthwatering with nothing more than a sprinkle of salt. If you’ve ever had a luscious tomato fall apart before you could get it on that BLT, though, you understand that just one important trick means the difference between a sliced tomato and a perfectly sliced tomato. Cutting against the core is the key to keeping slices intact.

Exactly what does a recipe mean when it calls for an ingredient to be diced? Here’s what that common cut looks like, it’s standard size, and why it’s used in certain recipes. Dice refers to ingredients cut to a small, uniformly sized square. The standard size is a 1/2-inch square. Basically that’s the size of — you guessed it — a die. Of course, the size can vary (some recipes may call for a two-inch dice), but most often this is the size to go with.

For years I had my knives sharpened by a grizzled older gentleman who occasionally drove through my neighborhood in a converted Mr. Softee truck, ringing his bell to summon customers and using the same grinding wheel to hone everything from paring knives to hedge clippers. I loved the price (low) and the convenience (house calls!

File your paring knife under the category of “small but mighty tools.” With a blade that averages about three inches in length, this is the knife we reach for when our chef’s knife feels a bit too cumbersome. In addition to peeling and trimming fruit and vegetables, here are five smart ways you can put your paring knife to work. While serrated knives are your best choice for slicing tomatoes, you’ll want to reach for a small paring knife to remove the core.

This month, we’re exploring all the different considerations that go into finding the right knife for you — and there are several. Are you buying your very first knife or are you already a member of the knife club? What are you planning to use the knife for? Are looks important? And what’s your budget? Still, when it comes down to it, there’s one thing that is critical — and that’s how it feels in your hands.

Watch the video to learn how to cut jalapeños the right way.

Keep your knife skills sharp by knowing just what a recipe means when it calls for an ingredient to be finely chopped.

The next time a recipe calls for minced garlic or chiles, this is exactly how you want to use your knife to produce that cut.

I have been using the same single cutting board for several years. It is bamboo, maybe? I think it is bamboo. I am happy with it, but are my knives happy with it? Is it the best kind of cutting board? Am I secretly doing something that is ruining them in some way I do not yet know of but will live to regret? If you have these questions, too, read on to find out what your knives want you to know about cutting boards. This is arguably an overstatement. There are uses for glass cutting boards.

You don’t need any fancy grips or gadgets to keep your cutting board in place while you work — you just need some good old-fashioned ingenuity. This little trick, which is common practice among professional chefs, will save that board from sliding all over the counter while you dice and chop. It’s of utmost importance to keep your board from slipping while cutting; it’s knife safety 101.

You finally took the plunge and invested in a good knife — or maybe a few good knives. Either way, you’ve spent good money and your blades deserve a storage place that will keep their edges pristine for as long as possible. Here’s what not to do, and three ways to do it right. Tossing your knives in a drawer along with other kitchen gadgets and cutlery is a lousy idea.

Having a visual image of various cuts and ingredients will help you to become a more agile and intuitive cook.

Here's everything you need to know about preparing sweet potatoes.

This is what a julienne cut looks like and how it's frequently used in recipes.

Of all the disastrous kitchen scenarios you can face when you show up at a rental cabin or beach house, dull or flimsy knives might be the most painful. So what do you do if the kitchen you’ll be cooking in for the next several days or weeks has crappy knives? Here are a few solutions, depending on how you’re getting to your rental and how long you’re staying.

Q: I have been cooking since I was a teenager, but I have not mastered the proper way to cut tomatoes and chicken. Every time I try to cut either one of these, the slices are uneven and I end up making a mess. Do you have any suggestions on how to cut these ingredients successfully without smashing the tomatoes or messing up the chicken? Thank you! Sent by Maia Editor: For cooked chicken, I like to let the chicken cool off a bit, as it’s easier to cut up when it’s firmed up a bit.

The words dentist and knives together in the same sentence don’t sound very pleasant, do they? Don’t worry, they have nothing to do with any painful dental work, but instead are a good way to think about knife honing and sharpening! We have talked about how a honing steel doesn’t actually sharpen knives, but actually just realigns the edge of the knife back to the center. One extremely wise comment came in from our reader: This analogy is absolutely perfect.

While those big knife blocks seem to send the message that every kitchen needs a dozen knives, it’s really not true. Invest in a good chef’s knife and small paring knife and those can take care of almost all of your slicing and dicing needs. There is one more knife, however, that is essential for cutting bread and tomatoes: the serrated knife.

The first time I took my paring knives to a knife sharpenerI’d wager that paring knives are the real workhorse of many kitchens. I know my three spend more time in the dish drainer after being cleaned than they do in the drawer with the other knives. Cheap paring knives aren’t that sharp to begin with, and months of slicing apples, cutting sandwiches in half, and sawing through plastic packaging (What? How do you get the plastic ring off the mayo jar?) don’t improve anything.

Once you’ve gone to all the trouble of sharpening your knife, the next step is keeping that way! This is easy to do and only takes a few seconds. Here’s how…As you use your knife, the sharp edge will gradually start to curl under. When you sharpen your knife on a steel, you’re actually just straightening the edge back out again. (This is as opposed to sharpening your knife on a whetstone, where metal is being removed to form a sharper edge.

When it comes right down to it, the best way to hold your chef’s knife is the way that feels the most comfortable to you.But if you’re looking for a little more control and speed in your cutting, here’s how!With your thumb and first finger, pinch the blade of your knife where it runs into the handle.Alternatively, you can wrap all four fingers around the handle with your thumb touching the heel of the blade.