Knife skills and techniques video - How to cook

You either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Flash Player installed. Please turn JavaScript on or update your Flash Player.

Knife skills

How to sharpen a knife and improve your skills.

Make a claw shape with the hand you're holding the object in, tucking the tips of your fingers and your thumb in, using the flat of your knuckles as a guide for the knife.
Cut a flat surface to rest the object you're cutting on so it doesn't slip. Square off round vegetables such as carrots, by shaving off all the round sides so you have a square block.
Cut batons/julienne by cutting the block lengthways into even, thick/thin slices, stacking these up and then cutting through the slices in the same manner.
Cut batons/julienne into dice/brunoise by slicing across into even cubes.

A sharp knife is safer than a dull one - sharpen on a steel, holding the blade at a 45 degree angle and stroking the blade downwards an equal amount of times on both sides.
Batons are roughly finger-size, julienne are like matchsticks. Dice are cubes made from batons. Brunoise are much smaller and made from julienne.

Here are three other great reasons to sign up:

You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.