Using Kitchen Knives
 

I have always been a "pick it up and hold it to peel or slice it" person....but I have noticed I am getting cut ...alot....and dont usually know it (cant feel it at first) and have been cutting tips of fingernails of and such...plus drop the kinfe and hands get tired quickly.....I am trying to use a cutting board more but geesh seems to take forever...like cutting taters to fry and such.....Is there any tips on a certien kind of knife or a certian shorcut way to slice, dice, and chop things that I dont know about?

Thanks in advance,
Kay

i know keeping your knives very sharp helps. they won't slip off the food as easily.

have you tried any of the wider grip knives? i have a Salad Shooter. it grates and makes nice thin slices. easy clean up too.

a bit more expensive...but many of the small chopped frozen vegies are a time saver. errrr...finger saver....like frozen chopped onions.

so far those smash down food slicers/choppers/dicers have been a bust for me. hubby...mr buy from infomercials...bought one that was huge. so many attachments it took up a full cupboard. what a mess to clean.

I have a Magic Chef that is a small vegetable chopper. I think I got it at Walmart. I just cut the veggies in manageable pieces, put them in the Magic Chef then put is on what ever speed I want. In just seconds I have my chopped veggies. I have tried it on ice and that doesn't work. I haven't tried it on meat, but the only meat I cut up is for vegetable soup or stew.

There are techniques for using a cutting board, do you have a chef knife (the answer is no, I searched for one when I was down there).

If you want to avoid doing it manually, Kitchen Aid makes a cool system and so does Farberware. The best thing for me is to use knife/board techniques and it goes quickly.

If you watch almost any cooking show, the cutting board techinques will be right before your very eyes.

I do have a chief's knife now....got it from sissys school thingie...but the thing scares me to death.....to sharp and I am not used to using one.....so it makes everything go so much slower.......
You know me~ I dont have time for SLOWER!!!!!

AMN: don't you have a special knife w/a special handle that you use???
I can't think of what you call it, but I thought you mentioned it B4.

I love a good sharp knife, but sometimes my fingers get the brunt of it...

Yes, DM, you're thinking of the Maddox knife which is made to be used vertically by my stupid fingers. It's ideal for table use but not for prep work. I still use a 10' chef, just a little slower... well, maybe a lot slower. The trick is just using the right cutting pattern for each job.

There is also the Alaskan Ulu knife that is used by rocking the blade over the victim in a special, concave cutting board. I'm not a fan of it for prep because I like symmetry in my chopping. Yeah, yeah, it's a little **** but I don't like it when part comes out minced and part chunked. I need order!:o

I can't believe I just read this thread..... tonight cutting cukes & tomatos for dinner I cut my finger because my hand got tired I think and the knife slipped. I am ok, knife was dull little blood....:eek: