All kitchen skills take practice. With the right know-how, using a knife while cooking does not have to be scary. Let us help!
Knife Skills
Learning how to use a knife is a kitchen skill that takes time to master. It is important to be safe for yourself and for others who may be cooking with you. Additionally, different recipes call for different knife skills.
We created the following videos to take the pressure off! Watch each video to discover the ins and outs of chopping different vegetables and how to stay safe while doing so.
Basic Chopping Skills
Chopping Green Peppers
Chopping Carrots
Chopping Greens
Chopping Potatoes
Some key takeaways from these videos:
- Make sure you are holding the knife correctly. Holding it in a pinch grip will keep it from slipping in your hand.
- Holding the vegetables correctly is just as important as holding the knife. Curling your fingers towards the cutting board and using your knuckles to guide the blade of the knife will keep your fingers safe and ensure a straight cut.
- Pay attention to what the recipe calls for. As you saw in the videos, slicing a pepper is very different from dicing a pepper.
Other Kitchen Skills
You don’t have to be a professional chef to know your way around the kitchen. The more time you spend cooking, the more comfortable you will become!
If you are looking for some additional tips on how you can become a better cook, check out some of our popular kitchen skills blogs and videos:
- Follow these links to learn how to strain spinach, clean corn, or seal a freezer bag!
- If you have little ones in your life who are interested in cooking, our blog on Getting Kids Involved in the Kitchen is perfect for you.
- Organization can be the key to success when cooking. Let us help you keep your refrigerator in order with The Fridge Edit.
- Keep your pantry stocked with all of the essentials in our blog on Classic Pantry Staples.
- Looking for something to do with your leftover fruit and vegetable scraps? Growing Food from Kitchen Scraps is a great read if you want to learn more about growing your own food at home and reducing household waste!
- The Basics of Food Safety is a good blog to read if you want to learn more about keeping yourself and your workspace clean while cooking.
We hope you find these videos helpful for the next time you chop vegetables. Remember: learning new kitchen skills takes time and patience. The more you practice, the better you get!
Written by Darci Bell, RDN, LD | Reviewed by Leslie Davis, MS, RD, LD, CDCES, and the Nutrition Education Team
Posted: December 20, 2021
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