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Chapter 8
Knives and
Hand Tools in
the Professional
Kitchen
Objective
• Explain the elements of knife construction
and how they relate to quality
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Knives
• The knife is the chef’s most important tool
• The cutting task seems almost effortless
with a sharp, well-constructed knife
• An aspiring chef should invest in a good
quality chef knife
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Choosing a Knife
• Factors to consider
– Type of metal used for the blade
– Length of tang
– Handle material and weight
– Bolster
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Choosing a Knife
• Metals used for knife blades
– Carbon steel
• Benefit–easy to sharpen
• Drawbacks–discolors quickly; rusts if left wet; may
transfer metallic flavor to foods
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Choosing a Knife
• Metals used for knife blades (continued)
– Stainless steel
• Benefits–does not pit, rust, or discolor; no affect
on flavor of foods
• Drawback–more difficult to sharpen and keep
sharp
– High-carbon stainless steel
• Benefits–easier to sharpen and maintain; does not
rust or discolor
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Choosing a Knife
• Length of the tang
– Full tang: one continuous piece of metal that
extends to the end of the handle
– Rattail tang: thin piece of metal that extends
into the handle of the knife
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Choosing a Knife
• Handle
– Handles can be made from hardwoods,
plastic, rubber, or composite materials
– The weight of the handle should be balanced
with the weight of the blade
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Choosing a Knife
• Bolster
– More expensive knives are constructed with a
bolster that strengthens the blade at a stress
point where knife blades often crack or chip
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Cutting Boards
• Cutting boards can be made from
synthetic composite or hardwoods
• Synthetic boards may be color-coded to
specify their use
• Cutting boards must be cleaned and
sanitized after each use to avoid crosscontamination
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Objective
• Recognize various knives and hand tools
used in the professional kitchen
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Knives and Their Uses
• Chef Knife
– Used for chopping,
slicing, and most other
cutting tasks
– Lengths vary between
8 and 14 inches
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• Slicers
– Use a light sawing
motion to cut cooked
meat, poultry, and
other foods into thin,
even slices
Knives and Their Uses
• Utility Knife
– 5 to 7 inch blades
– Blade is more flexible
but not wide enough
for chopping tasks
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• Serrated Slicer
– Useful for cutting
breads and pastries
Knives and Their Uses
• Boning and Filet Knives
– Blade is approximately 6 inches long and
narrower than a chef or utility knife
– Boning knives are used for separating muscle
from bone on meat or poultry
– Filet knives are often used for filleting and
portioning fish
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Knives and Their Uses
• Paring Knives
– Designed to cut away
skin or peel, also
useful for cutting
intricate garnishes and
other detail work
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• Tourné Knife
– Used for cutting
vegetables into
tournés
Knives and Their Uses
• Scimitar
– Excellent for cutting
steaks from large cuts
of meat
– Sometimes called a
butcher’s knife
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• Cleavers
– Used for chopping
– Heavier cleavers can
chop through bones
Knives and Their Uses
• Oyster Knife
– Blade is not sharp, but
the pointed tip is used
to pry apart the top
and bottom shells of
oysters
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• Clam Knife
– Blade tapers to an edge,
but is not honed sharp
– Blade is wedged
between the top and
bottom shells of the clam
to pry it open
Knives and Their Uses
• Palette Knives and
Spreaders
– Come in various
lengths and widths
– Have flexible blades,
but are not sharp
– Designed to spread
coatings on foods
and also used to turn
food
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Objective
• Apply techniques to sharpen and maintain
a good edge on a knife using a steel and
whetstone
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Sharpening Knives
• Knowing how to keep a knife sharp is very
important
• The tools used to sharpen knives are the
steel and the whetstone
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Using the Steel
• The steel is designed to remove very
small, rough metal irregularities on the
edge of the blade
• When using the steel,
– hold the blade at the proper angle to the
steel
– use only moderate force when stroking the
steel
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method One
1. Hold the steel in front
of you parallel to your
body. Place the heel
of the blade at the top
end of the steel with
the knife at a 20degree angle to the
steel.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method One (continued)
2. Rotate the wrist of your knife hand downward and
gently draw the length of the blade across the
steel, ending with the tip.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method One (continued)
3. Repeat the process several times on
each side of the blade until the edge has
a fine finish.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method Two
1. Place the tip of the steel on the cutting
board and grasp the handle so the steel
is vertical, butt side up.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method Two (continued)
2. Place the heel of the
blade at the top of the
steel keeping the edge of
the knife at a 20-degree
angle to the steel.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method Two (continued)
3. With even pressure draw the blade across the
steel to the tip maintaining the 20-degree angle.
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Technique: Using a Steel
Method Two (continued)
4. Repeat the process several times on
each side of the blade until the edge has
a fine finish.
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The Whetstone
• Whetstones can be made from a variety of
abrasive mineral materials that act to
grind and hone a knife to a sharp edge
• Most stones have a rough side, used first
to grind an edge on the blade, and a fine
side, used to hone it
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Lubricants
• Lubricating a stone makes sharpening
easier and helps remove the filings of
metal created during sharpening
• Water or mineral oil is commonly used
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
1. Place sharpening stone on a wet towel or
rubber mat to prevent it from slipping.
Begin with the coarsest side of the stone.
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
2. If using a lubricant,
saturate the
surface of the
stone with an even
layer of water or
mineral oil.
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
3. Hold knife at a 20degree angle to the
surface of the stone.
4. Maintain 20-degree
angle as you begin
with the heel of the
blade in the upper
left-hand corner of
the stone.
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
5. Draw knife down and across the stone
until the tip of the knife is on the lower
right-hand corner of the stone. Maintain
even pressure on all parts of the blade.
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
6. Repeat process on other side of the
blade. Begin with the heel in the upperright corner of the stone and finish with
the tip in the lower-left corner.
7. Repeat the process 5 to 10 times
depending on the dullness of the blade.
Apply equal pressure to all parts of the
blade and an equal number of strokes to
each side of the blade.
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Technique: Using a Whetstone
8. Turn stone to its finer side, lubricate it,
and repeat steps three through six.
9. To finish the edge, hone it on the steel.
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Objective
• Recognize various knives and hand tools
used in the professional kitchen
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Hand Tools
• Peelers
– Used to remove the
skin of fruits and
vegetables
– Stationary peeler has
a slit blade that does
not move
– Blade on a swivel
peeler swivels or
rocks
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Hand Tools
• Whips and Whisks
– Used to incorporate air
into a mixture or blend
ingredients
– Wires may be flexible for
incorporating more air
into a thinner substance,
or rigid for mixing thicker
substances
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Hand Tools
• Meat Fork
– Used to turn large
pieces of meat during
cooking and test for
doneness
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• Tongs
– Act as an extension of
the hand for handling
food items
Hand Tools
• Parisienne Scoops
– Used to scoop a
variety of foods into
small balls
– Available in a variety
of sizes
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• Spiders
– Used to strain items or lift
them out of liquid
– Mesh disc at the end of
the handle resembles a
spider’s web
Hand Tools
• Skimmer
– Designed to remove
impurities that form
scum on the surface
of simmering liquids
– Can also be used to
perform the same
tasks as a spider
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Hand Tools
• Ladles
– Used for portioning
liquid products; come
in a wide range of
sizes
– Volume capacity is
usually imprinted on
the handle
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Hand Tools
• Kitchen Spoons
– Sturdy stainless steel
spoons can be solid,
slotted, or perforated
– Slotted and perforated
spoons are used for
draining wet products
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Hand Tools
• Offset Spatulas
– Used to lift, turn, and
carry food items
– Available in a variety of
sizes and thicknesses
– Some models are
perforated to allow for
draining a food product
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Hand Tools
• Spatulas
– A flexible rubber or plastic
blade on a long handle
– Used to remove food
product from containers
– Heat-tempered spatulas
are also used for cooking
in nonstick pans to avoid
scratching their finish
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Hand Tools
• Scrapers
– A plain plastic blade
without a handle
used by bakers and
pastry chefs
– Particularly useful for
scraping down large
mixing bowls
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Hand Tools
• Zester
– Designed to remove
fine strips of the outer
rind of citrus fruits
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• Channel Knife
– Cuts a decorative
groove in the surface
of fruits and
vegetables
Hand Tools
• Garnishing Knives
– V- or U-shaped
chisels used to
carve decorations
from fruits and
vegetables
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Review
• Explain factors to consider when choosing
a knife
– Metal used for blade: carbon steel, stainless
steel, high-carbon stainless steel
– Tang size: full, rattail
– Handle materials: hardwoods, plastic, rubber,
or composite materials
– Bolster
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Review
• Name and describe the two tools used to
sharpen knives
– Steel: a rod designed to remove very small,
rough metal irregularities on the edge of the
blade and to realign it
– Whetstone: used to sharpen the edge of a
blade that has become dull
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Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Palette knives
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Tongs
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Parisienne scoop
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Utility knife
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Boning knife
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Meat fork
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Scraper
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Slicer
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Tourné knife
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Skimmer
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Whisk
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Oyster knife
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Scimitar
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Serrated slicer
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Spatula
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Paring knife
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Filet knife
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Cleaver
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Ladles
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Clam knife
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Garnishing knives
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Chef knife
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Channel knife
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Peelers
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Offset spatula
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Zester
Knives and Hand Tools
Identification
Spoons
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Spider