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  • - Hey, everyone.

  • It's Natasha from NatashasKitchen.com,

  • and today I'm gonna show you how to sharpen and use a knife.

  • First things first.

  • Your surface has to be steady.

  • It can't be moving around like this when you're chopping.

  • Otherwise, it could be a disaster.

  • So what you want to do is take just a simple paper towel,

  • get it damply wet,

  • and lay that right under your board.

  • Boom, it's not going anywhere.

  • All right.

  • And the secret to having a sharp knife

  • is to sharpen it every time you use it.

  • And to sharpen it, you'll need a steel.

  • The longer the better.

  • And make sure when you're holding it,

  • you keep your fingers behind the safety guard.

  • You don't want to lop off a finger

  • while you're sharpening your knife.

  • And then also make sure you have the correct angle.

  • So your knife should be about 20 degrees off of the steel.

  • So about a finger's width away from the steel.

  • And you're going to pull away from you and back.

  • And we're not going for speed here.

  • As you get practice, you'll be going

  • faster and faster and faster and faster and faster.

  • But initially, start slow and get your rhythm.

  • Push away from the base,

  • and then pull it back towards yourself.

  • Never, never hold your knife to the steel like this

  • because you will destroy your blade.

  • Another way to sharpen

  • is if you want to hold it down like this.

  • Same thing: 20-degree angle.

  • Pull it down, pull it down, pull it down.

  • Whichever method you're most comfortable with.

  • And make sure you're going from the base of the knife

  • all the way up to the tip.

  • And that's the sound you want to hear

  • as you're sharpening your knife.

  • Now we're going to talk about

  • what is the safe way to hold your knife?

  • And there's a few different ways to hold them.

  • And you want to pick whichever way

  • is most comfortable for you.

  • What you don't want to do

  • is put your finger on top of the knife

  • because then it's not steady

  • and it puts strain on your hand.

  • You can either put your index finger

  • under the curve of the knife here

  • and pinch with your thumb,

  • wrap your hand around it like so, and chop.

  • Or what I like to do for a little more control,

  • maybe because I have small hands,

  • I like to pinch the very back of the blade

  • with my thumb and forefinger.

  • All right.

  • And when you're using the knife,

  • make sure you're going in a swinging motion.

  • Next, a few tips on slicing safely.

  • So always make sure that whatever you're cutting

  • is on its flat side.

  • So with this zucchini,

  • what we're gonna do is cut it in half first.

  • That way, it has a flat edge.

  • And you want to use the three-finger rule.

  • So the three fingers on top.

  • And have them curved in slightly.

  • So I have my knuckle as my guide, so use that.

  • And then hold your knife properly

  • and use a rocking motion.

  • And you're scooting your hand down on the vegetable.

  • You're not pushing the food towards the knife.

  • You're just guiding your knife with that knuckle.

  • And don't worry about going fast.

  • Safety is more important.

  • And as you get comfortable, you will get faster.

  • Beautiful.

  • And all my fingers? Still here.

  • Okay, for a quick recap, stable surface.

  • Sharpen your knife every time you use it,

  • keeping it at a 20-degree angle.

  • Also, hold your knife properly.

  • Make sure you have a comfortable grip.

  • And the three-finger rule,

  • using your middle knuckle to guide your knife,

  • and keeping those fingers curved inwards.

  • All right.

  • I hope you guys enjoyed that.

  • Thanks for watching.

- Hey, everyone.

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