1.1.2

Knife Skills

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Types of Knives

Different knives serve different culinary purposes:

Cook's knife

Cook's knife

  • Good for most things, such as slicing onions, crushing garlic and chopping herbs.
Vegetable knife

Vegetable knife

  • Good for cutting small slices of foods, especially vegetables.
Boning knife

Boning knife

  • Good for cutting bones out of large chunks of meat, game and poultry.
Filleting knife

Filleting knife

  • Good for taking fillets out of fish/meat.

Knife Skills

You should cut different fruits and vegetables in different ways. Meat and fish are trickier to cut.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables

  • Cutting and preparation techniques include:
    • Bridge hold - used when chopping small fruits and vegetables.
    • Claw grip - used when chopping long fruits and vegetables.
    • Peeling.
    • Slicing.
    • Dicing.
    • Cutting into even slices - e.g. thin julienne strips or thicker baton strips.
Meat

Meat

  • Knives used - filleting or boning knife.
  • Cutting and preparation techniques include:
    • Filleting a chicken breast - we do this to get rid of the tenderloin and skin.
    • Portioning a whole chicken - you can separate a cooked, whole chicken into eight portions: two drumsticks, breasts, wings and thighs.
    • Removing fat and rind (thick skin) from meats like ham.
Fish

Fish

  • Knives used - filleting or boning knife.
  • Cutting and preparation techniques include:
    • Filleting - you must use a different method to fillet flatfish (like halibut) and round fish (like cod) because their backbones are in different places. Flatfish normally give four fillets; round fish normally two.
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1

Food Preparation Skills

1.1

Food Preparation Skills

1.1.1General Practical Skills1.1.2Knife Skills1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating1.1.6Dough & Pastry1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2

Food, Nutrition & Health

2.1

Macronutrients

2.1.1Proteins2.1.2Proteins 22.1.3Fats2.1.4Carbohydrates2.1.5Carbohydrates 2
2.2

Micronutrients

2.2.1Fat-Soluble Vitamins2.2.2Water-Soluble Vitamins2.2.3Minerals & Water2.2.4Minerals & Water 22.2.5End of Topic Test - Macro & Micronutrients
2.3

Nutritional Needs & Health

2.3.1Informed Choices for a Balanced Diet2.3.2Informed Choices for a Balanced Diet 22.3.3Energy Needs2.3.4Nutritional Analysis2.3.5Diet Modifications2.3.6Diet-Related Problems2.3.7Diet-Related Problems 22.3.8End of Topic Test - Nutritional Needs & Health
3

Food Science

3.1

Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer

3.1.1Reasons for Cooking & Heat Transfer3.1.2Water-Based Cooking Methods3.1.3Fat-Based Cooking Methods3.1.4Dry Cooking Methods3.1.5Dry Cooking Methods 2
3.2

Functional & Chemical Properties of Food

3.2.1Proteins & Carbohydrates3.2.2Fats & Oils3.2.3Raising Agents3.2.4End of Topic Test - Food Science
4

Food Safety

4.1

Food Spoilage & Contamination

4.1.1Microorganisms & Signs of Food Spoilage4.1.2Enzymes & Signs of Food Spoilage4.1.3Food Poisoning4.1.4Bacterial Contamination4.1.5Microorganisms in Food Production
4.2

Principles of Food Safety

4.2.1Temperature Control4.2.2Ambient Foods & Food Labels4.2.3Preparing, Cooking & Serving Food4.2.4End of Topic Test - Food Safety
5

Food Choice

5.1

Factors Affecting Food Choice

5.1.1Factors Which Influence Food Choice5.1.2Food Choices5.1.3Religious Food Choices5.1.4Food Labels5.1.5Mandatory Food Labels5.1.6Optional Food Labels5.1.7Marketing Influences5.1.8End of Topic Test - Food Choice
5.2

British & International Cuisines

5.2.1British Cuisine5.2.2Japanese Cuisine5.2.3Japanese Ingredients & Dishes5.2.4Spanish Cuisine5.2.5Spanish Ingredients & Dishes
5.3

Sensory Evaluation

5.3.1Taste Receptors & Olfactory Systems5.3.2Sensory Testing Methods5.3.3Sensory Testing Methods 25.3.4End of Topic Test - Cuisines & Senses
6

Food Provenance

6.1

Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food

6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food6.1.5Food & The Environment6.1.6Food & The Environment 26.1.7Sustainability of Food6.1.8Sustainability of Food 26.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
6.2

Food Processing & Production

6.2.1Primary Food Processing6.2.2Primary Food Processing 26.2.3Secondary Food Processing6.2.4Fortification6.2.5Additives6.2.6End of Topic Test - Food Processing & Production

Practice questions on Knife Skills

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Which type of knife is best for cutting small slices of foods?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which type of knife is best for chopping foods like onions?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Which of these foods is easiest to cut?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    What type of knife would NOT be used to cut fish?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Which of the following is true for cutting fish?True / false
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General Practical Skills

Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment