Beginner Knife Cuts (Rolling Slice)

Learning knife skills was a major part of the first few lessons in my Holistic Chef program. After years of being an untrained home cook, I picked up some bad habits. Therefore, I was excited to learn the proper way to execute classic cuts. I think many people don’t like to cook because they don’t know how to work with knives. My mentor chefs told me over and over that knife skills take practice and it will be a skill that I’ll continue to hone. So, I try to stay mindful about practicing as I cook and I do find meal prep is enjoyable now. You can improve your knife skills too and make healthy homemade meals for your family and friends!

How to hold a chef’s knife

There are two proper ways to hold a knife. First, comes naturally by firmly gripping and wrapping your fingers around the handle. I use this method in the video below. Second, you can choke up on the blade by having your thumb and forefinger on the heel of the blade and wrapping just three fingers around the handle. Either technique is fine and it comes down to personal preference, the size of the knife, and what you are cutting. One common bad habit I had to break was resting my forefinger on top of the blade. If you find yourself doing that, your knife might be dull or you might be using the wrong type of knife for the job.

How to slice vegetables with a rolling slice

This 50 second video shows a beginner (me) doing a rolling slice. You slice on the back third of knife in the sweet spot. Keeping the tip of the knife on the board slice down with the back end of the knife, push forward, lift the knife while pulling back, and repeat. This backward circular motion is called the rolling technique. With this slicing motion you can cut celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic, and more.

Once you are comfortable with the rolling slice technique you’ll be able to slice vegetables in half moons, on the bias, create julienne, batonette, and diced vegetables. You’ll even be able to do a fancy cut called a chiffonade. The first thing we practiced on in culinary school was carrots and celery. You can use the the rolling slice technique to cut half moon carrots, celery, or zucchini.

Use these cuts to make some delicious homemade soup. Who needs a can?

Cutting on the bias and Asian julienne

You can also us a rolling slice to cut carrots on the bias and to make an Asian Julienne. The bias cut carrots are perfect for stir fries and the Asian Julienne work great in slaws, salads, and spring rolls.

How to French Julienne and Slice

To practice a French cuts, square off a carrot or potato into a batonette. That means cutting off the round sides to make a square (see the image below). Slice in 1/8 inch planks, and slice again into 1/8 inch sticks for a classic French julienne.

Now, if you take your batonette and slice them into a thicker 1/4 inch stack, and then make another 1/4 inch slice into sticks, you can easily create a small dice. Cool, right?

Now lets look at this same idea with a potato and make them even thicker. I’m still using a rolling technique to make 1/2 inch flat pieces, and when those planks get another 1/2 inch slice we get homemade french fries. Or, you can cut those fries again for a medium diced potato.

Use these cuts to make The Best Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Spicy Sweet Potato Home Fries.

Next, you can do an even smaller chiffonade with basil.

Try the chiffonade cut basil in a fruit salad or on top of a fritatta. You can even serve them together for a nice brunch!