A key part of "adulting" — which has become known as millennials' ability to complete daily tasks — is learning to cook. And great knife skills, from how to hold one properly to mincing garlic, are essential to becoming a better cook.
Here are six basic knife skills, as pointed out by Tasty, to master in your 20s.
1. How to grip the knife properly
Before you start chopping anything, you want to make sure you're holding the knife correctly. This means putting your finger and your thumb at the very back of the knife and wrapping your fingers around the handle. It gives you a firm grip and more control when you're chopping:
When you actually start chopping, don't lay all of your fingers flat. It puts them in danger of getting cut:
Rather, form a claw with your fingers so your fingertips will be protected the whole time. Plus, it'll give you support as you're chopping:
2. How to cut properly
A common mistake is using the slicing motion and chopping down aggressively on the cutting board. To get an even cut, you want to use a rocking motion, going back and forth with the knife:
3. How to dice
Dicing is one of the most common cuts you'll see in recipes, especially when you're working with onions. To dice an onion, start by cutting it in half through the root end:
Peel the outer layers and face the flat side down on the cutting board. Make a few horizontal incisions into the onion:
Then, turn it toward you and make a few cuts vertically:
Turn the onion again and start chopping along to get an even dice:
Recipes may call for a small, medium or large dice:
4. How to mince
Another common cut is mincing. The most common thing you're going to mince is garlic. To do so, remove the root end. Then, place the garlic under the knife blade and smash down on it. That will make it easy to peel the papery skin off:
Chop the garlic up until it's very tiny. The finer the mince, the more flavorful your dish is going to be:
5. How to chiffonade
If you need to garnish a dish, you'll probably use this cut. The most common things you'll chiffonade are herbs, like basil.
Start by stacking your basil leaves in a pile. Roll them up from the top, all the way down, until you have a tight cigar shape:
Make really thin slices all the way across:
You'll end up with beautiful ribbon-like shapes:
6. How to julienne
This cut is most commonly used with carrots. Start by cutting the carrot into 2-inch segments:
Create a flat base by cutting off a part of the carrot. Face the flat part down on the cutting board:
Make 8th-inch equal slices down:
Stack the carrot slices up and make 8th-inch slices down again:
You'll end up with equally sized match sticks:
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in BuzzFeed, the parent company of Tasty.
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