Chef knife standard?

The biggest difference between kitchen knives used by chefs is that they are in direct contact with food or food raw materials, acid, alkali, salt, oil, hot water, steam, hot air and other substances, and even frequently used under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Therefore, people have high requirements for kitchen knives:

First of all, the kitchen knife should meet the safety and hygiene requirements, which is also the most basic requirement for the kitchen knife. In order to ensure food safety and hygiene, the state has formulated hygienic standards for food utensils, and also stipulated toxicity tests for food utensils. The kitchen knife must conform to these standards and regulations, ensure that it is odorless, tasteless and nontoxic, and will not cause pollution and damage to food. The kitchen knife should be easy to clean, disinfect and sterilize.

Secondly, the kitchen knife should meet the stability requirements of corrosive media and harsh conditions. Kitchen knives often come into contact with acidic ingredients, alkaline substances, grease, salt, soy sauce and other condiments in food, and must have good corrosion resistance and chemical stability. Even under the conditions of hot water, hot oil, steam and high temperature radiation, the kitchen knife should not produce or release ingredients harmful to human health, and should not destroy the flavor and nutrients of food. The kitchen knife shall not rust or be damaged.

Third, the kitchen knife should have wear resistance. Due to the particularity of cooking technology and environment, the thermal wear and corrosion wear of kitchen knives are obvious, especially for frequent use, which should have good wear resistance to prevent metal particles produced by excessive wear and friction from entering food.

Fourth, the kitchen knife should meet the needs of primary processing and fine processing of cooking products. According to the requirements of cooking and eating, it is necessary to use a kitchen knife to process all kinds of cooking materials into different shapes such as slices, dices, silk and granules. Therefore, the kitchen knife should have the characteristics of standardization, generalization and multifunction, and it should also be simple in structure, flexible and convenient to operate and easy to maintain.

Fifth, the kitchen knife should meet the required strength, stiffness and hardness requirements. There is a proverb that comes from the practice of making kitchen knives-"Good steel is used on the blade". Let the kitchen knife play its due role, but also inseparable from the correct use and careful maintenance. As the proverb goes, "The brighter the knife, the more knowledge you use", "A sharp knife is a piece of iron that doesn't grind" and "You don't have to look at sharpening a knife, it depends on sweating."

As a chef, with a good kitchen knife and a deep understanding of the principle of "sharpening the knife and cutting wood by mistake", the kitchen knife can play its irreplaceable role in cooking activities and show the magic of knife skills!

The poor quality of kitchen knives or chefs will directly affect the quality of dishes. For example, when cooking raw materials are processed, "even knife" not only affects the shape and beauty of dishes, but also has uneven taste when seasoning and uneven heating because of the large and small raw materials. Because the knife work is unqualified, no matter how clever other cooking techniques are, the dishes will be greatly discounted.

When introducing Wang Yijun, a famous chef, The Encyclopedia of China Cuisine specifically mentioned that he studied knife-cutting, and he mastered knife-cutting skills nine years later. "He is also good at food carving. For example, the eagle spreads its wings and tries to look like an eagle with the freehand brushwork of Chinese painting. In terms of techniques, the blade is neat, the thickness is consistent, and the arrangement is exquisite, which not only reflects the artistic level, but also has edible value. " Wang Yijun has now become a "national treasure" cooking master. His success can not be separated from his "nine-year study of knife skills"!

"Knives will rust if they are not sharpened, and people will fall behind if they don't learn." Many people enter the kitchen industry and become kitchen stars, all of which are "sharpening the knife and cutting wood by mistake", starting with hard work. How to operate the knife?

Some people think that the kitchen knife in their hands can be cut, chopped, chopped, sliced and scraped. Actually, it's not that simple, nor can it be so casual. Knife operation is very particular!

The seemingly simple knife rises and falls, the knife is flexible, the rhythm is clear, and the weight is moderate. It really takes a lot of effort!

In cooking skills, knife operation is a very detailed physical labor. The labor intensity is high, the operation time is long, and it consumes a lot of physical strength. It is necessary to have good physical strength, arm strength, wrist strength and endurance, as well as a flexible mind. Knife tool-knife, very sharp, if you are not careful, you will cut your finger. Therefore, the chef must master the basic essentials of knife operation according to the characteristics of knife work:

Station case. According to an experienced old chef, just watch him stand. That's right, the chef should practice "standing" first. The posture of standing on the box should be that the feet are naturally separated and the center of gravity is stable; The upper body leans forward slightly, the chest is slightly stiff, and you can't bend over; The shoulders should be flat, not one shoulder high and one shoulder low; Keep your eyes on the parts operated by your hands, relax naturally, keep a certain distance from the vegetable pier, and the height of the vegetable pier should be easy to operate. This correct posture has a harmonious and natural beauty, no matter how you feel or in the eyes of others.

Operate a knife. Generally, the basic method of operating a knife is to hold the knife with the right hand, hold the knife hoop with the thumb and forefinger, and hold the handle with the other three fingers, palm and hand, so the wrist is flexible and powerful when holding the knife. Correctly operating the knife can give people a feeling that "the kitchen knife is in hand and the plan is in the chest".

Take a knife. When a knife operator operates, he should concentrate on holding a knife, and his mind should follow the blade to achieve "safety first". Mainly use arm strength and wrist strength. The left hand controls the raw materials, ensuring that the raw materials are stable and easy to cut. "The left hand should hold the material firmly, and the right hand should drop the knife accurately." The two hands are closely coordinated, rhythmic, accurate, coherent, ingenious and in one go. Superb knife-cutting skills can show the charm of knife-cutting, so that people and labor can achieve a high degree of harmony, which has a strong artistic appeal.

Skill. Knife operation emphasizes clean, fast and tidy operation methods, that is, to develop good operating habits. Knives, caidun and raw materials and articles around caidun should be kept neat and orderly, and not sloppy.

Medical care. The places where the vegetable piers are placed are mostly cement or terrazzo floors, which are generally wet and cool. In order to prevent the lower limbs from getting damp and suffering from varicose veins, it is best for the knife worker to wear protective shoes and pads under his feet.

The chef can change the shape of raw materials at will through the kitchen knife after mastering the operation essentials, so as to meet the technical requirements of the knife: thin sheets such as paper, thin lines such as lines, uniform thickness and consistent length.

In order to inherit and improve the skills of wielding knives, people have come up with many good ideas and adopted many good methods:

In the teaching of cooking major in Hubei Tourism School, a knife practice method of "cutting waste newspapers" was invented: the waste newspapers were piled into strips 50 cm long and 5 cm wide as "raw materials" for knife practice. This method not only exercises the ability of standing, operating and transporting knives, but also avoids the waste of raw materials, solves the problem that the training of cutting knives is not authentic, and enhances the arm strength, wrist strength, endurance and the coordination ability of left and right hands. This method is worth learning.