Knife Skills 101

This guide is written with onions in mind but the same rules can be applied to almost any vegetable or fruit you want to slice or dice

Slicing

  • The first key is to make sure you have a sharp knife. If you’re unsure how to sharpen and hone your knife, check out the video at the bottom of
    this Victorinox Knives page here.
  • After peeling you onion, cut it in half either length ways, or across the onion, depending on how large you want your slices.
  • Next, lay the onion cut side down on a sturdy, solid chopping board. You don’t want any rocking or rolling so make sure the board is level
  • Place your fingertips on the top of the onion, then slightly push your knuckles forward. You will use your knuckles as a guide for the knife.
  • As you make each slice, slowly drag your fingers back across the onion making sure you keep your knuckles forward of your fingertips

Dicing

  • As with the above slicing, lay your halved onion on a sturdy cutting board
  • Act as if you were going to make slices through the entire onion, as thick as you want your diced pieces to be. However, don’t cut all the way through to the back of the onion. Leave a few centimeters spare.
  • Once done with the initial slices, turn the onion 90 degrees. Turn your knife horizontally, flat to the cutting board and make 1 to 2 slices into the onion, depending on how thick you want the dices. Again, don’t cut all the way to the back.
  • Return your knife to the vertical and create slices all the way through the onion. Use the guide above for slicing. Bingo, you now have perfect diced onion! You will have the little back section left over that you didn’t cut through. It is usually best to discard this as it is quite small and usually fairly firm.

Check out the video below to see how the pro’s do it.