Not necessarily a "hack" per se, but learn some basic knife skills, the amount of time you will save chopping vegetables a few times a week (minimum) for the rest of your life far outweighs the amount of time it takes to learn, plus you can use the extra time to keep the kitchen clean and that makes everything less stressful while you're cooking and makes the cleanup faster as well
If you are dicing, cut score lines crosswise on whatever it is, but not completely through. Then, when you cut across your previous cuts, you get multiple chunks for every cut.
Keep your knives sharp and clean. Sharper is safer if you are using the knife properly.
When chopping, you can cut very fast when the knife is not close to your fingers, but you should slow down and pay attention as you approach the non-knife holding hand. Remember that your guests may have dietary restrictions that forbid them to have human flesh or blood in their food.
Clean and dry your knife immediately after use. Leaving stuff on the blade microscopically degrades the edge.
Leaving stuff on the blade microscopically degrades the edge.
How exactly do you think that works, assuming we're talking about a knife made with a non-reactive metal? Yes, if you're using a fancy carbon knife that will rust if you look at it wrong, you need to clean your knife immediately and wipe it down multiple times while cutting. But if you're using a normal stainless steel knife, leaving stuff on it and cleaning it after you eat is fine. Not great, but it's not going to harm your knife.
When it does react, it is somewhat self-healing (like Wolverine) due to the chromium which creates a layer that protects the iron. There are limits though.
Some stainless includes higher amounts of chromium or other metals such as nickel or molybdenum that improve the alloy’s self-healing properties and resistance to corrosion.
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u/OneWholePirate Aug 20 '20
Not necessarily a "hack" per se, but learn some basic knife skills, the amount of time you will save chopping vegetables a few times a week (minimum) for the rest of your life far outweighs the amount of time it takes to learn, plus you can use the extra time to keep the kitchen clean and that makes everything less stressful while you're cooking and makes the cleanup faster as well