Knife Safety Tips, Inspired By Kendall Jenner
The latest episode of The Kardashians offers up an opportunity for a culinary lesson.
Stars: they are...not just like us, no matter how desperately they try to be! This week on The Kardashians, Kris Jenner asked her daughter Kendall if she wanted the chef to make her a snack. Seemingly in an act of defiance, Kendall stands up and declares "I'm making it myself" with the gusto of Katniss Everdeen volunteering herself as tribute. "You go, girl!" Kris yelled, but dear reader, Kendall did not go, girl, unless hyperextending your elbow and attempting to cut a cucumber from the wrong end somehow counts as "going."
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As one Twitter user said:
Obsessed with Kendall Jenner trying to prove she's not an out of touch spoiled rich girl by insisting on making her own snack and almost dislocating her shoulder trying to slice a cucumber.
— Brodie Lancaster (@brodielancaster) May 12, 2022
But Kendall, it's okay, not everyone has kitchen experience. Even people who don't have their own TV shows struggle with the right techniques for doing things like slicing cucumbers and chopping onions, so instead of dunking on a billionaire (even though it's fun to do), let's use this as a teaching moment.
Tips for safely cutting cucumbers (and any other piece of produce)
Kendall showed us what not to do—acts of contortion are not required to chop up your veggies. And not only is it silly to look at, it's potentially dangerous. Kendall had no control over where the knife was going nor a firm grip on the cucumber, and she's lucky that the clip going around doesn't feature her slicing her whole dang hand off.
Next time you're making yourself a cucumber snack, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure your knife is sharp. While it may seem counterintuitive, the sharpest knife is the safest knife. A dull knife is much more likely to slip off the skin of produce and unexpectedly slice you.
- Keep your fingers curled in. You should hold your sharp knife in your dominate hand, then place your other hand on the piece of produce you're cutting with the tips of your fingers curled in toward your palm—essentially, you're using your fingernails to hold down the item being sliced. If your knife does slip, you might knick up your knuckles, but at least you're not slicing off an entire digit.
- Consider investing in cut-resistant gloves. In professional kitchens, chefs dealing with large amounts of knife work often wear cut-resistant gloves to further protect themselves, so why shouldn't you? They're very affordable on restaurant supply websites.
- Get the right tools for the job. Not everything needs to be chopped with a knife. Consider other tools like a mandoline slicer, a hand-powered food chopper, or a food processor. Just be warned that each of these alternatives come with their own safety protocols you'll have to follow. When blades are involved, you'll obviously always have to demonstrate some form of caution!
And on that last note, if you're like Kendall, and you're in a position where one of the tools in your arsenal is a personal chef, by all means, let the professional prepare you a snack. Protect your fingers and your pride.