Part of the Kitchen Foundations track. Lesson 3 of 10.
Prerequisites: Module 5.
The sequence
Hone before you cut.
Stabilize the board.
Cut uniformly.
And keep the edge maintained.
The decisions
Uniform or fine. Uniform. A pan of mixed sizes cannot be cooked correctly by any method, per Module 5 — and fine-and-uneven is worse than coarse-and-even, because the coarse cut can be timed and the mixed one cannot.
And whether the knife is sharp enough to continue. A dull knife is a hazard rather than an inconvenience — it requires more force and force is what slips.
And the cut surface tells you. Wet and translucent within a minute means dull. Dry and matte means sharp.
What you are reading
The cut surface.
And your own pieces, compared to each other.
What goes wrong here
Speed pursued before uniformity. Speed comes from repetition and uniformity does not come from speed.
And a dull knife used because sharpening takes time.
Verification
Lay out your cuts and look at them. Pull the outliers.
The boundary
Cut-resistant equipment and injury response are governed by applicable safety requirements. This track can prepare the hand and it cannot train it — that is motor learning and it comes from repetition under correction.