For More Controlled Chopping, Martha Stewart Says To Use 2 Knives

Martha Stewart knows best. When it comes to Halloween decorating, making the perfect Christmas cookies, or hosting a dinner party, she is the long-running, undisputed queen of all things decor, dining, and cooking. And even she is always learning new tricks, like this unexpected knife hack that effectively cuts chop time in half while cutting twice as fast — using not one but two blades! Martha took to Tiktok to share this outside-the-box chopping hack. 

To try it, first things first: You'll need two similarly sized and sharp knives. Two chef knives are ideal. As demonstrated by Martha, you'll hold both knives in the same hand, back to back, in line and touching. Done right, this should essentially look like just one knife with little space between the blades. With one hand on the knife handles, and the other hand holding the pointed ends, carefully begin chopping as you would normally. Simply by having double the surface area covered by the chopping blades, that pile of carrots, onions, celery, or whatever gets chopped through twice as fast. Of course, safety first as with any time you're using knives. Be extra careful not to chop yourself or pinch your fingers between the two in the process.

Martha mentions in her Tik Tok that she's seen a chef using three knives for this trick, but unless you're a knife whiz and happen to have three of the same-sized knives lying around, stick to two. While most of us don't have two of the same knives, for this to work, they will need to be roughly the same size so that you can line both up and hold the knives at each end. If one was several inches shorter or had a much smaller blade, it would be cumbersome. 

Speaking of — knowing your knives and having a kitchen stocked with at least one quality option is one of those upgrades that automatically makes you a better foodie and cook. You don't have to shell out hundreds on top-of-the-line knives, but having one or two good and well-kept knives makes prep of things like onions and garlic worlds easier even if you have no fancy chopping skills. For this hack, make sure they're both sharp and try it out on something soft and easy to work with until you get the hang of it — like a pile of fresh herbs or olives you're finely dicing. Another perk is this hack can help keep things like olives in place as you chop, instead of them rolling off the cutting board. As Martha Stewart would probably say, a very good thing.