The art of slicing vegetables is something every professional chef takes pride in. For cooking at home, you may not be an ace in cooking, but some points are worth learning and mastering.
For cutting vegetables, you need to use the best knives and make sure they are sharp enough. In the set of basic tools, you must have a cutter for peeling vegetables and simple cutting. Easy to use vegetable peelers. A standard chef’s knife for slicing and stirring, as well as a serrated “bread” knife, are excellent tools for slicing tomatoes.
Be sure to secure the cutting board to a paper or cloth damp towel. The vegetable must be placed so that it is stable on the cutting board.
The fingers must be protected from injury by folding them under the hand that holds the product, and using the upper knuckles to guide it towards the knife moving up and down, making cuts. At first glance, it seems inconvenient, but then the skill will come.
Many recipes call for dicing vegetables. This shape is great for even cooking. Larger cubes can be made by slicing the vegetable 2,5 cm apart, then turning and repeating the process. Medium cubes for frying should be 1,5 cm in size. Tiny 0,5 cm cubes are better for garnishing.
Grinding the product into small crumbs is used for garlic and herbs. To do this, you need to cut them thinly, then make a quarter turn with a knife and cut again. Keep the product in a small area, otherwise all the flavors will go to the cutting board and not to the dish.
Shredded vegetables add visual appeal to the dish. First, the bars are cut 1,5 cm each, and then, if necessary, they are made smaller. Large straws are suitable for frying root vegetables, medium – for quick steaming or stewing. 0,5 cm straws are often used for slicing carrots, celery, peppers and onions.
- How to cut flat leaf herbs – lettuce, basil or spinach? Place the leaves flat on the board, roll them into a tube. Then, using a sharp cutter, carefully cut into strips. The resulting bundles can be separated with your fingers or left as is.