Chop it Like a Pro with These 6 Easy Tricks
Chopping is an essential cooking skill, and doing it right means quicker preparation time and more elegant dishes. Knives of course are the preferred tool for chopping, but they’re not the only one. Let’s take a look at some tips and alternative tools to help you chop like a pro!
- Chop herbs with a mezzaluna: Finding it tricky to chop herbs with a knife? We hear you! Try the mezzaluna for more than just the mouloukhieh. You’ll find it’s quick and easy and will turn any bunch of green into finely chopped perfection.
- Cut herbs with scissors: This works when herbs are for garnishing, simply place your bunch in a container like flowers in a vase and cut the leaves you need with kitchen scissors.
- Chop vegetable with a pizza cutter: Yes, this gem is useful on more than just dough and pizza. You can use it to quickly chop bell peppers, carrots, cucumber into even slices.
- Chopping cherry tomatoes: Raise your hand if you have trouble chopping cherry tomatoes and grapes. Well, we have a solution for you. Place those slippery ingredients between two plates, and secure the tomatoes or grapes in place (careful don’t push too hard or you’ll squish them). Simply run a large sharp knife between the 2 plates and voila, perfect halves.
- Cutting up a watermelon: Wondering how to serve watermelon? Serve it in cubes, and save your guest the mess of having to cut up large slices themselves. Here’s how you do it. Take off a little from the top and bottom of the watermelon and then proceed with peeling it – you’ll need a big knife for that. Then cut in half, and then into even slabs. Place the slabs one by one on your cutting board and then chop into cubes.
- The perfect julienne: Chopping up vegetables like carrots and zucchini julienne style, to add to noodles for example, is really difficult, but we have a solution for that. First, cut your vegetables in half, then use a knife to cut deep lines across each half. Spread the lines as wide as you want your julienne slices to be. Then use a vegetable peeler to get your julienne slices!