Cutting ingredients into uniform sizes is a skill that will improve the quality of teh cooking. Uniform sizes of ingredient will ensure that all of the ingredients will cook at the same rate. If all of the ingredients are of the same size, all of the ingredients will cook at the same time.
However, if the ingredients are of different size, some of the ingredients may be raw while others are overcooked. The chart display the various types of cuts that can be made on ingredients. For each cut, the table displays the dimension, uses, and the knife that is required to make the cut.
How to Cut Ingredients the Same Size
Each cut can be grouped into specific cut family. For example, the dice cut can be made into large dice, medium dice, small dice, or tiny brunoise cuts. Large dice is used in preparing stews and roasted vegetable.
Small brunoise cuts are used in sauces. Stick cuts include batonnet and julienne cuts. Batonnet cuts are large and used for preparing fries and vegetables.
The julienne cut is thin and used for stir-fries and salad. Placing similar cuts together on the chart allow cooks to easily compare the size of the cuts and to select the correct cut for the recipe. The chart also display the level of practice that is required to learn each cut.
Rough chops and mince cut are the beginning cuts. Batonnet and julienne cuts are intermediate cuts. Brunoise and tourné cuts require advanced skill since they require cooks to have very steady hands.
Knowing the level of practice for each cut will allow cooks to determine the cuts that they should practice to learn the skill for each recipe. The correct knife that cooks use to make each cut is important to the cooking process. Each cut requires a specific knife to be made.
Chef’s knife are useful for most cuts on the chart. The length and weight of chef’s knives allow cooks to rock the knife through the vegetables. However, paring knife are used for small and delicate cut.
For example, small brunoise and tourné cuts require a paring knife. Using the correct knife will make the cooking process more easier for cooks as they wont have to fight with the ingredients. The way that a cook hold the knife will provide control over that knife.
The pinch grip is one way to hold a knife. With the pinch grip, a cook places their thumb and index finger on the blade of the knife just above the handle of the knife. The pinch grip help cooks to maintain control over the knife.
Other cooks may use the pinch grip for their cut. The pinch grip allows cooks to maintain control over the knife. Beginners may place all of their finger on the knife handle.
However, placing all fingers on the knife handle will provide cooks with less precision in their cut. The other hand should also be in the correct position for cooks safety. The claw technique is a position of the other hand that cooks should use when they make cut.
For cooks who use the claw technique, their fingertips is under the cutting board. This position of the finger will keep the knife from cutting the cook skin. Uniformity in the size of the ingredients is the most important aspect of cutting.
Uniformity will ensure that the ingredients will cook at the same time. If one small dice is cut to be larger than the other piece of small dice, that one piece will cook to be firm while the others are soft. Cooks and chefs who prepare meals professionally will ensure that all piece of a given ingredient are of the same size.
When they are learning to prepare meals, professionals use measurement to ensure that all ingredients have the same size. Eventually, cooks will no longer need a ruler to prepare meals. They will be able to use their eyes to measure the size of the ingredient cut.
Organization is another essential skill when cutting ingredients. Cooks use a technique known as mise en place to maintain an organized cooking station. Mise en place is when cooks place a damp towel under the cutting board, use a bowl to catch vegetable scrap and place the prepared ingredient cut into small container.
A cluttered cooking station will cause cooks to make uneven cut and may injure themselves while they prepare their ingredient. Thus, cooks must maintain an organized station to prepare meals. Speed in preparing meals is not a chef’s primary goal when cutting ingredients.
Accuracy in the cut must be accomplished before speed in preparing meals. For instance, cooks should not rush the julienne cut when learning how to prepare meals. By taking the time to learn how to make each julienne cut, cooks will eventually be able to prepare julienne cut at a rapid rate.
Learning each cut and knife skill will accomplish speed in the kitchen. Finally, the cutting chart is a shared language in the kitchen. The shared language means that when a recipe states ingredients must be diced into medium dice, all cooks know what the recipe require for the ingredient size.