Don't be surprised if it changes the way you cook.Knives are the most common pieces of equipment in the kitchen, yet few cooks know the basic techniques that can allow them to carve, chop, slice, and mince effectively. Peter Hertzmann teaches you skills that encompass everything you need to do with a knife in the kitchen, whether you're a four-star chef or an at-home beginner. This comprehensive guide fills a gaping void in culinary literature.• Over 800 step-by-step illustrations for right
Practically every recipe you read calls for food to be sliced, chopped, diced, or minced, but what do these terms mean? Each has a general meaning that most people seem to understand instinctively, even if they don’t cook often. But many recipes provide little precise information on how thick to slice, how coarse to chop, how large to dice, or how fine to mince. Even if a recipe says, "Cut into thick slices," you don’t know how thick to make the slice.
According to American Culinary Federation guidelines, large dice means a 3/4-inch cube, medium dice means a 1/2-inch cube, and small dice means a 1/2 inch cube. A brunoise means a 1/2-inch cube, and a fine brunoise means a 1/16-inch cube. A brunoise means a 1/4-inch square by 2-inch-long strip, a julienne means a 1/8-inch square by 2-inch-long strip, and a fine julienne means a 1/16 -inch square by 2-inch-long strip. When was the last time you saw a recipe call for carrots to be cut into batonnets? And I do not recall ever knowing a chef who followed these guidelines.
What should you do if the recipe author doesn't provide a dimension for how coarse you should chop and how fine you should mince? Look through the recipe to for clues. It is often preferable for all the ingredients of a recipe to be cut into similar shapes and sizes. It may primarily be my sense of aesthetics, but I believe that uniformity is very important when cutting either a single ingredient or a group of ingredients. The finished product generally is more attractive if its elements are uniformly cut. And, if all the pieces of an ingredient are the same size, they will cook at the same rate and be done at the same time. If such uniformity makes sense for the recipe, do it.
Is the ingredient quickly cooked or slow-cooked over many hours? Quick cooking requires smaller pieces than slow cooking. Is the ingredient used for flavoring and then discarded before serving, as in the case of onions or carrots, for example, in a broth? If so, it can be cut larger and uniformity is probably not required.
Is the ingredient used for a decoration or garnish? If so, it should be cut very evenly and probably quite small.
If, on the other hand, the author provides detailed instructions with dimensions, be sure you really know how large an eighth of an inch is. (Assuming, of course, that the author’s measurement guidelines are accurate.) A small ruler is a very helpful kitchen gadget.
