36
votes
Accepted
How to keep onions from sinking in a salad
This is physics.
There's an effect called: "Granular convection"
It's a phenomenon where if you have materials of different sizes in a container and vibrate or shake them, that the largest objects ...
- 1,004
22
votes
How to keep onions from sinking in a salad
I don't think the issue here is dicing vs slicing the onions. The reason why the latter appears to present better in this answer is in my opinion because of the size relative to the other ingredients. ...
- 373
17
votes
How to keep onions from sinking in a salad
I found that slices float better and present better. They don't take much longer to cut and you don't need much onion for a salad.
Slices on the right
Thick slices can be cut to taste. You want ...
- 6,308
17
votes
How to hold slippery food while cutting?
If you're struggling to cut peaches, your knife isn't sharp enough.
Something that soft should barely need holding at all.
If you're really good at cutting your fingers, use a fork. You don't even ...
- 29.9k
16
votes
Chopping shallots super fine
Use a grater
If you use a box grater (or a microplane style grater), you can peel and grate your shallots very easily. By holding the root end, you can grate the entire shallot pretty easily and ...
- 9,052
16
votes
Accepted
How to hold slippery food while cutting?
When I'm cutting slippery food I take a different approach to cutting, as the fingers curled method is unreliable as you have found. What I would do with peaches is get my 3 inch utility knife (...
- 77.2k
14
votes
What is the most humane way to kill crayfish at home?
Food tech. guru Dave Arnold experimented with crustacean killing...mainly lobster, and mainly in search of quality. He wound up with the use of anesthesia as the best method...and probably most ...
- 77k
10
votes
What is the most humane way to kill crayfish at home?
Timely question!
As you've ascertained, any form of head-splitting with a knife -- as you would for crabs or lobsters -- is impractical for crayfish, simply because they are too small.
Putting ...
- 65.5k
9
votes
Accepted
How do I *safely* use an aruvamanai
Let me tell and admit that usage of Aruvamanai is a bit tricky. It is not mostly used by younger generations. But my mother and my mother in law still use them and they wont switch to board and knife.
...
- 621
7
votes
Accepted
What does"relax on the way forward" mean in relation to knife sharpening?
This will generally mean to not apply pressure (press the blade to the stone by either leaning/twisting the edge firmly into the stone, or keeping your fingers close to the edge) while you are in any ...
- 15.3k
6
votes
How do I cut an oreo?
I used a Mini Hacksaw #65341 from Harbor Freight. I even cut a cracked one in half without shattering it.
6
votes
How to keep onions from sinking in a salad
There is no law of nature that requires salad to be served in a bowl. In fact I rarely see it served in a bowl: I'm used to seeing it served on a plate. You can toss together the leafy components, ...
- 1,994
6
votes
Chopping shallots super fine
You can certainly do it with salt and the side of a knife, but you would have to chop rather finely first. So, maybe not worth it. Alternately, you can use a mortar, but again, this requires initial ...
- 77k
5
votes
How to dice tomatoes?
A different method, requires a little practise, but quick & easy once you have it. This method keeps the seeds, but loses the harder green bit where the stalk was attached.
This is the quickest ...
- 29.9k
5
votes
Drawback of Kullenschliff (Granton) knives
The biggest downside I can think of was touched on in the top answer to the question Catija:
In fact, the thickness of the blade tends to have more of an effect than the voids in most cases.
...
- 58.4k
5
votes
How to use knife
First: This does not look like a very good knife - this style of secondary bevel (an european style knife usually should not have one, and if it has, it should be more acute) and the fact no exact ...
- 15.3k
5
votes
How and when should I use a bread knife?
The "problem" with using your Santoku knives is that they dull fast when you use them on bread.
If you keep your knives well sharpened, you can do without the bread-knife.
Other uses for bread-...
- 13.2k
5
votes
Chopping shallots super fine
I use a cheap mini food processor for small tasks such as this - ones where my full-size gear would just be too big & I'd either lose most of it round the edges or it would just go underneath the ...
- 29.9k
5
votes
Claw grip to cut a convex body (Half onions , half tomatoes etc)
I'm not certain I can explain this in words completely clearly, however…
As you reach the point at which you start to lose control over your moving grip, either stop your cut halfway through & use ...
- 29.9k
4
votes
How to dice tomatoes?
What I've been doing lately for large batches is using a food processor or blender. Specifically I've been using a Ninja blender that was about $70.
I cut the tops off the tomatoes and sometimes cut ...
- 6,203
4
votes
What is a julienne cut?
The French have names for a lot of cuts, not just 'dice' and 'mince'. (and I don't mean 'large dice'). And that list is incomplete -- it's missing chiffonade ... I have no idea how many others.
...
- 81.6k
4
votes
How do I properly mince garlic?
You can try to treat it as a really, really small dice if you have a sharp enough knife.
But it's easier to use a chefs knife to cut it in one direction, and then try to start cutting it into sticks ....
- 81.6k
4
votes
What's the best way for inexperienced cook to finely cut cabbage?
You can try using a good long sharp knife and a large wooden cutting board like Michael mentioned but it can be slow if you're inexperienced. Other cutting boards will dull your knife quickly which is ...
- 3,953
4
votes
What's the best way for inexperienced cook to finely cut cabbage?
Mandolines can work, but there's a problem -- cabbages are round, so the leaves aren't flat. This makes it more difficult to cut everything in only one plane, such as would happen with a mandoline or ...
- 81.6k
4
votes
Cutting seared tuna
Practice, practice, practice.
More specifically: The searing will make the piece a bit flakier and less cohesive around the edges, so it requires a more delicate touch than raw tuna. So...
if you ...
- 3,063
4
votes
Accepted
What to look for when purchasing a honing steel?
Magnetizing can cause other problems, especially since you can also end up magnetizing knives which will then be MORE difficult to clean from metal debris.
There are smooth steels which really only ...
- 15.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Cooking one-handed: things to watch out for
I can give some general recommendations, but if I had some specific recipes that you were considering, I might be able to give more specific recommendations.
First, I'd avoid using any tool that I ...
- 81.6k
4
votes
Cooking one-handed: things to watch out for
From personal experience, when I had surgery and was without my right (dominant) hand for 6 weeks. I invested in a couple of new tools for the kitchen which helped me with prepping veggies and smaller ...
- 852
4
votes
How and when should I use a bread knife?
I agree with BaffledCook, as well as a comment Joe made: most people don't keep their knives sharp. A dull straight-edged knife can be dangerous when trying to cut into a hard crusty bread loaf: it ...
- 33.2k
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