"Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great." - Chef Auguste Gusteau
If there is one good thing about the lockdown during the pandemic, it is that people had enough "me time". A world with social distancing and no schools, colleges, or work gets pretty lonely. With extended hours on hand and restaurants being shut down, cooking and baking at home had been one of the many activities that people had resorted to. People have actually developed an appreciation for cooking and have worked on improving their skills. Like many others out there, I have also started to binge cooking shows on Netflix, and try out the various recipes found on the internet. In this series, I am going to explain a few terms and techniques that will help you all appreciate cooking better.
Cutting, chopping, slicing, and dicing. Have you ever wondered why there are so many terms to describe the simple task of using a knife? That is because they don't refer to the same thing. In this article, I shall give you an insight into the various knife techniques involved in the food preparation.
One of the most fundamental aspects of cooking is the ability to use a knife skillfully. Cutting the ingredients into appropriate shapes and sizes affect how it cooks with the other ingredients and ultimately affects the final result. The basic cuts can be broadly classified into strip cuts (Julienne, Batonnet, etc.) and cube cuts (Brunoise, Dice, etc.).
Chopping
This is a technique that does not care for precision. Here, we go over the same ingredient in a rocking motion until we get roughly equal-sized pieces. This is typical of home-cooking where the ingredient cooks own for a long time in a stew. The roughly chopped vegetable or aromatic is just slightly broken up.
Slicing
This is the technique used to cut across fruits, vegetables, bread or cheese into uniform and thin pieces. This is typically used for roast, salads and sandwich.
Mincing
This technique demands a steady hand and a sharp knife. Here the ingredients are cut into pieces of about 1/8" or 1/16", which is the smallest size we can reach without making a purée. Onions, garlic and herbs are generally minced for seasoning or stir-frying. Mincing ensure that the flavour is evenly distributed throughout the stir fry.
Julienne
Also known as matchstick cut, this technique involves cutting the vegetables into thin long strips of 1/8" x 1/8" x 1" to 2". Julienne cut is used only on firm vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, celery, and potatoes for stir-frying, as it ensures that the vegetable is cooked rapidly and evenly and mixes well with other ingredients. It is also the starting point of a 'Brunoise' cut.
A variation of this technique is the 'Fine Julienne' cut where the dimensions are 1/16" x 1/16" x 1" to 2" with the julienned veggie being cut twice along the length to form four identical pieces. This is also the starting point of a 'Fine Brunoise' cut.
NOTE: Julienne used on a potato is known as Allumette cut.
Brunoise
To execute this technique, gather julienned vegetables and cut them into small cubes of 1/8". This is the finest cube that we can get, and anything finer would be a mince. This cut is most often used for making sauces or aromatic garnishes and is ideal for onion, celery, bell peppers, tomato, and root vegetables.
A variation of this technique is the 'Fine Brunoise' cut where the dimensions of the cubes are 1/16" with the fine julienned veggie as the starting point.
Batonnet
Commonly known as a french fry cut, this technique is used for french fries, vegetable sticks and crudites. It involves cutting the vegetables into squares and then making them into strips of 1/4" x 1/4" x 2" to 2.5". This is also the starting point of a 'Small Dice'.
Dice
A dice is a cut that creates uniform cubes and is typically used in dishes like soups and fried rice where lots of vegetables are added. There are three cuts depending on the size of the cube - Small Dice, Medium Dice, and Large Dice. Each of these cuts has its own uses in cooking.
Small dice: The small dice is derived from a batonnet, and the final dimension of the cubes is 1/4". Small diced vegetables are used in soups.
Medium dice: In this technique, the final dimension of the cubes is 1/2". Medium diced vegetables are used in chowders and fried rice.
Large dice: In this technique, the final dimension of the cubes is 3/4". Large diced vegetables are used in pies and stews.
Chiffonade
This is a technique that's exclusive for herbs and leafy vegetables like basil, kale, and spinach. Here, the leaves are stacked, rolled tightly and cut across into thin strips or ribbons. Thin chiffonades of herbs are for garnishing, while a larger chiffonade can be used for a sauté. This technique is used for everything from soup to salad.
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Shredding vs Grating
Many people make the mistake of using it interchangeably, but they are quite different. Grating results in choppy short fragments, almost powder-like while shredding results in long and thin strips.
Supreming a citrus fruit
This technique is used on citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange. The membrane is removed and the fruit is served in slices without any pith or rind.
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