Small, regular pieces
When we cook, bake or pastry, we often have to cut food into small pieces, often cubes, to incorporate them into a recipe or preparation.
How do you get regular pieces fairly quickly?
How do you get regular pieces fairly quickly?
5,764 4.5/5 (17 reviews)
Keywords for this post:TechniqueCuttingPiecesKnifeSizeLast modified on: November 28th 2020
Small, regular pieces
This need for small, regular pieces often arises when you have to cut up a whole heap of food, usually raw, and dice it most of the time. Note in passing that very small pieces = brunoise, larger pieces = mirepoix, in the vocabulary of cooks.
So it happens a lot, and if you're not too comfortable, you'll intuitively cut a first large piece of the food in question, then cut it into smaller pieces, start again, and so on.
This works, of course, but it takes a long time, and above all you'll be very irregular.
Is there a trick to this?
Yes, yes, well actually it's more a method, a way of doing things, a "taille" as the cooks say.
Take a look at how, for example, to obtain small cubes of cheese (of course, this applies to just about anything else).
1) Start by slicing or shredding everything you've planned, aiming for the thickness of the slices, the size of the dice you're aiming for.
2) Stack the slices, then cut them into sticks, using the same size criteria as above.
3) Finally, cut the sticks (in groups for faster processing) into small cubes.
That's it, by proceeding in this way, you'll get the hang of it, and you'll be up and running in no time, especially once you've had a bit of practice.
You can do this for just about any food.
Tosum up: when you've got dicing to do, do strips, then sticks, then dice. That's the secret of consistency and speed.
Lasts posts
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20248295
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20241,1045
No need to boil gelatin
Gelatin is a magical ingredient for making light, creamy, structured desserts, yet it's often misused in the kitchen. A common mistake in some recipes is the idea that it needs to be boiled for it to work properly, but this is a mistake indeed: gelatin melts at a much lower temperature, around...November 21th 20241,2795
Your oven in "proofer" mode
In the bakery, proofing is a crucial stage in the process of making light, plump breads and pastries. During proofing, the yeast ferments the sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide which forms bubbles. This process allows the dough to swell and aerate, guaranteeing a soft, light...September 27th 20244,3385
The right size of zucchini
When you buy zucchini at the market, you're often offered a wide variety of sizes, from very small to very large. But which ones to choose? Here are a few tips.September 9th 20244,5265
Other pages you may also like
Divide and weigh dough into regular pieces
When you prepare dough for cupcakes in a pastry shop or bakery, at some point you're going to have to divide it, i.e. cut it into small pieces, which should all have the same weight. Sounds simple enough, but is it really that simple?May 30th 20236,4775
How to zest a fruit?
You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish. There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of...November 5th 201342 K3.8
In praise of the whetstone
Have you ever seen a butcher or a chef sharpen his knife before using it? Usually he uses a special tool, a long thin cylinder made of very hard metal. And in a smooth and elegant gesture, he very quickly passes the edge of the knife against the rifle, which makes a very characteristic noise,...June 5th 20217,0764.8
Croutons
Do you use croutons, that typically French trick of toasting small pieces of bread on the side to add to a recipe? They're just delicious, but you need to know 2 or 3 things about them. .December 30th 20206,2595
In Praise of the Vegetable Mill
When a recipe or preparation calls for something solid to be pureed, as in a soup for example, the natural reflex is to take out the blender and plunge it into the saucepan. This works very well in most cases, but there are times when you'd like to puree something and at the same time remove the...July 12th 20236,4455
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.