Cutting veggies! A big problem!

[Talat_kas]

Although i love to cook but cutting vegetables is the most annoying thing to me!!!

This is only because my hands get rough. I watch cooking shows on TV where chefs cut vegetables very fast by just putting them on the cutting board and chop in seconds. I try to cut like them but every time i fail to do and at last i handover vegetables to my mother to cut them.

I want to be perfect in cutting veggies but how?

Can any one among you help me to resolve my problem?

Edited August 4, 2008 by Talat_kas (log)

[CDRFloppingham]

Developing competence at chopping vegetables and other knifework is one of the most important skills in the kitchen.

If you watch any TV show about cooking (PBS preferred but even TVFN still teaches very basic technique in some shows), they are almost certain to teach you how to chop an onion and maybe something like a carrot.

You just have to practice and have a sharp knife. Take your time. It's better to be slow and safe than fast and hurt yourself.

Good luck.

[Andrew Fenton]

A good place to start is the eGullet Culinary Institute's basic knife skills course. Lots of good hints there, and you can ask questions in the associated questions thread. And then, yeah: practice practice practice.

[paulraphael]

And it's like any other manual skill: don't try to do it fast until you've learned how to do it right. Learn the right technique, and then practice it SLOWLY until it becomes second nature. The speed will come on its own.

If you try to go fast before knowing what you're doing, you'll just reinforce bad habits. And you might end up adding your fingertips to the salad.

[cdh]

Practice practice practice... or you could get yourself a mandoline, which does the job effortlessly, though with increased risk to your fingertip integrity.

I find for tasks that benefit from absolute uniformity, like making long thin slices of squash or eggplant for rolling things up in, the mandoline is just essential, since I can't freehand cut something that large evenly enough.

Edited August 4, 2008 by cdh (log)

[Big Bunny]

My string bass teacher used to say "slow practice brings fast progress."

Practice playing evenly and in tune, and speed will follow.

That philosophy works for lots of things.

BB

[jsmeeker]

Lots of good advice so far. I'll add one more piece. Take a hands on knife skills class at a local cooking school. Maybe they are offerered at a local fancy grocery store. Or at a retail store like Sur-La-Table. Or a local community college.

[Hard H2O]

Do not worry about being fast. Learn to do it right. Speed will come with practice. If you do not get a lot of practice at a certain skill you are probably not wasting a lot of your time anyway.

I find that I make up more time in the kitchen by being organized, reading recipes beforehand, and managing my time than I do by chopping and slicing fast.

Sometimes it matters that your sliced and chopped bits are uniform and sometimes it doesn't. Relax a bit and have fun.

One thing that does help a lot is to have a sharp knife of the right size and shape. Another is having a cutting board big enough to allow you to manage the job. If you are constantly stopping to clear an area for work then you will slow down. Organize your work area and you can work more efficiently.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Hard H2O (log)

[Shalmanese]

Sounds like the main problem might be your knife isn't sharp enough. Having a dull knife doesn't just make you slower, it completely changes your technique.

[djyee100]

A knife skills class is what you need, if you can find one locally. A teacher can stand by you, watch how you're putting your hands and how you hold the knife, and make corrections. If you live in the SF Bay Area, say so and I can recommend teachers that I know.

I strongly recommend that you stay away from a mandoline at this stage of the game. !!! Mandolines are complicated to set up and sometimes to use. They can go so fast that beginners forget and hurt themselves. Besides, that's not what you need now. You need basic skills with a chef's knife. The mandoline can come along later when you have developed your knife skills well and feel more comfortable with your cooking skills in general.

The chefs you see on TV are holding the knife and their hands in a special way so that they are cutting by touch, rather than by sight. You can learn how to do this--but have a real person by you to watch you and teach you. Speed is not important. Accuracy and comfort with the different kinds of knife cuts are most important. Since you love cooking, someday all these skills you admire will come to you in time.

Edited August 5, 2008 by djyee100 (log)

[fisherman]

You need two things, a very very sharp knife and practice, actually, make that three things, as you'll need a way of maintaining your knife too, something like the Spyderco Sharpmaker is perfect, much better than a steel, which don't really sharpen a blade very well at all.

[Hard H2O]

You need two things, a very very sharp knife and practice, actually, make that three things, as you'll need a way of maintaining your knife too, something like the Spyderco Sharpmaker is perfect, much better than a steel, which don't really sharpen a blade very well at all.

←

The Sharpmaker will sharpen and maintain a blade that is not too dull. From what I hear it is not the best for changing angles or bring back to sharp a dull blade. For maintenance it seems to be the ticket. You need to have a blade that matches the angles available on the Sharpmaker however.

[Talat_kas]

Thanks all of you for providing me the solution of my problem. I am new to this forum and it its really helpful in finding solution

What i got from your replies is that to cut veggies slowly and keep on practicing makes me perfect in this art.

Thanks again!!!