Carrot Safety

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Having recently butchered my thumb with a chef's knife, cutting, or trying to cut, a carrot lengthwise so that I could remove the core, I decided I could use advice. I can only assume this is a common kitchen task solved long ago by others: how do folks cut hard, cylindrical foods like carrots along the long axis?

It's been thirty years since I've had a similar kitchen accident, and that was cutting hard chorizo. I seem to do OK otherwise. I asked my son about the carrots and he said he would use a serrated knife. I hit my forehead with my hand (my good hand) and wondered why I had not thought of that.

What other carrot cutting techniques do people have to share?

[dcarch]

This are the two way I have done successfully, without digital injuries:

Center cutting the carrot - Use a Chinese cleaver to cut just a little into the carrot lengthwise, then while holding the cleaver which secures the carrot, use your other hand to hammer down on the cleaver's spine to split the carrot in half. If your hand is very tender, then put a folded towel on the cleaver.

Cutting around the carrot's core - First use a peeler to flatten one side so it will not rotate, then do the above.

dcarch

13" long carrots cut lengthwise, with lobster

Edited September 30, 2013 by dcarch (log)

[mm84321]

I would just pierce the center of the carrot at it's top with the tip of my knife until it reached the other side, then pull the knife through the length of the carrot in one motion. Maybe also cut a thin slice off the carrot, creating a flat surface for it to sit on so it doesn't move to much as you are handling it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I would just pierce the center of the carrot at it's top with the tip of my knife until it reached the other side, then pull the knife through the length of the carrot in one motion. Maybe also cut a thin slice off the carrot, creating a flat surface for it to sit on so it doesn't move to much as you are handling it.

That is more or less the method I was using.

[weinoo]

Are you trying to use or serve the carrot whole?

If not, I cut carrots into manageable lengths before cutting them lengthwise.

Also, are the carrots gigantic? Because I've seriously never had to core a carrot. A parsnip, yes.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Yes, I would call these carrots gigantic. I have a lot. They are large and they were cheap, and they were on sale. I'd never tried to core a carrot either, but that's what MC says to do, and I usually try to follow a recipe as exactly as I can the first time through.

My carrots are not to be served whole, as pretty as dcarch's carrots look. These are for carotene butter and MC carrot soup. Tonight I pureed a baked sweet potato with the reduced liquor left over after making the carotene butter. Very nice if I don't mind saying so myself.

In thinking about it, I'm not sure cutting the carrots to shorter length would have helped my problem.

[scubadoo97]

I would cut into manageable pieces, then cutoff a thin slice on the side to make a flat surface. Now you have a stable and manageable item to split down the middle. This gives you more control and will reduce the chance of injury. Can you still injure yourself? Of course, the the more control you have and the better your technique, the less likely you will cut yourself

[quiet1]

I would cut into manageable pieces, then cutoff a thin slice on the side to make a flat surface. Now you have a stable and manageable item to split down the middle. This gives you more control and will reduce the chance of injury. Can you still injure yourself? Of course, the the more control you have and the better your technique, the less likely you will cut yourself

It is possibly cheating, but I find that a vegetable peeler is quite handy for creating that initial flat surface to make the carrot sit nicely on the board, without taking off too much excess vegetable. I'm sure some folks can do the same with a paring knife, but if the concern is avoiding accidental knife injury, I generally find peelers better behaved for this sort of thing. (I have grip strength issues in my hands due to arthritis, though, so your mileage may vary.)

I also cut the carrots down into more manageable lengths, but I've never needed them full length for presentation.purposes.

[Lisa Shock]

I generally cut mine into manageable lengths for julienne, brunoise, etc. Cutting off a bit of one side to stabilize it is my usual procedure. If I did want to cut them lengthwise, if they were large, I'd put my left hand on top of the blade to add extra pressure. If they were skinny, and I was nervous about making a straight cut, I'd hold the outside edges with tongs and just cut between them.

[scubadoo97]

quiet1, good tip on the use of a peeler to create a flat surface

[SylviaLovegren]

I've only had to core a few carrots in my life and those were huge with woody centers. I cut the carrot in half across the middle to make it more manageable, then quartered each half lengthwise. Then I have access to the core which can be sliced off each quarter, lengthwise.

Any directions that involve sticking a knife through an entire carrot, rotating the knife, then withdrawing it with the core, sound more like instructions for slicing random treasured chunks off my person.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I regularly handle truly enormous carrots (I'll take a pic tonight - I've got some in the pantry) and I've never had the need to core any of them - the centres aren't at all woody. I'm curious as to why MC is calling for cored carrots for preparations where they'll be pureed? Woodiness isn't an issue for carrot soup, nor for carotene butters, and carrot cores aren't flavour deficient or anything....

This said, I regularly cut very large carrots in half lengthwise using a 12" nakiri - I place the (peeled) carrot on my cutting board, make a light notch to set the knife, then one soft push and it's split. I have never ever cut myself sectioning carrots this way. For very fat carrots, I'll often set them on their fat end (so that they're sticking upwards) then set the knife on the thin end and push down. Again, with a properly sharp knife there's no issue.

[GlorifiedRice]

How about a mini tabletop vise?

http://www.amazon.com/ProsKit-Mini-Tabletop-suction-vise/dp/B005JVK1GS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380568750&sr=8-4&keywords=mini+vise

[dcarch]

How about a mini tabletop vise?

http://www.amazon.com/ProsKit-Mini-Tabletop-suction-vise/dp/B005JVK1GS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380568750&sr=8-4&keywords=mini+vise

Actually the vise will make it much more difficult.

I have seen a device similar to this:

http://www.sifc.co.za/images/squash_cutter.jpg

but bigger for chopping squashes or watermelons.

The method I detailed above has worked for me very well. I enjoy cooking carrots cores and the "bark" separate for smoothies.

dcarch

[nickrey]

How sharp was your knife? If it's blunt you need to use more force to cut and that is when the accidents tend to happen.

[Martin Fisher]

FWIW, removing the core is often recommended because it can be bitter.

I'm pretty sure that's the line of reasoning that the MC and MC@H folks are following.

The bitterness can very quite a bit from cultivar to cultivar and maturity also plays a part.

[Martin Fisher]

You can sometimes strip the core out of mature carrots, especially the older larger cultivars.

Halve or quarter the carrot lengthwise and impale the core on the end with a fork. If you're lucky the core can be easily separated from the outer part of the carrot and stripped out.

For many years I've added 20% cored carrot to my pumpkin pies.....I like the flavor, natural sweetness and the bright orange color.

[Brown Hornet]

Just a couple of quick points. To core carrots for MC soup I cut the carrot into roughly 2" long pieces, then quarter, and then just cut out the core. Towards the thinner end of the carrot there's not much core anyway so don't bother.

I would add though, that I've made the MC carrot soup many times both with and without coring and found no real difference. At least in my experience, the overall sweetness of the caramelized carrots is sufficient to overpower any residual bitterness from the core.

[weinoo]

FWIW, removing the core is often recommended because it can be bitter.

I'm pretty sure that's the line of reasoning that the MC and MC@H folks are following.

The bitterness can very quite a bit from cultivar to cultivar and maturity also plays a part.

You could always cut one carrot and take a slice or two off and taste it. Bitter - core. Not bitter - don't core.

[Martin Fisher]

In my experience, the bitterness isn't always obvious until they're cooked.

Having said that, some carrots are free of bitterness.