Cutting techniques: How to cut food like a pro

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Cutting techniques: How to cut food like a pro

Just Spices • February 17, 2022

It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a hobby cook: we can all learn a tip or two about the right cutting techniques. How do you cut onions correctly and which technique do you use when? This article will help you to get an overview of the different cutting techniques and to learn them in no time.

The claw grip

1
Position the food to be cut on a cutting board.
2
The thumb and forefinger hold the clippings in place.
3
This positioning of the fingers ensures that you can work more cleanly and the risk of cutting yourself with a sharp knife is significantly reduced.
4
Make sure the remaining fingers reach the clippings in a slightly arched position.

Cutting herbs the right way: The rocking cut 

1
Wash and carefully pluck the herbs.
2
Take the herbs in your hand, form a fist, and gently squeeze the herbs.
3
Then hold the herbs with the claw grip and cut the herbs into fine strips with rocking movements.
4
Rotate the herbs 180° and finely chop again with the rocker cut.
5
Be careful not to crush or chop the herbs with each movement.

Tip: Not every knife is suitable for the rocking cut. Chef's knives with a blade approx. 20 cm long or Santoku knives are perfect for this. It is not possible to carry out an even rocking cut with small knives.

Cut food into cubes

1
Wash the food to be cut thoroughly and pat dry.
2
Cut off the ends and stand the food on edge.
3
Cut evenly thick slices. Attention: The thickness of the slices is decisive for the subsequent size of the cubes.
4
Place the slices vertically on the cutting board and cut into strips. The strips should be the same thickness as the slices.
5
Turn the strips horizontally and cut into even cubes.

How to properly chop onions 

1
Cut off the top end and some of the stalk of the onion. Note that you are not removing the entire stalk.
2
Halve the onion first and then peel it. This makes removing the peel from the onion much quicker and easier.
3
Place the onion halves vertically, cut side down, on the chopping board and cut thinly several times up to the stalk. Be careful not to cut the stem all the way through.
4
Then cut the onion horizontally in the middle once up to the stalk.
5
Finely dice the onion using the claw grip.

Tip: Tired of tears when chopping onions? Then you should definitely use a very sharp knife, as this will result in less juice when cutting the onion. The juice is the culprit that makes us cry when chopping onions.

How to cut round slices

1
Zucchini or carrots, for example, are particularly suitable for this technique.
2
Wash the food to be sliced, peel if necessary and cut off the ends.
3
Place the food to be sliced on a cutting board and cut into evenly thin slices using the claw handle.

Do you want to learn more about food and the right techniques? 

We’ve put so much knowledge together on our Just Spices blog. For example, you should definitely give our article on how to properly cook eggs a read! Moreover, you will find our favourite spices and spice blends for vegetables here – perfect to season your finely chopped onions or zucchinis.