CARVING FOOD: A SKILL TO LEARN
The other day in a restaurant, in Foster City, CA, I was watching a chef using his knife to carve different kinds of food: tomatoes, carrots, celery, meats, etc. He was using his knife very carefully; that is, not to damage it and not to cut himself.
I saw that he was slicing a tomato and each slice was like the last one: same size, clean cut, and not a waste of the tomato. I asked him, how he did it. " Very easy," was his reply, "I will show you."
"You do not grab the tomato and just start cutting. First, you wash the tomato and place it on a cutting board." He said while drying his hands. "Don't cut it on the sink, you can dull your knife. Always, if you can, use a cutting board." he said while taking his knife and checking to see how sharp it is.
"Do not hold the tomato in your hand or with your fingers, place the tomato on your board and then press on it with you finger tips--finger tips curved inward, cut next to the knuckles with a sliding method, while pressing slightly down with the finger tips, so the tomato does not slip out." By cutting a tomato, or any vegetable this way, you would not cut your hand, fingers, finger tips, or your knuckles.
The cutting blades on knives are made to do different things: Knives with teeth are made to do sawing; no teeth, are made to cut when pushed down. When you go to carve a piece of meat and you want each piece to look good, you first make a sideway cut--make sure that this slice is clean to the middle of the meat. Then cut little slices straight down. Do not use a knife, if you can, with teeth--most of the time it will chop-up the meat
This local Foster City chef said, "I showed you the basic cutting technique, and now it's up to you to observe and practice.
After trying what he explained to me, my cutting skills showed great improvement: it was easier to slice meat, and I became faster in slicing food.
This small skill, about carving, gave me more confidence and skill in preparing food. Try it, and let me know what you think.
