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| | Slicing, Dicing & Chopping | Here are some basic professional techniques for
chopping: Always use a sharp chef’s knife, and tuck under
the fingertips holding the food to keep them from getting nicked. For julienne
or very small dice, begin by slicing a vegetable very thinly lengthwise. To make
julienne, stack several thin slices on top of each other, and slice them into
matchsticks; to dice, gather the matchsticks together and chop them into equal
pieces. “Chiffonade” refers to very thin strips of
lettuce or herbs, like these basil leaves. Stack several leaves, with the
largest on the bottom. Roll them up, and thinly slice them from one end of the
roll to the other. The best way to chop an onion is to start by
cutting it in half from top to bottom; then place the cut halves, flat side
down, on a work surface, and slice off the stem ends. Remove the skin, and make
vertical cuts lengthwise without cutting through the root end, which holds the
onion together as you work. Make a few horizontal cuts from the cut edge toward
the root end, then chop across the onion to make cubes. SLICING BAKED GOODS: Frosted cookie bars: Spread frosting
evenly on the bars and refrigerate before cutting. To cut evenly it's much
easier if the icing is firm. Before cutting bar cookies, place them in the freezer to harden. The exception
is crisp-style bars, which must be cut while warm--before they crisp--to prevent
unsightly crumbling. I gently mark the lines to cut and then lay the knife against the mark and
push through the whole bar. I like to use one motion through the whole width of
the bar. It makes a nicer cut. If the icing loosens before
you are done, just pop back into the freezer to firm it up! |  If serving a large cake, slice off a side that is 2" wide, then slice that. Continue across the cake. This way, cake is not cut through that is not needed for serving. For square or rectangle cakes, cut in an angle from each corner, then cut strips to cut pieces from. from sugarcraft.com
|  An easy way to get more pieces from a round cake is to: Cut a circular ring around the center of the cake, leave intact. Then cut slices all around the outside area of the ring and then in the inside area of the ring. | Cakes: For a
semi-rich cake, slices generally measure between 1/2-inch to 1-inch thick by 3
inches deep. This, of course, is depending on the richness of the cake. To
slice, use a thin, sharp knife. Place it in top of the cake, halfway. Cut
downwards, not wiggling knife. Then, smoothly draw knife out. Do not bring it
back through the cut to the top. Angel Food Cakes are sliced with a sharp,
serrated knife. Cheesecake: Because
cheesecake has a high fat content, it will stick to the knife when cut. Before
cutting, first dip a sharp knife in hot water and then dry it off . Cut the cake all the way across to the other side with one motion, as you would cut off a large hunk of cheese. Then draw the knife out, run under hot water to clean the blade, dry it and make the next cut. This will keep the edges clean and crisp. The other thing I do is to cut a cheesecake with WAXED dental floss. (Flavored dental floss can be used because it does not leave a taste!!) You need a long lengths because you need to wrap around your fingers, as well as making sure the exposed length is a little longer than the circumference of the cheesecake. Please note that as soon as the floss gets sticky, it doesn't work.
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