Whisked Off

A few tricks September 10, 2009

My whole life I’ve been peeling carrots incorrectly. Who knew? Professionals hold the carrot in the fingertips of their left hand and turn it clockwise at a 30° angle while moving the peeler towards their body. At first I was gouging huge chunks out of the vegetable but once I got the hang of it, it was an epiphany.

TRICKS

The sharper your knife, the less you cry.  When you cut an onion, you break through cells which contain sulfur compounds and release them into the air around you. The nerve endings in your cornea detect the irritant and your brain signals your eyes to create tears to wash it away. There are food scientists working on tearless onions, but in the meantime it’s good to cut near an open window where the breeze can blow the onion-y air away.

There’s also a trick to keeping your herbs on the cutting board instead of on your knife. Always wash herbs before you chop them. Once you begin chopping, add a pinch of salt to the mound of herbs. Salt helps them cling together in a pile on the cutting board.When they are finely minced, you can rinse them again, and then put them in a small cloth to squeeze out the extra water.

Much of the bitterness in garlic comes from the little seed inside. You can cut back on the harsh flavor (and burping and indigestion) by slicing the garlic clove in half and removing the seed with the tip of your knife.