Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with chopping

Get off my damn knife!

smackfu — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:58:27 -0800

Why do the slices stick to the side of my chef's knife when I'm slicing apples and such? Is there anything I can do to stop it? It doesn't seem to happen to the TV chefs.

Chopping lemongrass makes me want to chop off my hand

Madamina — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:18:36 -0800

The boy and I are trying to make a sort of bulk Thai seasoning paste, which we've previously freezed in portions pretty successfully. One thing is holding us back, though -- the absolute )*&^&*$ we have to go through to chop the lemongrass properly. What with us using a pound or two of lemongrass, even chopping it roughly to do the rest in the food processor is a pain (literally), and the last time we did this we ended up with a whole bunch of stringy bits. Yes, we've peeled off the outer layers and chopped off the tough bit at the bottom; we typically use a large, properly sharpened chef's knife. Any other tips?

Attack of the Clones!

Glitter Ninja — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:58:55 -0800

Help me find the clone pictures I remember from within the last couple of years! I remeber seeing between 3-5, if not more, photoshopped pictures that are like Worth1000.com's "Attack of the Clones" contests.

Looking now, I can't seem to be able to find any of them. I remember in particular one with a girl in a classroom and another with a boy that was done so well as to show him interacting with himself (touching, etc.). One of them in particular had a tutorial with it. Seeing as I am aiming to try something myself this weekend now that my new camera is in, can any other MeFites help me dig these up? Thanks for your help!

Chop chop!

rorycberger — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 16:22:03 -0800

What is the best way to learn professional level kitchen knife skills? [more inside] Background: I'm a beginner-intermediate cook who likes to try difficult, complicated recipes to challenge myself. However, I often find myself slowed down/poorly performing due to knife skills and want to eliminate that as an excuse for not cooking as well as I could. When I can I do prep work in advance, but that usually adds an extra ~hour for work that (I think) could be done during the cooking process.

I'm basically looking for two things here: 1) recommendations for specific books, videos, classes etc. (or even just tips for finding good ones) 2) techniques/drills that I should practice on my own (i.e. julienning a bunch of carrots, or trying to slice potatoes as thinly as possible, etc.).

Also, a tangential question: I've got a decent farberware knife set that gets the job done, but have been thinking about buying at least a high-end chef's knife. Should I run out to the store now, or wait until I'm a bit more experienced so that I'll have a better idea of what I like?