How to Preparer most important vegetables for the soups, chowders and stews:
Cutting vegetables is an art. The expertise comes only after many bags of onions and many stalks of celery. But it does come.
There are six vegetables like Onions, celery, carrots, garlic and shallots_ essential to the preparation of many stocks, soups, chowders, stews and more… each is cut in a slightly different way. Parsley, an equally important vegetable in the kitchen, requires no special cutting technique. Rich in vitamins A and C, parsley is used in many recipes.
Onions:

Cut a thin slice from the neck of the onion with a paring knife and remove the skin from the neck to the root end, folding the skin back rather than cutting it. Trim the root end but don’t cut deeply into it. It is the section which the onion layers are attached, and it holds the onion intact on the cutting board as it is being cut.
Diced:
Cut the peeled onion in half from neck to root end.
Place flat side of onion on the cutting board with root to your left (if you are right- handed). Holding the knife over the onion, make vertical lengthwise cuts from root end to stem end. The thickness of these slices will vary: for small dice, cut 1/4- inch slices; medium dice, ½- inch slices; large dice, ¾ – inch slices.
Hold the blade horizontal to the cutting board and cut lateral slices to ward the root end of the onion, choosing thickness of dice required. Don’t cut into the root end. The onion must stay intact.
Now cut a vertical slice across the onion, choosing the thickness desired.
Dice remaining half of onion in the same manner.
Finely Chopped:
Slices should be cut 1/8 – inch thick chopped.
For extremely fine pieces, continue chopping until all particles are no larger than 1/16 inch.
Julienne:
Cut the peeled onion in half through the root end, and place flat on the cutting board, root end to the left. Beginning at the stem end of the onion cut vertical slices across the onion __1/8- inch thick. Toss the slices with finger tips to separate slices. The slices will separate into julienne strips when stirred with a spoon.
Sliced
Cut a thin slice off one side of a peeled whole onion so that it will rest flat on the cutting board. Place the onion on its flat side, root end to the left. Make vertical, parallel slices of desired thickness.
Celery:
In most soups and stews only the outer stalks of celery are used. The small inner stalks are usually served as iced celery hearts or used in salads. Stalks should be separated, washed and scrubbed with a vegetable brush. Cut off the leaves unless the recipe calls for them. If the stalks are large and tough, peel them with a vegetable peeler with a floating blade to remove the stringy outer portion.
Diced:
With the knife point at the narrow end of the stalk, cut celery lengthwise into strips. For small dice, strips should be ¼ -inch wide; medium dice, 1/2 –inch wide, and large dice, ¾ – inches wide. Hold the celery strips in a bundle in the left hand and cut across strips to make dice of the proper size.
Chopped:
Cut the celery into large dice, as above, and chop until celery is reduce to the desire size.
Julienne:
Cut the celery stalk laterally into slices no thicker than 1/8 -inch. Cut crosswise into 1 1/2 – inch pieces. Cut pieces lengthwise no larger than 1/8 –inch.
Carrots:
Small, young and tender carrots need not be peeled for most soups, while large carrots are peeled before they are cut into various shapes. Carrots used in making stock needn’t be peeled in either case, since they will be discarded with the other vegetables used in making the stock.
Sliced:
Cut a thin lengthwise strip off each carrot. The slice should be just thick enough to permit the carrot to rest on the cutting board without wobbling. Cut the carrots crosswise into ¼ – or ½ -inch slices, or diagonally if desired.
Diced:
Cut the carrot to rest flat on the cutting board. If the carrots are large, cut into several lengthwise pieces about 3 inches long. Cut slices lengthwise into the desired thickness of the dice.
Place strips in a bundle to hold in the left hand while cutting them crosswise into desire dice.
Julienne:
Cut as above instead small dice, cut to 1/2 -inch length. Cut the lengthwise strip into 1/8-inch-thick pieces.
Garlic and Shallots:
Usually these flavoring vegetables are chopped extremely fine except for a few instances when they are lightly crushed under the flat of a knife or left a whole for a sachet or bouquet garni. Garlic comes in a cluster called bulb or head, which separates into sections called cloves. To separate the cloves, place the whole bulb on the cutting board at an angle. Holding it with the left hand, strike it solid blows with the palm of your right hand until the cloves come apart.
To peel garlic or a shallot place the clove on a cutting board. With the flat side of a French knife against it, strike the blade with a blow of the fist. The clove will be partly crushed and the skin loosened. Remove the skin and discard. Place the partly crushed garlic or shallot on the cutting board and chop with the knife tip on the board.
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