One of the most important steps in the cooking process is learning how to properly chop food. After all, there are no trifles in cooking, and such an action requires a certain skill. Take potatoes, for example. In most cases, at the initial stage after cleaning, it needs to be cut. Depending on the specific dish, the chopped preparations must have a certain shape. Let's say that for work you need rectangular blocks like straws. What should be done in this case? How to cut potatoes into strips? It turns out that this can be done in different ways.
French fries
Nowadays, fast food has become so popular that many even try to cook their favorite dishes at home. The banal force of habit works. As you know, no fast food establishment is complete without the famous French fries. Moreover, doing it is not at all difficult. The main thing is to give the main product the appropriate shape. Here the question arises: “How to cut potatoes into strips?” To do this, you can use the simplest method. The only tools you need are a sharp knife and a cutting board.
To understand how to cut potatoes into strips, you must strictly follow these steps:
- The tubers must be peeled, washed and dried thoroughly with a paper towel.
- To make the straw long, the potato must be placed on the board so that the knife blade runs along it.
- The tubers should be carefully divided into even longitudinal rings.
- Each workpiece must be cut into strips no more than 5 millimeters thick.
After this, the prepared potatoes can be sent in small portions into boiling oil.
The secret of the correct form
When ordering French fries in a cafe, people are often surprised at how even the sides of the fried pieces turn out. After all, this vegetable has an oval shape, and when cutting, some of the preparations should be slightly rounded. Here the chefs have their own secret. They know exactly how to cut potatoes into strips so that each piece has the correct shape.
The fact is that before chopping the tuber you need to:
- First cut off the side longitudinal edge.
- Rotate the potato 90 degrees along the axis and separate the same part on the other side. You get two flat sidewalls.
- Place the product on one of them and divide into even pieces parallel to the second cut. Set the remaining rounded part aside.
- Divide the resulting blanks into strips of equal thickness.
As a result, there will be neat large straws with regular, even sides on the cutting board. And the cut pieces of potatoes remaining after processing can be used to prepare other dishes.
Preparing for frying
Fries are just one way to fry potatoes. But most housewives rarely use it at home, mainly due to the high oil consumption. It is much more economical to simply fry potatoes in a frying pan. At the same time, it can also be crushed in the form of straws. In this case, it is better to use smaller or medium-sized tubers. How to cut potatoes into strips for frying? The technology of this method is much simpler than previous options. To work, you will need a cleaned and washed product. It must be dried first to avoid unwanted splashes from contact of moisture with boiling fat.
Processing of prepared potatoes takes place in three stages:
- The first step is to cut off both tops of the tuber. So it becomes like a small barrel.
- You should place it on one of the bases (the wider one) and, holding it with your other hand, carefully cut it into equal plates with a knife.
- Without lifting it from the board, turn the product 90 degrees and do the same steps.
The result is a neat straw, the size of which depends on the selected thickness of the plates. The remaining ends can also be cut. True, they will be shorter than the others. But for frying it doesn't really matter.
Technology to help
Every housewife is familiar with the situation when, as they say, guests are already on the doorstep, and there is very little time left for cooking. For example, I would like to surprise them with thin fried potato strips, but I have absolutely no time to deal with careful slicing. What should you do in such a situation? How to quickly cut potatoes into strips? For such a case, there should always be special household appliances in the house. Today, purchasing it in a store is not difficult. You will need a regular vegetable shredder with an attachment for cutting into strips. With its help, in a matter of minutes you can turn any amount of potatoes into a mountain of thin, even pieces.
After that, all that remains is to fry them. If you are planning a side dish in the form of French fries, then the semi-finished product must first be poured onto a napkin to remove excess moisture. The product should not be piled up. It must be spread out in a thin layer and blotted several times while the oil is heating up in the frying pan.
Combined option
Each dish has its own special ways of cutting the original ingredients. For example, it cannot be said that potato straws can only be made with a sharp knife. There are many other options, and each of them is good in its own way. Let's assume that you need to prepare potato pie as a side dish. This is a very tasty product that looks very impressive on a plate. How to properly cut potatoes into strips for such a dish?
Experienced cooks in this case proceed as follows:
- First, each peeled tuber is cut into thin slices. You can do this with a knife or use any mechanical chopper.
- Then each plate must be chopped using a Korean carrot grater. The result is small straws no more than 2 millimeters thick. Plus, they will all be the same size.
After this, the prepared product can be further used for its intended purpose.
A good example
Recently, designers have developed many unique devices that greatly simplify work in the kitchen. For example, not long ago original potato cutters appeared on sale. A simple device invented by Chinese craftsmen. It is a plastic case, in the center of which steel knives are fixed in the form of a lattice. Looking at it, it’s easy to figure out how to cut potatoes into strips. The photo will help you understand this issue in more detail.
The operating principle of the device is extremely simple:
- The peeled tuber must be placed on a cutting board.
- Place a potato cutter on top of it.
- Holding both hands at your sides, press firmly on the device.
The result is blanks of the same size and cross-section. By placing the potato in a vertical position, you can get large straws in a matter of seconds, using minimal physical effort. The instructions show the principle of operation of the device using photographs that clearly demonstrate the simplicity of its operation.
Potato cutting shapes. Peeled potato tubers are used for heat treatment, whole or pre-cut. Potatoes are cut into simple or complex shapes.
The simplest, most common forms of cutting include: strips, sticks, circles, slices, slices. Cutting by hand is a labor-intensive process, so special tools and vegetable cutting machines are widely used to make it easier. When cutting straws and slices manually, use a shredder technique.
Straw. Raw large potatoes are cut into thin slices, placed one on top of the other and chopped crosswise into strips 4-5 cm long, with a cross-section of 0.2x0.2 cm. They are used for deep-frying (large amounts of fat).
Bars. Raw potatoes are cut into slices 0.7-1 cm thick and cut into sticks 3-4 cm long. Used for frying, preparing borscht (except naval and Siberian borscht), pickle soup, soups with pasta and other dishes.
Cubes. The potatoes are first cut into slices, cut into sticks, and then cut into cubes. Depending on the purpose, the cubes are cut into sections (in cm): large - 2-2.5, medium - 1-1.5, small - 0.3-0.5. Raw potatoes are cut into large cubes for stewing and making soups; medium - for preparing the “potatoes in milk” dish and for stewing; Boiled potatoes are cut into small cubes for garnishing cold dishes and for salads.
Slices. Raw potatoes (small ones) are cut in half and radially into slices, which are used to prepare pickles, stews, braised beef, and deep-frying.
Slices. Boiled potatoes of small or medium size are cut in half lengthwise, then in half again and chopped crosswise into slices 1-2 mm thick. Large tubers are cut lengthwise into sticks and chopped crosswise into slices. The slices are used to prepare salads and vinaigrettes.
Planting potatoes in sections is one of the most controversial issues in potato growing, and the conclusions of different studies are contradictory. In Holland and other European countries with a damp, cool climate, tubers are not cut, but in the USA and Canada, 95% of potatoes are planted in halves. Japanese farmers cut the slices purchased from their foreign colleagues into two parts, receiving 4 units of planting material from one tuber. At a summer cottage, it is advisable to cut potatoes for planting only if there is a shortage of seed tubers, and it is important to follow the technology.
Attention! Not all varieties tolerate making tubers well; for example, for “Scarb” and “Red Scarlet” cutting is undesirable, since it slows down the development of plants and reduces yield. You need to know in advance whether the selected variety is suitable for planting in parts.
1. Rejection of tubers. Do not cut sick or too small potatoes. In the first case, there is a high risk of infecting healthy tubers, in the second, there will be too few nutrients left for the development of the bush in unfavorable conditions. The slice should not be less than 25-30 grams and have at least 2-3 eyes. Outwardly healthy potatoes, but with signs of spoilage of the pulp, are rejected.
2. Cutting time. You can divide the tubers from autumn until planting. In autumn, potatoes quickly create protective tissue (wound periderm) at the cut site, which is similar in properties to the peel, although different in appearance. When cutting in the spring, a protective layer is also created, but its ability to resist infection is much lower.
Cutting potatoes in the fall is dangerous because you can lose all the seed material because of one infected tuber. If there is no well-ventilated storage and it is not possible to monitor the potatoes every day, this procedure should be postponed until spring or the time of planting in the ground.
It is better to cut potatoes for planting before germination to create the same starting conditions for both halves, but if you do this too early, the tubers will lose a lot of moisture.
For the first 15 days, until a protective crust forms, the cut halves should be stored separately from each other at room temperature away from sunlight with good ventilation and a relative humidity of 90-95%. Then the planting material can be transferred to the cellar.
It is advisable for beginning potato growers to divide the tubers 3-4 days before planting or 4-5 hours before planting in the ground.
3. Cutting method. It can be longitudinal or transverse. From the point of view of growing technology, cutting a tuber lengthwise is easier, since there is no need for sorting, but the sprouts on the umbilical cord (the place where the potato was attached to the parent bush) will not develop as actively, and besides, not every variety has a sufficient number of eyes (at least 2- 3) on each half.
It is better to cut the potatoes crosswise. It is important to remember that sprouts from the top of the tuber develop earlier than from the umbilical cord. If you plant the slices mixed up, the bushes from the crown will sprout earlier, taking nutrients from the “neighboring” one from the umbilical cord. Therefore, during cutting, the slices are sorted and then planted in separate rows.
Large tubers can be cut into 4 parts, but the less nutrients the sprout has left, the greater the danger that the potato will not germinate under unfavorable conditions or will be very weak.
When cutting, the main thing is not to touch the “eyes” (the places where the sprouts appear), otherwise the entrances will not appear!
4. Disinfection. Before starting, it is advisable to disinfect the containers, racks and the room itself with a five percent solution of copper sulfate. Only stainless steel knives are suitable for slicing potatoes. Rubber gloves are used to protect hands.
To prevent infection from one tuber from being transmitted to another, after each cut the blade is disinfected in a manganese solution (200 mg of potassium permanganate per 200 ml of water). An alternative method is to hold the knife close to the flame of the burner, hold it there for a couple of seconds, then cool the blade.
To reduce the likelihood of infection, slow down the evaporation of liquid and accelerate the formation of a protective film, the tubers at the cut sites are treated with special substances. Wood ash is considered the most effective remedy; if it is unavailable, dry cement is used. The substance is poured into a bowl and the cut of the potato is dipped. After 3 hours you can start planting. Cement is a chemically neutral substance that does not harm the soil.
5. Planting scheme. Sliced potatoes are planted with a cut to the top to a depth of 6-10 cm at a soil temperature of at least +10 °C. The planting interval and row spacing are standard; these parameters depend on the variety. Otherwise, cultivation does not differ from traditional methods.
How to properly cut potatoes for soup?
It all depends on your preferences. If I prepare a regular soup, then I cut the potatoes into cubes, but in Solyanka I prefer potatoes cut into strips, because... I cut all the ingredients in the hodgepodge into strips, so it looks more beautiful.
In my opinion, from an aesthetic point of view, potatoes for soup should be cut into equal, symmetrical slices if possible. Try to make it neat cubes of equal proportions. You can dream up your imagination here. It depends on what kind of soup it is. Some people, for example, prefer mashed potatoes in soup. For children, on the other hand, for extra fun, you can cut the potatoes into some kind of figures. I think this is very interesting. Improvise boldly and you will definitely succeed. Bon appetit!
I don’t know how to do it right, I cut according to my mood. When I'm in a hurry - in a semicircle, when I have time - in straws or cubes. By the way, the latter cook well and quickly and are more convenient to eat - no need to break them. And they look good in soup.
Here it is at your discretion. My parents like to crumble it into soup, my dad prefers it in strips, my mom prefers it in cubes. But in my husband’s family they only divide it into 4 parts (but they don’t put it on a plate, but put it on a large dish with meat, which is placed in the middle of the table) and everyone is happy with this, now I even see my advantages in this - I watch my figure and I try not to eat potatoes; if I came across a plate with soup, it would be awkward to put it out, but here you just don’t take it from the common dish and that’s it. If there are small children in the family, then it is better to chop it finely so that the children can easily put it in their mouth and eat it.
We cut the potatoes into soup into large slices. The potatoes boil well, are tasty, large and melt in your mouth. Cut a medium potato into four parts and lengthwise into slices. The slices come out even and identical. We like it better this way
I think it’s convenient for everyone here. And no matter how many times I watched how some people cut potatoes for first courses, it’s different for everyone. For example, I cut soup into strips, neither thin nor thick, so that the children eat normally. In borscht I cut it into cubes, in cabbage soup I also cut it into strips. There are no specific rules.
Potatoes for soup are cut neither large nor small. You can use it in slices, cubes, or straws. The main thing is that each piece should fit freely into a spoon and should not require the eater to break it.
There are no specific rules for cutting potatoes for soup; personally, I like to cut everything quite finely, including potatoes. And my mother chops all the ingredients into soup coarsely. Cut it however you like, there are even soups in which small potatoes are cut into just 4 pieces and boiled for a long time, it turns out very tasty and unusual.
This is one of the most crucial moments! If you want a truly delicious dish, carefully evaluate the following factors.
Starchiness
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal says Heston Blumenthal's 10 tricks to the perfect roast potato that the most delicious country-style potatoes come from the dry, most starchy varieties - those that are easy. As a rule, such root vegetables have a light brown skin and almost white flesh. Starchiness will allow you to achieve the most impressive contrast between the crispy crust and the literally melt-in-your-mouth center of the finished dish.
But the distinctly yellowish, moist, dense, waxy potatoes should be put aside for some others.
Form
Small round potatoes are not your option. It is difficult to cut them in such a way as to get as many flat edges as possible. But the crispy fried edges in country-style potatoes are the key, perhaps the most delicious moment!
It is better to choose elongated potatoes about the size of a medium avocado. It can easily be cut into eight pieces, each of which will have three extensive flat edges.
There are different approaches here. But they are united by one goal: while preserving the skin and the recognizable, triangular shape that is important for country-style potatoes, make as many flat edges as possible.
The same culinary master Heston Blumenthal, for example, suggests cutting potatoes crosswise. First - lengthwise into two halves. Then, turning the potatoes 90 degrees, lengthwise again, you will get four identical elongated “slices”. And then in one movement - across.
This is really simple and fast, but not the optimal option. Students at the University of Essex carried out a simple geometric analysis of potatoes and figured out how to cut the root vegetable to get maximum crisp surface area.
The first step in their concept follows Blumenthal's practice: the potato is cut in half lengthwise. But then you need to turn the potatoes 90 degrees and cut them with a fan.
This cutting technique is called edge cut. You can learn more about mathematics and knife work in the video prepared by the students.
Students said that potatoes cut this way taste better. And they were not unfounded. The experimenters took the time to prepare a couple of hundred servings of country-style potatoes in traditional and new cuts. And then we sent the resulting dishes for tasting to friends on campus and to several nearby restaurants. Completely free, asking only that eaters compare and rate differently cut portions of potatoes.
Result: tasters liked edge cut potatoes more. So use the best practices and don’t say thank you!
How to cook country-style potatoes
1. Get rid of excess starch
Despite the fact that initially it is better to choose starchy varieties as more delicate, some of the starch still needs to be removed. Firstly, this will allow the potatoes to better hold their shape during heat treatment. And secondly, starch is excess glucose, which not everyone needs. Of course, first of all we are talking about those who watch their figure or suffer from.
A good way to get rid of excess starch is to place peeled and chopped potatoes in a saucepan and run under cold running water for 5 minutes.
2. Cook
Bring the water to a boil and place the prepared potato wedges in it so that the liquid covers them by at least 1 cm. You can salt the water, but it is not necessary. If you're a fan of subtle flavors, add a small bunch of thyme and a little lemon zest.
Put it in boiling water, this is important. The longer the tubers are in water, the more nutrients they lose, so our task is to cook them as quickly as possible.
Until ready. It is enough for the potatoes to become soft and easy to pierce, for example, with a knife or toothpick. This will take 7–10 minutes.
Don't let the vegetables boil! You need whole slices.
3. Dry the potatoes
Drain the boiled potatoes into a colander. If you are afraid that the potatoes will fall apart, use a slotted spoon. Using it, carefully transfer the slices into a colander or onto a prepared towel. Be careful, try not to get burned.
Wait until the water has completely drained and the slices have cooled.
4. Check for important cracks
If you do everything correctly, when it cools, the flat edges of the potatoes will develop small, shallow cracks. In the next step, these cracks will help the potatoes absorb the fat and get a really crispy skin.
If there are none, carefully work with a fork: make shallow holes on the flat edges of each slice.
5. Fry in your favorite oil
Some people prefer liquid peanut butter, some like olive oil, while others keep it simple and make do with regular sunflower milk. There are no uniform recommendations for selection.
The frying process may vary depending on where you plan to cook your potatoes.
The pan should be deep and wide enough to accommodate a single layer of potatoes. You can save a little on oil: 0.5–0.7 cm is enough.
Bring the oil to a boil over high heat, place the potato wedges over the entire surface and leave to fry for 5 minutes. Do not turn over so as not to break the slices before they set into a crust! And make sure the potatoes don't burn.
After the designated time, turn the potatoes over so that their unfried edges touch the bottom.
Fry over high heat, turning occasionally until evenly golden brown on all sides. Try not to overcook, otherwise the potatoes will acquire a characteristic burnt taste.
Country-style potatoes in the oven
You will need a deep and wide pan so that all the slices fit in one layer. It is worth pouring more oil so as not to dry out the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C, place the pan with butter in it and wait 15 minutes. When the oil is hot, add the potato slices, stir gently and return the pan to the oven. Let sit for 60-75 minutes, turning every 20 minutes to ensure even browning on all sides.
Let us immediately warn you that you will not get that crispy crust, since the temperature in the multicooker is low and the potatoes will be boiled rather than fried. However, the crust - even if not ideal - will still be there, and the dish will still turn out delicious.
Pour the selected oil into the multicooker bowl so that it rises about 1 cm above the bottom. Select the “Multicook” or “Baking” mode with a temperature of at least 125–130 °C and bring the oil to a boil. Carefully place the potatoes into the bowl and, without lowering the temperature or turning the slices, leave for 20 minutes. If possible, leave the lid on to allow excess moisture to escape from the potatoes.
Then turn the slices over and leave again for 20 minutes. Depending on the desired degree of doneness and readiness, you can turn it over again and leave to fry for 10–15 minutes.
6. Add flavor to the dish
Crush a few cloves, mix with finely chopped rosemary and add to the potatoes 3-5 minutes before they are ready. You can also add a few whole garlic cloves and onions cut into rings. Don't forget to stir!
7. Serve the potatoes hot
goodfood.com.au If you did not salt the water during cooking, sprinkle the potatoes with coarse salt to taste before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of rosemary.