Heather says:
Today we’re continuing with our knife skills series with how to dice a tomato.
Since I don’t have a photographer or an extra set of hands at my disposal -the latter would totally ruin my frequent “I only have two hands, wait a minute” excuse- the reader should know that during the actual slice the knife is held in the dominant hand. The top of the blade is gripped between the thumb and the second knuckle of the first finger and the other three fingers are curled around the handle. Some people find it more comfortable to rest their index finger along the top of the blade. Either of these two grips gives the cook better control of the knife than just gripping the handle.
A very sharp knife or a good serrated knife is essential for slicing tomatoes. A dull knife just tears the skin, smashes the fruit, or skids off the surface increasing the risk of a cut. Use care and common sense.
Removing the seeds is an important step for salsa and toppings for bruschetta, it keeps the flavor and the texture of the tomato without all the watery mess or funky seed texture
Let’s get started.
How to Dice a Tomato
Start by removing the core. There are fancy little gadgets called tomato corers, but a cheap-o metal 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon works well.
Insert the tip of the spoon at the end of the stem and scoop it out.
Next, cut the tomato in half through the equator, not top to bottom. Lay the tomato on its side to accomplish this.
Use a -clean for Pete’s sake- finger to scoop out the seeds.
Usually it is perfectly fine to discard the seeds. The next step depends on the shape and firmness of the tomato.
Sometimes it is easier to slice the tomato if the cut side is on the cutting board. Ensure the fingers of the guiding hand are completely out of the path of the knife. If the tomato is particularly large, a second slice may be needed.
If the tomato was sliced several times, it may be easier to perform the next step one or two slices at a at a time. Stack the slices, cut side down, and cut into even strips.
Gather the strips and turn ninety degrees. Cut across the strips in even slices.
Look at that a nice, evenly diced tomato.
This post is a part of the Home Ec 101 Knife Skills Series.
This post was submitted to Tutorial Tuesday.
Haahahaha! 3 days too late!
I finally figured it out on Saturday! I was chopping for tacos and dreaded the laborious task of doing things my usual way (each cube cut individually) and decided to approach the task as I would dicing an onion. To my utter shock it worked and I had 3 tomatoes diced in no time at all!
Great tutorial. Hopefully it will spare someone the years of frustration I suffered.
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