Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <knife-skills><cutting-boards>
Title: How can I dice vegetables on a small cutting board?
Question: I have a fairly small cutting board - about 8.5" x 12.5" (22cm x 32cm), and I am finding it difficult to dice vegetables, especially the onions, without stuff going all over the place.  Is it my technique that's sloppy or should I just get a bigger cutting board?

Answers:
sents: text: If you can't get a bigger cutting board, here are a couple pointers to getting the most done CLEANLY in a small space (mostly tricks from my kitchen manager):
text: Use a sharp knife.
text: It's easier to control, and when you chop, pieces don't move as much.
text: Hone it at least daily to keep the edge aligned.
text: Organize your work on the board.
text: If you're right-handed, keep raw ingredients on the left side, and finished, cut product on the other.
text: Keep the spot you're using to cut clear.
text: It may only be 4-6 square inches, but it shouldn't have anything to get in the way.
text: I like to use the bottom middle of the board for cutting and the corners & top to organize stuff in various stages of cutting.
text: Remove trash (trimmings, ends, unusable vegetable scraps) from the board.
text: Either keep a trashcan next to the counter, or use a bowl to collect garbage.
text: This frees up space on your cutting board.
text: You can use additional bowls to store uncut material, and finished results.
text: This frees up more cutting board area.
text: All of these tips help, but I'll tell you what my chef told me:
text: the bigger your cutting board, the more room you have to work, and the faster you can go.
text: As your knife skills improve, you will be able to work in a smaller space without problems.
text: But first, start off with plenty of room.
text: As you you gain experience, your cuts become more precise, you organize your space, and work faster and cleaner.
text: With this advice in mind, you should move to a larger cutting board.
text: The extra space to work make it much easier to develop proper knife skills, because you're not trying to cramp yourself in.
text: I suggest the largest board that you can comfortably fit in your sink for cleanup.
text: With professional knife skills, I can handle prepping multiple items on an 8.5" x 9.5" cutting board; however, I find that my 11" x 14" board provides a lot more room to organize my work, and is more comfortable to use.
text: At work, I use the biggest board I can fit on my station.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6345/BobMcGee
score: 12
sents: text: I disagree that your board is small.
text: My go-to everyday boards are about 4"x8" - smaller than a standard piece of office paper folded in half.
text: I use them to chop onions, carrots, cabbage, potatoes - even watermelon!
text: Sure, they're small.
text: But they fit easily in the dishwasher and the cupboard, and I have four of them
text: so I can always grab a clean one.
text: My tips: sharp knife.
text: We all agree on this prep bowl.
text: Don't accumulate finished product on the board - there's no room for it economy of movement.
text: Don't knock down neat piles.
text: Have a gesture repertory.
text: For example, when slicing a carrot I can do about 4-6" of carrot without moving the carrot.
text: Then one hand pushes all the carrot slices up towards the empty end of the board while the other moves the carrot forward
text: so I can start slicing again.
text: If the pile of slices wants too much of the board, it goes into a prep bowl.
text: I don't feel cramped at all cutting up one potato at a time or one of anything at a time and putting them into a pot or a prep bowl as I go.
text: I like that my cutting boards don't take over the universe when I am working.
text: I do own a giant wooden one which is mostly for serving pizza on, and occasionally for bread, a medium oval wooden one that gets a ton of bread use, and a giant plastic one that ...
text: well, if I recall correctly it mostly gets used by visitors who are more comfortable with large boards.
text: To me the advantages of the small boards are all I notice.
text: And I the meals I routinely cook serve 6-8 people.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/304/Kate Gregory
score: 5
sents: text: It's probably mainly technique given that size, but you're working on the smallest board I'd consider suitable to the task without really cramping your style.
text: So much of knife work is the skills and technique - but its also the knives.
text: Dull, un-ergonomic knives really are a pain to use and the result is overall sloppy work.
text: All that said though - in cutting anything though, I always give myself as much space as I can.
text: Stuff falling off board and such starts to become dangerous(in a food safety concern), unless you just have a sparkling sterile kitchen.
text: If that's your biggest board, and you're cutting meat on it sometimes - I'd consider a bigger board for more reasons than an onion.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1374/rfusca
score: 2
sents: text: Use a very sharp knife and slow down.
text: A dull knife requires more pressure, and food (especially hard foods, like carrots) tends to break free and bounce around when you're cutting it up.
text: A sharper knife will allow you to use more of a slicing motion, rather than exerting pressure, and food will stay put better.
text: Working slower will let you concentrate on using a slicing motion rather than trying to push through the food.
text: It will also move the food around less, so you'll have less trouble knocking it off the board.
text: Also, keep a bowl nearby to transfer already-cut-up food into and get it out of your way.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/5646/Adam Jaskiewicz
score: 2
sents: text: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
text: Practice!....
text: To quickly improve your technique you may find a Mandoline Slicer helpful.
text: With the julienne attachment you can get strips quickly, easily and consistently.
text: Once you have the strips, dicing is easy and should be doable with a minimum of mess.
text: [The Mandoline slicer I provided a link to is a "typical model".
text: From Amazon to Walmart you may find a variety of brands and models with an assortment of attachments and of varying quality.
text: This is not an endorsement of a particular model.]
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6279/Cos Callis
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Transfer cut vegetables to a prep bowl and use a sharp knife to stop food from breaking free. A mandoline slicer may also be helpful.
Transfer chopped vegetables to a bowl to leave space on your board. Make sure your knife is sharp.