No matter how you slice it, there will always be two sides. Spinoza
In the past two months, I’ve enjoyed hosting a fair number of dinner guests. That means I have read and executed many recipes. At least half a dozen of them were for meat dishes and a few provided directions on carving. I get the carving against the grain. Fair enough. But the width of the slices? The shape? How does that matter? Let’s take a look.
Is there an official answer? No, but there are opinions.
Some people who consider themselves educated in this area think the method matters. According to MPR News, your choice to slice thinly, slice thickly, to chop or julienne affects more than just the cooking time. A handful of chefs and cooking instructors chimed in with these ideas:
- Cutting food into a particular shape changes the taste as it hits your tongue. For example, a thinly sliced radish doesn’t have the crunch one might expect, and that changes your experience. If a vegetable has a blockier shape, it will be perceived as less tender than one with a rounded edge. I don’t know if this is true, but it’s possible. Certainly, we eat with our eyes first.
- In addition to changing flavor, your choice of the cut impacts the aroma. As an example, if you slice tomatoes and spread them on a plate there will be an increased impact your olfactory senses compared to wedges “piled up.” Fair enough. You can’t deny that the smell of freshly baked bread or brewing coffee tugs at your appetite. Or thirst.
- Onions and garlic have a scent before they’re cut, but it’s muted. When you cut either of these vegetables, you release an enzyme called alliinase, and the finer you cut, the more enzymes are released. And more pungency. Feel free to experiment the next time you make chili.
Also, there is the Chicago Food Chat that includes firm opinions. David Hammond asserts that when he cuts cheese and slices it very thinly, it is in contact with more taste buds and that enhances the flavor. He points out that there’s a difference in the way sliced apples taste compared to wedges; sliced provides more flavor. Josephine agrees and adds that (in my words) when a portion of food is chunkier, it makes more noise when you eat it and thereby is a distraction from the flavor. Maybe she’s onto something.
Other factors
When it’s all said and done–and eaten–some preferences have nothing to do with experts or science. It’s what you want. Many of you already know exactly how thick you want your slices. Or, you may have never thought about this before. I promise to do my best to raise obscure questions. You’re welcome. Still, maybe you don’t have a universal stance.
- Do you prefer ham for a sandwich sliced thin, but turkey sliced thicker?
- Would you rather have the meat from a pork roast pulled – never sliced at all?
- Are winter tomatoes, assuming you can find any that deserve to be called tomatoes, better sliced thinly or closer to 3/8″?
- Do you even care how the meat is sliced as long as the bread eclipses that width?
No matter how many chefs or instructors or food scientists wax eloquent on their areas of expertise, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to select what tastes best to you. But if you’d like direction, take a look at LEM Products’ blog here: http://tinyurl.com/LEMproducts.
How many tasks do you perform on automatic?
Yes, strange segue. But I’m curious. Do you order your deli slices by rote, because that’s the way your mama made the sandwiches? Would you prefer your bread standard (3/8″ – 5/8″ thick in the U.S.) or more like Texas toast? Do you know why? By and large, I cook like my Mother cooked when I was growing up. I never gave a second thought to the way vegetables were cut unless the recipe provided direction, with one exception. When I wanted celery or onion to provide flavor, but not an appearance, I chopped finely. I freely admit I never wondered how the micro-dicing might impact the flavor. But I will now.
You?
- 1893 – Alan MacMasters invented the toaster before sliced bread. Maybe not. Hennepin History Museum gives credit to Charles Strite. Did Gold Medal get it wrong?
- 1928 – Otto Frederick Rodwedder invented a machine that would slice and wrap bread. That’s the man!
- 1933 – Evansville Press publication first uses the phrase, “the greatest thing since sliced bread.” We should have more good news like that.
- 1943 – Sliced bread is banned as a way to preserve resources during World War Two. Back to the knives, I guess.
Well now I’ve got to pay more attention to details!
Interesting how some of these might affect my like or dislike of some foods!
Well, I hope it simply enriches your experiences. 😉
Interesting. I will have to pay more attention in the future. I do like celery, carrots & onions finely diced for my soup base. And I prefer the chicken diced into bite sized pieces, rather than shredded. The shreds tend to get stuck in my teeth.
So here we are with a preference that probably (maybe?) wouldn’t change the taste. I prefer shredded. Maybe I associate it with homemade? Who knows?
Good piece and subject selection. By good fortune, upon retiring 24 years ago, I move in next to a retired anesthesiologist from Louisiana who loved to cook. I learned a lot from him. We went to a number of cooking classes together and practiced together. Eventually, I stumbled across an online series by Chef
Todd Mohr that helped more than anything. Back to your subject, Mohr devoted a session on cutting skills. Evenly, chopped, evenly cooked. Finally, we are roasting a lot of vegetables lately. You have to cut the hard veggies smaller if you are roasting along with sliced cauliflower or squash. Knife skills are important to the outcome.
I enjoy watching cooking shows and have always been fascinated by chefs’ skills with sharp objects. I had no idea, however, that there was a method to their madness. At least now I know a little more. One more tiny thing that I’m not entirely ignorant about.