Make a man a meal, and he's happy. Teach a man how to make a meal, and you're happy. Some cooking techniques like peeling and chopping an onion or hard boiled egg may seem like simple tasks, but if you want to do it good, you need some expertice. And that, my frinds, is what I will show you today. So read on, mosey down the line, or just skip a few, and look through some skills you never thought could be performed. Go ahead and go, i'm not stopping you...
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Signing UpStep 1: Peel Veggies & Fruits
To peel asparagus with a swivel-type peeler:
Cut off the woody ends, usually about an inch or two. Peel the asparagus up to the base of the tips by moving rapidly back and forth along the length of the stalk with a swivel peller. Keep the stalks flat on the cutting board so they don't break. Very thick asparagus can pe peeled with a nonswivel peeler or a paring knife.
Peeling a Fruit with a Pairing Knife
1.To peel an apple with a pairing knife, cradle the apple in one hand. Place the tip of the pairing knife next to the top of the apple and insert horizontally just under the skin.
2.Peel away at the top of the apple in a circular motion, working away from fingertips and turning the apple in a controlled fashion. Your thumb works to give your knife leverage and the hand that is cradle the apple does most of the turning.
3.Clean up the stem and the bottom by inserting the tip of the knife at an angle toward the core and twisting the apple circular motion.
4.Place the peeled apple in lemon water to prevent oxidizing or browning. Oxidizing is the browning that occurs when the flesh of certain fruits is exposed to air. It has no taste, but can make foods look unappetizing
Peeling Root Vegetables
Thoroughly wash your root vegetables. Remove any blemishes, bruises, fine roots or eyes from the vegetables. If necessary, set them in a colander to dry. Have a clean container nearby to put the peelings into.
Use a swivel peeler for root vegetables with delicate skins, such as carrots. Use a peeler with a fixed blade for vegetables with tougher, thicker skins, such as potatoes and turnips. To peel the above-mentioned jicama, slice off the top and the bottom of the vegetable, then use your peeler to loosen the peel at the top and the bottom. Then simply strip off the sections of peel with your hands. Don't try to peel it in a spiral or you will subject yourself to unnecessary frustration.
Hold the root vegetable in your left hand if you're right handed, vice versa if you're left handed. Peel the vegetable with a good quality vegetable peeler, making sure that all strokes move away from your body. Try stabbing the vegetable with a fork in order to hold it in place. This will lessen the chance that you will injure yourself while trying to peel the vegetable.
Immediately place your peeling in a clean container. Have a pot of water boiling on the stove, and drop the peelings in the water as you get them. Boil the water for at least one hour to make stock for soups and other dishes.
Alternatively, you can cook some vegetables prior to peeling. This works primarily with potatoes and other vegetables with a tough, thick skin. Cook the vegetable fully. The microwave oven is the quickest method, but baking and boiling work well, too. Certain vegetables will need to be roasted under a broiler for this method to work properly. Allow the root vegetable to cool fully. Then poke a fork into it, and use a knife to score it all around. Gently and slowly remove the peel. You will notice that the peel comes off easily and without bringing up any of the meat of the vegetable with it. This method is best if you're trying to reduce the waste involved in peeling root vegetables
GARLIC
No need for a peeler here. Take a slice off the root end, lay your chef’s knife over the clove horizontally and give it a whack with your hand. The skin will come right off.
CITRUS FRUIT
The best tool for zesting citrus fruit is a microplane grater. Just don’t remove more than the outermost peel. The underlying white pith is bitter.
Then there are the foods that are peeled not by a specific tool, but by a cooking technique. As the old adage states, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
TOMATOES
To peel tomatoes, cut a small X in their south pole and drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then submerge them in ice water to stop the cooking and peel them with your hands.
PEARL ONIONS
Simply boil them for one minute to loosen the skins.
PEPPERS
You can peel peppers by dropping them in hot oil until the skins burst, broiling them, placing them on the flame of your gas stove, or grilling them. For bell peppers, you can cut them down the shoulders to create four fairly flat pieces or leave them whole. Obviously, if left whole you’ll need to rotate them as each side chars. When the skin turns black, you’re done. Then place them in an enclosed container for a few minutes to steep. This facilitates the removal of tie skin.
Cut off the woody ends, usually about an inch or two. Peel the asparagus up to the base of the tips by moving rapidly back and forth along the length of the stalk with a swivel peller. Keep the stalks flat on the cutting board so they don't break. Very thick asparagus can pe peeled with a nonswivel peeler or a paring knife.
Peeling a Fruit with a Pairing Knife
1.To peel an apple with a pairing knife, cradle the apple in one hand. Place the tip of the pairing knife next to the top of the apple and insert horizontally just under the skin.
2.Peel away at the top of the apple in a circular motion, working away from fingertips and turning the apple in a controlled fashion. Your thumb works to give your knife leverage and the hand that is cradle the apple does most of the turning.
3.Clean up the stem and the bottom by inserting the tip of the knife at an angle toward the core and twisting the apple circular motion.
4.Place the peeled apple in lemon water to prevent oxidizing or browning. Oxidizing is the browning that occurs when the flesh of certain fruits is exposed to air. It has no taste, but can make foods look unappetizing
Peeling Root Vegetables
Thoroughly wash your root vegetables. Remove any blemishes, bruises, fine roots or eyes from the vegetables. If necessary, set them in a colander to dry. Have a clean container nearby to put the peelings into.
Use a swivel peeler for root vegetables with delicate skins, such as carrots. Use a peeler with a fixed blade for vegetables with tougher, thicker skins, such as potatoes and turnips. To peel the above-mentioned jicama, slice off the top and the bottom of the vegetable, then use your peeler to loosen the peel at the top and the bottom. Then simply strip off the sections of peel with your hands. Don't try to peel it in a spiral or you will subject yourself to unnecessary frustration.
Hold the root vegetable in your left hand if you're right handed, vice versa if you're left handed. Peel the vegetable with a good quality vegetable peeler, making sure that all strokes move away from your body. Try stabbing the vegetable with a fork in order to hold it in place. This will lessen the chance that you will injure yourself while trying to peel the vegetable.
Immediately place your peeling in a clean container. Have a pot of water boiling on the stove, and drop the peelings in the water as you get them. Boil the water for at least one hour to make stock for soups and other dishes.
Alternatively, you can cook some vegetables prior to peeling. This works primarily with potatoes and other vegetables with a tough, thick skin. Cook the vegetable fully. The microwave oven is the quickest method, but baking and boiling work well, too. Certain vegetables will need to be roasted under a broiler for this method to work properly. Allow the root vegetable to cool fully. Then poke a fork into it, and use a knife to score it all around. Gently and slowly remove the peel. You will notice that the peel comes off easily and without bringing up any of the meat of the vegetable with it. This method is best if you're trying to reduce the waste involved in peeling root vegetables
GARLIC
No need for a peeler here. Take a slice off the root end, lay your chef’s knife over the clove horizontally and give it a whack with your hand. The skin will come right off.
CITRUS FRUIT
The best tool for zesting citrus fruit is a microplane grater. Just don’t remove more than the outermost peel. The underlying white pith is bitter.
Then there are the foods that are peeled not by a specific tool, but by a cooking technique. As the old adage states, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
TOMATOES
To peel tomatoes, cut a small X in their south pole and drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then submerge them in ice water to stop the cooking and peel them with your hands.
PEARL ONIONS
Simply boil them for one minute to loosen the skins.
PEPPERS
You can peel peppers by dropping them in hot oil until the skins burst, broiling them, placing them on the flame of your gas stove, or grilling them. For bell peppers, you can cut them down the shoulders to create four fairly flat pieces or leave them whole. Obviously, if left whole you’ll need to rotate them as each side chars. When the skin turns black, you’re done. Then place them in an enclosed container for a few minutes to steep. This facilitates the removal of tie skin.
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Pettycache
says:
Feb 22, 2013. 4:06 PMReply
You might want to edit your "Peeling root vegetables" section to remove "to peel the above-mentioned jicama", since you hadn't previously mentioned jicama. It was mentioned on the ehow page that apple linked to, though.
apple...
says:
Feb 17, 2012. 6:23 PMReply
You have a lot of great information here, however it looks like you copied and pasted ALL OF IT: http://www.smithfield.com/articles/article/how-to-peel-vegetables http://www.ehow.com/how_2303100_peel-root-vegetables.html http://www.foodforthoughtonline.net/Peeling.html http://www.dashrecipes.com/blogs/dashboard/2011/04/13-10-Things-To-Do-With-Eggs.html http://www.d.umn.edu/~alphanu/cookery/glossary_cooking.html http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/meat_quality/cooking.html http://www.preparedpantry.com/Baking-recipes.htm http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/seasoningflavoring/p/mirepoix.htm And even the images: http://tinabloggar.blogspot.com/2009/02/vita-kok.html http://weecookery.blogspot.com/2009/01/chopping-vegetables-safely.html http://www.richardlydiard.com/achives/scramble_scramble.html http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/pictures/34127/20-food-gifts-for-teachers/2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirepoix_%28cuisine%29
13
GummiBear (author)
in reply to Feb 21, 2012. 2:07 PMReply
I am sorry, but it is NOT copied and pasted. I typed it with help from the websites! And, i cannot believe you took the time to go to all those websites and check them. Such dedication, you must not like me...
13
GummiBear (author)
in reply to Feb 21, 2012. 2:07 PMReply
I am sorry, but it is NOT copied and pasted. I typed it with help from the websites! And, i cannot believe you took the time to go to all those websites and check them. Such dedication, you must not like me...
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