Preparing fruit and vegetables
Introduction
Peeling Vegetables
Peeling
Root Vegetables - The Potato
Peeling
other Root Vegetables
Preparing Onions
Topping
& Tailing Vegetables
Chopping Vegetables
Chopping
Herbs
Preparing Marrows
Preparing
Leeks
Preparing Cabbages
Preparing
Brussels Sprouts
Preparing
broccoli and cauliflower
Preparing mushrooms
Preparing
beans and peas
Preparing Aubergines
Preparing
Courgettes
Preparing salad vegetables
Preparing
peppers
Preparing garlic
Preparing
Chillies
Fruit
Section
Preparing apples
Preparing
Bananas
Preparing
rhubarb
Preparing citrus fruit
Preparing
soft fruit
Preparing melons
Preparing
stoned fruit
Peeling
& Preparing Tomatoes for use in recipes.
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It would be impossible
for me to discuss the preparation of all fresh fruit and veg here, so I’ll just
cover those that are basic and most familiar to us all. I intend to talk about
techniques for peeling them, chopping slicing and their preparation, plus any specialist information required. I
make no apology for not talking about every single rare and exotic produce, as
this section would be far too long and tedious for us all!!
Many people peel their
vegetables in a bowl of water to contain all the bits, but personally I think
that peeling them onto several sheets of scrap newspaper or Braille magazine,
spread out on your clean draining board is much easier, if only to stop your
sink getting clogged. I realise that
many visually impaired people still prefer to use a vegetable knife, but I prefer
to use a potato peeler with a y-shaped handle that has a horizontal blade
running across the top, so you can pull the peeler towards you to remove the skin,
rather than sideways, which means not having to twist the vegetable round in
your hand as you are trying to peel it!
Find a peeler that is lightweight yet
substantial, with a blade that swivels slightly but not too much, or the blunt edge
will catch on the vegetable when you are using it.
You will find the right way to hold the peeler that suits you best with
practice, but use your predominant hand, i.e. the right hand if that is your
preference. Hold the peeler with the
handle in the palm of your hand and the peeling slit in the blade
downwards. Settle it comfortably so
that your finger ends are angled over and above the top and slightly in front
of the blade. Now take the vegetable in
your other hand and lay the hand with the peeler in it on top of the
vegetable. Hold your wrists comfortably,
the hand holding the vegetable probably with your thumb upwards and, keeping
your peeler hand flat, slide the peeler along the vegetable, bringing it
towards you. You will notice that as
well as the peel coming away, the finger ends positioned over the blade can be dropped
down on to the vegetable, monitoring your progress. You will soon get used to the moister, slightly less grainy
texture that lies below the skin. Once
one strip is off, lift your peeler hand, back to the other end of the
vegetable, move a little way further across till you can feel the slightly
raised, rougher, less resistant unpeeled ridge and repeat the process. You will soon get used to the changing
texture as you become more fluent with the peeler and accustomed to what to
feel for. Giving the peeler a little
shake will dislodge any peel on to your paper.
It might be necessary to turn the vegetable round to peel the other
half, particularly if you are dealing with a large carrot or potato. Have a bowl of luke warm water to drop the
vegetable into every now and again as this will remove any starchiness or
stickiness from whatever it is your working on, making it easier to feel the
rougher, slightly raised, more resistant unpeeled areas. The only reason why I say lukewarm is to
keep your hands at a comfortable working temperature! I’m thoughtful like that! Smile!
Let’s take a look at root vegetables first, starting with the good old
favourite staple carbohydrate the potato.
Try to choose those with as few dips and hollows as possible, the more
even the surface the easier it will be to peel. Hold the peeler as I have described above, and as you bring it
towards you, removing the peel you will notice that there will be quite a
starchy surface, take off as much peel as you can by turning the potato round,
dipping it into the bowl of water every now and again so that the starch is
removed, then you’ll be able to distinguish the raised unpeeled areas. Some potatoes will still feel naturally
grainy. Any small, rough dents, (eyes), should be carefully removed
with the point of a short bladed vegetable knife. You won’t need to dig very far down to remove them, just lay the
potato down on your paper, take the knife in your hand and gently guide the
point into the centre of the dent, press down slightly, easing the point
upwards and (for safety)away from your hand.
This should dislodge that little
rough area so that you can either pick it out and drop it on to the paper or
wash it out in the water.
Preparing new potatoes - There is no need to peel or spend time scraping new
potatoes, simply wash them well, rubbing them between your fingers in a bowl of
water to remove any dirt first, then rinse them in clean water. Boil until
tender, drain into a colander, let them cool slightly by which time, if you
really don't like the flavour of the very fine skin, you can just rub it off
with your fingers, it really is as easy as that.
Adopt the peeler technique as previously described, keeping your fingers flat over the blade so
that they can monitor your progress.
Apart from the shape being different, you’ll also notice that as you
peel, the surface will become slightly smoother, still slightly rough though,
but this time the natural ridges in the carrot will also become obvious, and
raised long ridges will appear, this is quite natural. If you drop the carrot or parsnip in the
water, it will soon become clear where the rougher raised peel is. Turnips and swedes being round, are a bit
more difficult to hold and tougher to peel.
Don’t forget to remove both ends of your root vegetables, (top and
tail), before slicing.
Each onion should be (topped and tailed), the outer papery skin removed,
then at least one layer below that. It
should be easy to tell as the outer layers will be slightly soft, just remove
those until you reach the firm onion. Slice
under water if onions make your eyes run, if this would be too difficult, just
soak the peeled onions in water for a few minutes before chopping, as this will
reduce any irritation considerably.
Many of the root vegetables and some fruit and salad veg too, will need
to have a small amount removed from their root and stalk ends before slicing
and cooking, this is known as (topping and tailing).
Use a short bladed light weight knife with a flat, non-slip plastic or
wooden handle. It would be helpful if
the handle was ergonomically curved so that it will sit in your hand
comfortably, so you immediately know, without having to touch it, which side of the blade is facing
downwards. It makes for less frustration
when you accidentally use the wrong side of the knife and it won’t chop! Lay your peeled vegetable down on a chopping
board, take the knife inn your usual hand, lay your first finger flat along the
top edge of the handle and your thumb on the flat side to stop the knife
turning in your hand, curl your other fingers comfortably round the handle to support
the knife. Locate the end of the prepared
vegetable with the finger ends of your free hand. Move them along the veg to give the required size slice or chunk,
tuck your finger ends out of the way so that your nail ends are resting on the veg immediately below that
area, so that you can’t possibly cut yourself as only the side of the knife
will come up against the curve of your knuckles as you bring the knife across
and cut down through the exposed end of the veg. Remove the knife, push aside the slice or chunk of veg, denote
the next slice or chunk width with your finger ends, tuck them away, bring the knife
across and slice again. The action of
measure, move fingers, slice, will become automatic, take it slowly to begin
with and you won’t have any accidents.
A good way of chopping herbs such as parsley is to lay them on a
chopping board, hold the handle of the knife securely and rock the blade up and
down across the board, lifting the knife every now and again and bringing the
herbs back together, , then repeat the process. This way, you are only using one hand to
rock the knife and chop.
I’ve found that laying the marrow down on your paper narrow end towards
you works well. Use the same peeler
technique, rolling the marrow as you work your way across, then turning it
round to peel the other end. You will
definitely notice a sticky glossier surface underneath. When all the peel has been removed, Slice
off about an inch from both stalk ends and throw them away. This will reveal a soft, pulpy centre, these
are the seeds. Slice another ring that’s
about 1 and a half to 2 inches thick and, using your fingers, scoop out all the
pulp from the centre. This will leave a
ring of marrow ready to be sliced or made into chunks, ready to use. Repeat the process until all the seedy pulp
has been removed.
Leeks are tubular, coarsely leaved, more open at the top and closed at
the root end. Remove a small amount
from the root end and most of the leafy section at the top and discard
them. I say this because leeks are often
grown in grit and sand, some of which is usually found in that top section of
the vegetable. Now pull off the complete
outer tubular layer. Sit the closed, root
end on to a chopping board and, with one hand supporting the leek lower down,
cut vertically through the top to open it up a little bit, just in case any
sandy soil is still inside. Drop into a
bowl of lukewarm salted water for a few minutes before slicing.
There are many different types of cabbage, some conical in shape and
leafy, others round with corrugated leaves, others tight and compact like small
footballs. They are all full of
goodness and basically prepared in the same way.
For those that have fairly open leaves, it will be possible to pull away
the first couple of layers all the way round.
Pull away one leaf, turn the cabbage slightly, pull of the next one,
turn again and do the same until you return to where you pulled off the first
leaf. You should be able to feel the
little ridge at the root end. If the
next layer of leaves down still feel a bit limp, do the same again and throw
them away, just to be on the safe
side. For hard, compact cabbages, you
might be best to slice the cabbage in half to remove the outer leaves, then you
will be able to feel the leaf layers more easily.
Now, you can either chop or break the cabbage into small chunks or
pieces, ready to soak in salted water to make sure its clean before cooking. The stalky centre or (nut) is quite tough,
so throw this away when you come to it, it’ll feel quite woody and hard.
Each marble-like Brussel has a stalk bump on one end, on the opposite end, if you rub your
fingers down from the centre you will feel the looser half circular leaves
round the outside, remove and throw away one layer of these, which will expose
the stalk a little more so that it’s
easier to feel. Cut this little stalk off.
Soak the sprouts in salted water to make sure that they are clean, before boiling. Please don’t waste your time cutting crosses
in the stalk end of each sprout, it isn’t necessary, doing this will make them
cook too quickly, fall apart and go soggy!!
Cauliflower: Pull off all the outer soft leaves to reveal the hard, grainy floret’s. Depending on how compact your veg is, you can either break the head into
chunks, by holding the cauliflower by its root, then breaking each piece off a little way up from where its
attached, taking part of each stem with every piece, or cut it into chunks Then
throwing away the root. Soak in salt water to make sure its clean,
before cooking.
Preparing broccoli: Break off the root, then pull the grainy head into pieces with the
stalks still attached. Soak in salted
water to clean, before cooking.
Just wipe mushrooms with kitchen towel or absorbent paper, it is not
necessary to remove the skin, just wipe, break into chunks or slice.
Although these have a relatively
short season, I feel that its well worth discussing them as they all have very
distinctive varied flavours, and no one should deny themselves the opportunity
to pop a pod of peas and taste their lovely sweet flavour or touch the velvety
outer pods of broad beans. However, I
digress slightly. Long green beans or
kidney beans must be topped and tailed, then have their stringy edges removed
with a potato peeler before they are sliced.
Just hold each bean upright vertically in your hand and run the peeler
down each narrow edge. To slice them,
you can either treat them like French beans and slice them into small lengths
or cut the beans into strips with a sharp knife, this is quite a tricky thing
to do by hand. You can, however, buy a
designated “bean slicer” which will do this perfectly for you. It’s well worth investing in one of these,
particularly if you are going to buy the beans while they are in season and
freeze them. Peas and broad beans
need to be podded, then rinsed before cooking.
Hold a pod length- ways in both hands, position the first fingers and
thumbs of both hands at the stalk ends of the pod, squeeze the pod at both
ends, and you should hear a little “pop”! as the pea pod begins to come
apart. Now, open the pod out over a
bowl and run your fingers along each half of the pod to dislodge the peas and I
bet you don’t cook them all because you will be eating them raw!!! Broad beans are podded
in exactly the same way, but be sure to take off the little flat half circles
that may still be attached to each bean.
They anchor the bean to the pod inside, you will easily find them if you
feel each bean carefully. Just wash
them before cooking, don’t be tempted to eat these raw though as they don’t
taste very nice!!
Top and tail them, then slice
or dice, to remove excess moisture or any bitterness, sprinkle with a little
salt and leave for about half an hour, rinse before cooking.
Just top and tail, peel, if you want to remove any possible
bitterness, then slice ready for your recipe.
Radish just need to be wiped, topped and tailed, their little stalks and
rough ends removed.
Spring onions should be topped & tailed, the outer layer of skin taken
off, & washed before eating.
Celery sticks should be snapped apart a little way up from where they
all join the stumpy root, the root discarded and then the stalks should be
topped and tailed, i.e. about half an inch removed from each end of each
stick. Rinse in water to remove any
dirt before they are eaten.
Cucumbers. Bear in mind that
most cucumbers are shrink wrapped in a tough plastic covering which will have
to be discarded first. There is no need
to remove the skin from cucumber unless it gives you indigestion. Take a small piece off one end if you will only
be eating, part of it, wipe it with a piece of moist kitchen towel to remove
any dust, then slice as necessary.
There is no need to remove the skin from tomatoes if you are using them
in salad, just pull off the spiders (the spiky stalk from the dimpled end, wipe
and slice.
Lay two sheets of either newspaper or scrap
Braille magazine on to your draining board or worktop so that they are
over-lapping, and, Use a small knife to remove a ring of pepper from the stalk
end. When you lift it away you will feel that most of the tiny, flat, hard
seeds are situated all around the centre of it, and just inside the top rim of
the hollow pepper. There will still
be a few seeds left inside, but if you tap it sharply over the paper most of
them will drop out. To make absolutely sure, just run your
fingers up and down the inside to dislodge any that still remain.
Rinse the pepper in cold water then don‘t
struggle to chop it, simply break it into small pieces ready to add to your
recipe. If you are going to stuff
them and bake them in the oven use large peppers, remove the stalk and seeds,
but leave them whole, fill them and stand in a large roasting tin to bake.
If you hold the whole round bulb of garlic
in your hand, you will notice that it has a stalk and root, top and bottom, and
a thin dry papery skin. As you examine
it, you will feel that the bulb is divided into segments, (cloves). When the skin is peeled away, the cloves
will come away from the stalk quite easily.
Pull off as many as you need and keep the garlic bulb, still in its
outer papery skin in a dry cool place, as you would onions for example. Each of the cloves is also covered in this
fine skin. You can either pick at the
skin where it was attached to the stalk of the bulb to remove it, or buy one of
these very clever garlic peelers, rubber tubes, which, very easily, remove it for you. If you have one of these, put the cloves you are going to use
inside it, place it on a firm surface, apply a bit of pressure, then roll it
backwards and forwards. The garlic will
crackle, and when you take it out, the
skin will be left behind inside the tube.
Now, finely chop the garlic cloves to use in your recipes.
Chillies are smaller versions
of peppers, except they are often long and thin, varying in their intensity of
flavour according to the variety. They are used to add flavour or (a hot or
very hot) intensity) to many dishes such as Chilli con Carne. Remove the
stalk and seeds as for peppers and chop into tiny pieces ready to flavour your
recipe, but don't, whatever you do, be tempted to rub your eyes during the
preparation process, if you do their will be severe irritation, your eyes will
run and you may experience pain and discomfort, for quite some time. To
prevent this, run your hands under cold water to remove any chilli
residue.
How to peel, core and
slice apples for stewing and pie making.
I find that using the
potato peeler with a y-shaped handle with a horizontal blade running across the
top As mentioned in, (peeling vegetables)gives very good results. The peel comes off easily without taking
away any of the fruit.
Use a purpose made
apple corer by all means but I find that the circumference of apple cores vary
so much that I often end up taking out the flesh instead. To slice, stand the peeled apple with its
stalk side uppermost, on the work top and cut downwards through the centre with
the handle of the knife facing you, resting the blade in the centre where the
dent is, so that when you cut it through, you
end up with two halves. By
laying each piece cut side uppermost, and cutting them in half again, you can
easily feel the line of core running down
the edge of each piece, as it has a very distinguishable, spiny feel,
cut this core out and each half in half
again, when all the core will have been removed. Sounds a bit complex, I know, but it really does work.
Depending on the size
of your apple, the pieces will now be suitable for stewing, but if you are
making a pie,, cut them in half again ready to cook through gently until just
soft, in preparation for the filling.
If you want to bake them in the oven, leave their skins on and use an
apple corer to remove the centre.
Position it over the dent at the stalk end and push it right down
through the fruit. Lift it straight back up again and, all being well, you will
have removed the core. Fill the centres
with brown sugar and sultanas or dried fruit, stand on a baking sheet and cook
through until soft. Don’t worry, if you
do taste a bit of core it won’t do you any harm!
Simply peel, (remove the thick skin to reveal the
soft fruit, then slice or eat whole. The softer the banana when you squeeze it
while its still in its skin,and the more bananry it smells, the riper the fruit
will be.
Each stalk will need to be (topped and tailed), then washed and sliced
before cooking.
How to remove the zest, (the outer layer of skin). Stand a metal box grater on a large plate, and, using the coarsest
side, rub the fruit against the grater,
only two or three times, before turning the fruit round in your hand slightly, repeat the process until
you come back round to the pulpier area where you started. Don’t take too much of the skin away, you
don’t want the pith underneath as a flavouring as it is quite bitter.
Tapping the grater when its held above the plate will dislodge the moist
zest still stuck inside for you, but if
in doubt, just leave it for a few minutes, tap it again when its dry, and it will
fall out more easily.
Juicing citrus fruit: With the peel still on, Using a citrus juicer with an integral cup to
catch the juice. Slice the fruit in
half, then press and turn on the knobble until all the juice is extracted. Quite a lot of the flesh and the pips will
now be held in the meshed top half of the juicer.
Peeling citrus fruit: There is no easy way to peel citrus fruit, I personally find removing
the skin by hand, dividing the fruit in half, then pulling the ridged fruit segments
apart from their thinnest edges at the centre of the fruit, is the most
reliable technique.
Most soft fruit, i.e. raspberries blackberries etc, only need to be
wiped with a little moist kitchen paper to clean them. Blackcurrants and redcurrants should have
their little stalks pulled off, then just rinse ready to cook. Strawberries should be de-hulled, (the rough
hairy growing point pulled away from the dent, the fruit wiped with moist kitchen towel, then just sliced and
eaten!
Many fruits, such as cranberries, blueberries etc. will need the same
preparation, just wiped before stewing or eating.
Sit the melon, stalk uppermost, on plenty of scrap paper on a firm
surface. Using a large, sharp un-serrated
knife, slice the fruit down from top to bottom, through the centre of the
stalk. Have the handle of the knife towards you and the blade furthest
away. Now that you have two half footballs
you’ll be able to feel all the rows of hard shiny seeds that need to be
removed. This is going to be quite a
messy process, believe me. Slice the
melon into strips and push out all the seeds which will be attached to a
stringy membrane. There is no need to
remove the skin. You can either cut the
fruit into chunks and eat the melon from the peel, or, use a melon baller to lift
out the fruit. Of course, you can take
the melon out using a sharp knife, but the skin is thick and this might well be
a very messy, extremely prolonged process.
It is worth persevering with all the mess, particularly if you try a Galia
variety with its lovely flavour and interestingly textured skin.
It is extremely difficult to remove the stones from firm fruit. Cook Plums or damsons, first, then they will
be easier to remove. The pips of
grapes can be taken out as you eat them, as can the stones from cherries,
peaches and nectarines.
The large stone in the centre of an avocado can be lifted straight out
if the fruit is ripe, simply slice in half to reveal it.
Kiwi fruit can be eaten straight
from its skin when sliced in half.
To remove the skins on tomatoes for use in cooked dishes, drop firm
tomatoes into a large heat proof bowl and pour enough boiling water over them
to cover them well, leave for about 5 minutes, drain off the tomatoes into a
colander, fill the empty bowl with cold water, tip the tomatoes into it and
leave them for a few minutes. Drain the
tomatoes in to the colander again and transfer them to a chopping board. You will now be able to rub away the crinkly
skin. Your tomatoes will be quite soft and squidgie now, easy to chop.
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