Kitchen Basics – How to Cut Peppers

On this (mostly) Wordless Wednesday we shave time off your kitchen prep with a little photo tutorial we call: How to Cut Peppers.  Amazing how a little savvy knife work can save you time and deliver a consistent product.  This is one of those kitchen basics I love to share.

Can’t believe how many people graduate from culinary education programs and still can’t cut produce efficiently.  Instead they painstakingly core the pepper from the top, and slice down the sections then manipulating curves, corners and irregular angles; what a pain and it takes WAY too much time.  The only time I leave a pepper with it’s natural curve is when I want to accent it’s shape on a sexy platter or grilled vegetables.  Other than that, I cut it flat and fast so I can move onto other tasks (like cooking pork).   A bit of pro technique and you’ll be cutting flat slabs, perfect for sandwiches, burgers and kebabs, or to cut into nice, neat sticks for crudite, in a flash.

Just four simple cuts with a nice sharp blade.  From there slice, dice and chop away.

How To Cut Peppers

1.  Place pepper on its side, cut away top, then turn 180 degrees and slice off the bottom.

2. Place pepper top up on your board, now slice down the side with the tip of your blade.  This is easiest to to at one of the natural seams of the fruit.

3.  Remove the core of the pepper, by inserting your blade in the side cut and running it along the inside, easily cutting away the pith and seeds in the process.  In this step you can roll the pepper flat, opening as you go as you go, or work ‘in the round’.

4.  Discard core.  Remove any remaining membrane or seeds.

5.  Cut along seams for flat pieces for the grill.  Cut across now flattened pepper for thin slices, sticks or a simpler cut for cubes and dices.   If you’re using just the flat sides, save the  top and bottom for salads, soups and sauces or…  just eat them.  The cook needs snacks.

6.  Not shown, but something to work on — with a little extra fineness and a bit of pressure, run your knife along the line of the inside flesh, removing the inside ‘skin’.  This will give you a flat, exposed, even base without hard edges.  Sliced ultra thin, this makes the  perfect consistency for fine, Asian cooking.

Viola, how to cut peppers.  From our speedy kitchen to yours.