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Chapter 16 Bonus Video Clip: Peeling and Mincing Garlic and Parsley

Chef Draz: In addition to cutting, the chef's knife is also used for mincing foods such as fresh herbs, garlic, and olives into very fine pieces. Let's see how to use the chef's knife to mince garlic and parsley.

Start by placing the tip of the knife on the cutting board. Place the guiding hand on the back of the knife. Be sure to keep the fingers of the guiding hand away from the blade. To mince a product, lower and raise the chef knife repeatedly while pivoting the knife on the rounded front section of the blade. During mincing, some food may stick to the side of the blade. You may need to push the food off by dragging a finger from the back of the knife towards the edge. Food may also spread out on the cutting board. When this happens, simply push the food back into a neat pile by dragging the blade of the knife across the cutting board.

Probably the most common use of the mincing technique is with garlic. Finely minced pieces of garlic release their flavor quickly in both raw and cooked applications. Here's how to peel and mince garlic.

Begin by placing the head of garlic on its side on a cutting board. Position the palm of your hand on the head of garlic and press firmly until the head breaks apart into individual cloves. To peel the garlic, place a clove on the cutting board and put the side of chefs knife on the clove. Press firmly on the knife until the clove breaks. It may be necessary to strike the side of the knife with the guiding hand. Then remove the loosened skin from each clove. Continue by cutting each clove in half. If there is a green tinted germ, it should be removed, otherwise the garlic will have a bitter taste. Likewise, trim the small woody root end from the garlic.

To mince garlic, begin by coarsely chopping the peeled cloves. Continue chopping until all the pieces are finely chopped and uniform in appearance. Some recipes call for garlic paste. To make a paste, sprinkle the minced garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Using the side of the knife, mash the garlic to a paste by repeatedly dragging the knife across the garlic. The salt will act as an abrasive and help to make the paste.

Parsley, it's a familiar sight in most professional kitchens. It's used as a garnish and added to sauces, soups, and stews. Here's how to mince parsley.

Start with parsley that has been washed in cold water to remove any dirt or sand. Remove excess moisture. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems. This can be done by hand or with a knife. Roll the leaves into a tight ball and cut finely with a chef's knife. Mince the parsley using the same technique you did when you minced garlic. Continue mincing until there are no large pieces left. Freshly minced parsley is wet and sticky. Removing moisture makes parsley easy to sprinkle, extends its shelf life, and prevents the green color from bleeding into other foods.

Place the minced parsley in a piece of cheesecloth and gather the ends together. Rinse the parsley in the cheesecloth under cold running water. Wring it by twisting to squeeze out the green parsley juice. Place the parsley in a covered container in the refrigerator until needed.

Minced garlic and parsley are common ingredients in every professional kitchen. Now you know how to prepare them.

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