Hello and welcome back to the Confessions of a Culinary School Graduate series! This week is week two, and I am so excited to share this week’s topic with all of you!
This week is all about uniformity.
So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy week two of Confessions of a Culinary School Graduate!
The Knife Cuts Exam
When I was in culinary school, I not only learned how to use a knife, but I also learned all the different knife cuts. Some were simple, while others were more complicated, like mincing. I know how to mince, but the way our chef taught us was much different from how I mince foods now.
When we were taught all the different knife cuts, the expectation wasn’t simply, “Cut this.” Everything had to look the same. All the diced potatoes had to be the same size, all the carrots had to be the same size, and the same went for onions, celery, and so on.
During one of my exams, I made diced potatoes along with something else, but the potatoes are what really matter here because my potatoes weren’t all the same size. Some were big and some were small. When I brought my plate up to the chef to try, he noticed that my potatoes weren’t uniform, so because of that, I lost points.
Now, whenever someone, including me, didn’t have uniform cuts, my chef didn’t point anyone out in front of the class, talk about their mistake, and basically embarrass them. Instead, he would give you constructive criticism when you presented your plate and tell you how you could fix it for next time.
I Left Uniformity At Culinary School
Something you need to know is that uniformity doesn’t only mean exact knife cuts. It also applies to cookies, meatballs, burger patties, pasta, and so much more.
Uniformity means being the same, and in this case, it means being the same size. Cookies, meatballs, burger patties, pasta—it all has to be the same, or at least close to the same, size.
I’m sure you already know the title of this post, so I want to explain something really fast: my food isn’t always uniform because I don’t like wasting food.
In culinary school, I was taught to trim things to make sure everything looked the same, and if you couldn’t use some parts of whatever you were making, throw them away.
Well, I don’t like doing that.
I would much rather my potatoes, carrots, and onions all be a little different in size because then I’m not wasting anything.
There’s a Difference Between “Uniform” and “Uniform Enough”
Sometimes, when cooking, not everything is going to be the same size.
I know that with something like meatballs, they all need to be the same, or at least close to the same size, because if some are too big while others are too small, some could still be cooking while others are burning.
But whenever I make homemade tater tots, I don’t really care if they are all the same size or not.
When I make tater tots, I pipe out the potatoes, cut them with a knife to the size that I want them, and then proceed with my cooking process. Because they are all cut separately, I know they won’t all be exactly the same size, and that’s okay!
My tater tots are deep-fried in batches, so they can be taken out whenever they’re done. I don’t have to worry about whether the others are still cooking or not.
That’s the difference between something needing to be perfectly uniform and something simply being uniform enough.
It’ll Look Worse In Your Stomach
When I was younger, my mom would always have this little saying for whenever my dish didn’t look the way I wanted it to:
“It’ll look worse in your stomach.”
And I’m sure we all know that she’s right.
I also started saying that to my family members whenever they make something and it doesn’t look the way they want it to because, when I was younger, it made me feel better.
My food still tasted amazing, but I always wanted it to look five-star.
I’m not saying that food presentation isn’t important, because that is most certainly not true. We do eat with our eyes first. But even if the food doesn’t look five-star, that doesn’t mean it’s going to taste bad.
Ugly food isn’t always bad food.
Until Next Week…
Welcome to the end of week two! I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it is only week two, but I am already having so much fun with this series, and I hope you guys are too!
Don’t forget to tune in next week for week three because, just like this week, next week is going to be a different confession. I can’t wait for you guys to read it because it’s a good one!
Also, I love hearing from you guys! Is there something that you know needs to be uniform, but you don’t make it that way? Or maybe the opposite! Do you make sure everything is the same size when you cook?
If so, leave a comment below!
Until Next Week…
Stay Saucy
Hailey 🍝
Leave a comment