Cutting parsley can be made easy with the right tools and knowledge. Hand cutting with a sharp knife and a flat surface is safest, while a food processor or scissors can also be used. Drying parsley thoroughly before cutting makes it easier to handle.
With the right tools and knowledge, cutting parsley can be easy. When mowing by hand, a sharp knife and a clear work area can help make the process quick, clean and efficient. Other methods, such as using a food processor or scissors, can also be effective, but have some drawbacks depending on the size of the pieces needed or the amount of chopped parsley. There are also names for specific ways to mince parsley, such as persillade, a way of mincing parsley with garlic that is used in French cuisine.
To hand cut parsley, one of the first steps is to wash the parsley and dry it thoroughly. This can be done by pressing the herb between paper towels or using a salad spinner. Drying parsley has two effects, the first of which is to make it crisp so that a knife will cut it cleanly and with little effort. The second benefit of drying parsley thoroughly is that the flakes won’t stick as easily to surfaces such as fingers, cutting boards, and the knife itself.
Dried parsley should be placed on a flat surface, preferably a cutting board. The safest way to cut parsley is on a flat surface, so there’s very little chance the knife will slip. The stems can be left on the parsley but, if a recipe strictly calls for parsley leaves only, the leaves can be quickly shaved off the stems with a sharp knife.
Holding the parsley down with one hand, the knife is pulled down through the leaves to cut the parsley into the desired size. The weight of the knife should be used to make the cuts, rather than pressing hard on the knife. Also, the hand holding the parsley down should have the fingertips and thumb curled under, with the flat side of the knife resting gently against the first knuckles.
After a pass through the herb, the parsley should be roughly chopped into relatively large pieces. To get a smaller nut, a different technique can be used. This involves gently holding the end of the trimming knife down, near the tip, as the handle is raised and lowered, sliding the blade through the coarse cut to make it finer. The end of the knife that you hold down acts as a pivot point that allows you to slowly move the handle to feed the blade through the entire pile of parsley until it’s small enough to use.
It is also possible to chop parsley using a food processor, however, if not done carefully or if the parsley is too wet, it can quickly turn into a paste. A food processor will not chop the parsley at all if the amount used is too small to reach the blades. Scissors can be used to chop parsley into large pieces, but this runs the risk of bruising the parsley, potentially causing it to wilt much faster than if it were cut with a sharp knife.
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