I picked up my favorite kitchen hack from an old issue of Cook’s Illustratedmagazine, in the section where reader write in with quirky tips, like using a fork as a lemon juicer or peeling ginger with a teaspoon. I don’t remember which issue it appeared in, but I do know I read it years ago and it has cut prep times for many dishes in half ever since.
It’s very simple: Whenever you have something small and round that you need to cut in half, like grape or cherry tomatoes, new potatoes, grapes, olives, or pearl onions, put the items between two deli container lids, press down, and slide your knife between the lids to do the cutting.
Just a few of the ingredients you can halve with this method Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to cut grapes, cherry tomatoes, and other round things in half:
1. Take two deli container lids (the kind with a lip at the top) and press your ingredients between them.
The knife will fit easily between the lids. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
2. Continue cutting between the lids, gently pressing with your top hand to hold the items in place.
Hold your hand flat so that your fingers are fully shielded from the knife. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
3. When your knife passes through to the other side, you’re done!
Working in batches, you can slice a pint of tomatoes in minutes. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
Time to start making those summer salads!
The finished products Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
Do you have a favorite kitchen hack for how to cut grapes or other small, round edibles?
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
