Daily Kitchen Note
Hasselbacking vegetables creates more surface area for browning and allows flavorings to penetrate deeply. Placing chopsticks on either side of the vegetable acts as a physical stop for your knife, ensuring you create accordion-like slices without accidentally cutting all the way through.
How to Hasselback vegetables
- Place the vegetable on a cutting board.
- Lay a chopstick parallel along each side of the vegetable.
- Slice down into the vegetable until the knife blade rests on the chopsticks.
- Repeat at even intervals along the entire length of the vegetable.
Why it works
The chopsticks act as a physical barrier that stops the downward motion of the knife blade just before it reaches the cutting board. This leaves a solid base intact at the bottom of the vegetable, holding the thin slices together in an accordion shape.
Source
America's Test Kitchen: Hasselbacking Transforms the Look and Flavor of Your Food
