Cutting A Potato

It may sound trivial, but the ability to cube a potato is something that can really influence what recipes you can do. Large cubes are great for potato salads and mashed potatoes, while small cubes are great for hashes. Medium-sized cubes are great for frying for breakfast and dinner. As there are a number of other slices that have other uses, it helps to know your way around a knife and a potato.

When you cube a potato, you are approaching it from a number of different angles. You need to quickly determine the longest direction and the second longest. Your first series of slices will be along the longest length to the second longest; this should give you the largest planes to work with. You want to divide the potato into half and flip one side over so you are looking at nothing but skin; the center of the potato will be on the cutting board. This is for maximum safety; the potato will not rock and is easier to cut into. Also, by cutting the potato in half it becomes a lot easier to handle.

The next series of slices should be from the longest section to shortest; if you were just after fries, this gives you the longest fries. The last series of cuts should be perpendicular to those cuts, and you should be through. In general, the cuts should be about the width of your finger if you are just boiling them for mashing potatoes, about half that if you are frying them, and as small as you can go for hashes. If you are going for shoestring fries, make them as thick as you want, but I would suggest about a quarter-inch or so.

The cubing will give you most of the cuts you need. There are three other options: grating, sections, and slicing. For hash browns, just peel it, run it through a grater, and fry or bake. You can also slice; cut perpendicular to the longest dimension all the way through the potato. Make the slices as thin as you feel comfortable with and you can fry or bake for chips. Sectioning is all sorts of fun, but useful for making steak fries. Cut the potato in half along the longest section. Cut each half in half along the longest dimension. Continue until you have sections that are about ½” thick at their thickest part. Simple, right?

Bonus: “Frying” in this case means that you have enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan, usually to a depth of 1/8”. For fries and chips, you want just enough to cover the potatoes. “Baking” is a light cover of oil over the potatoes in an oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes, flipping about halfway through.

Hope this helps…