How to julienne a cucumber: ways to chop a popular vegetable

In the process of preparation, most of the ingredients are pre-chopped. This is one of the most ancient methods of machining products. Initially, people had enough of their own teeth for this. Over time, they learned to make dishes more aesthetic, using different improvised means for this. For each product, its own processing methods were invented. So, you need to know in advance how to chop the cucumber into strips to make a delicious salad or vegetable slicing. For example, you can consider several of the most common options.

Conventional method

In most cases, the housewives, deciding how to chop the cucumber into strips, choose the easiest way for this. Such work is usually done in two stages:

1. First of all, washed vegetables must be cut into plates. You can do this with a sharp knife or use an ordinary shredder. The peel does not need to be removed first.
2. After this, the finished slices must be stacked in piles of several pieces and carefully cut them in the longitudinal direction. The thickness of each straw should be about two to three millimeters.

This is the most common way to julienne a cucumber. It is usually used to make simple and complex side dishes. In addition, salads consisting of thin strips of vegetables always look stylish, spectacular and very appetizing. They are easy to mix, pouring with various sauces and dressings. This mixture looks great on a plate and, as a rule, takes up very little space.

Simplified version

For those who do not like to spend a lot of time cooking, you can offer the simplest method of how to chop a cucumber into strips. It also includes two stages. True, everything is done much faster and easier:

1. To begin with, each vegetable must be cut in half. In this case, it is better to use medium-sized cucumbers. Larger specimens usually have large bones, which can ruin the appearance of the finished cake mix. Previously, you also need to cut the "butt" on both sides.
2. Then you should put each half on a cutting board with the skin peeled up and methodically cut it with an hatchet or knife into even straws.

The disadvantage of this method is that the individual strips will have a different color and composition. In the general mass, of course, it is imperceptible. But in the case when a small amount of straw is used, the difference is striking. Although some housewives believe that the combination of unequal stripes has its own highlight.

Japanese cooking

In the national cuisine of each country, for cooking some dishes, its own individual technique is used. So, Japanese masters know an unusual option, how to cut a cucumber into strips, for example, for sushi.

In this case, to complete the work, you need to do a few steps:

1. First you need to wash the cucumbers. Trim the tips until you need to.
2. Then the vegetables should be cut into pieces, the length of which should approximately equal the width of the cook’s palm. In this case, small pieces are sure to remain around the edges. Subsequently, they are also useful for work.
3. Next, from each workpiece, it is necessary to carefully cut the peel with a sharp knife about 3 millimeters from the edge. This should be done in a circular manner, holding the tool at an angle.
4. As soon as the peel is over, continue to cut the flesh in the same way, without removing the knife. Having reached the core, work can be stopped.
5. Lay the cut-off “tape” on the board and divide into several parts.
6. Form the stack so that the pulp is on top and the peel is on the bottom.
7. Carefully cut the product into strips using a sharp appliance (knife or hatchet).

The blanks in this case are very smooth and neat.

Minimum length

Some housewives prefer not to learn in words how to chop the cucumber into strips. A photo in this case is an ideal option. With its help, you can clearly see how to perform each action. For example, for the preparation of many salads, it is preferable to use slices of short length. This allows for better mixing of the components. As a result, the finished dish is more homogeneous.

In the case of cucumber, this can be done as follows:

1. First, you must wash the vegetables. This rule applies to any fresh food dish.
2. Then each cucumber needs to be cut into thin rings. In this case, the knife should be placed across the length of the product.
3. After that, each ring must be cut into equal strips. It looks more like a shredder. To speed up the process, the rings can be folded into small stacks of several.

This type of slicing is suitable for any mix of products. You can adjust the size of such straws by changing the cutting angle of the original rings.

Decoration of the dish

To make the dish not only tasty, but also look beautiful on the plate, you need to properly arrange it. This applies to salads and many side dishes. Regarding fresh vegetables, this issue is especially relevant. In each individual case, you need to know in advance, for example, how to properly chop the cucumber into strips. Special kitchen appliances can come to the rescue here. Now for the grinding of products, there are many different mechanisms that can take on some of the hard homework. Conventional slicing can be done using food processors. If it comes to some special forms, then you can use simpler devices. For example, thin straws from cucumber can be made using a special grater for cooking Korean carrots.

You just need to “squeeze” the vegetable gradually from all sides to the core. The straw should be in the form of thin chips. Such an original side dish will easily decorate almost any meat dish.