How to Small Dice

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Cubing isn't just for math geeks anymore. Just ask your local sous-chef, who probably cubes more items in a single night than all the 10th graders in America.

Step 1: Wash & peel
Wash and peel the vegetable, if necessary.

Step 2: Grasp knife
Grasp the knife in your dominant hand, holding the handle close to the blade with three fingers: your middle, ring, and pinkie. Curl your forefinger around one side of the blade while holding your thumb on the opposite side.

Step 3: Hold vegetable
With your non-knife-wielding hand, hold the vegetable firmly on the cutting board close to the area you will cut.

Tip
Curl your fingers so that the tips are firmly planted on the vegetable and the knuckles point outward—in the food world, this is called the 'claw grip.'

Step 4: Cut off ends
Cut off the ends of the vegetable.

Step 5: Cut off sides
Cut off the sides of the vegetable. It should now resemble a block with 4 long flat surfaces—this will make it easier to cut uniform pieces.

Step 6: Slice lengthwise
For a small dice cut, you are aiming to make dice, or cubes, that are ¼ inch on every side. Begin by slicing the vegetable lengthwise into uniform slabs ¼ inch wide.

Tip
Keep the point of the knife on the board and use a steady rocking motion to slice—not saw—the vegetable with the full length of the blade.

Step 7: Stack & cut
Stack the slabs on top of each other and again cut them lengthwise into 1/4' wide sticks. You now have a 'wood pile' of ¼ inch-thick sticks.

Step 8: Make crosscuts
Line up the pile of sticks, and make ¼ inch crosscuts along their length, creating ¼ inch cubes.

Did You Know?
A pair of ivory dice discovered at the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes dates to 1,500 B.C.