How to Peel Garlic In Less Than 10 Seconds

Thanks Saveur! This is pretty great.

Supreme an Orange

Supreming an orange — or any citrus — is a lesser known technique among home cooks, but a fabulous trick for getting each section out of the fruit without the white pithy membrane (think canned mandarin oranges or grapefruit cups). Spending a little extra work will make the citrus much more enjoyable in any fruit salad, dessert or salad topping.

Step 1: Cut off each end of the orange (the “belly-button” ends)

Step 2: Carefully remove the peel by slicing off in vertical strips, and cutting close to the fruit to remove all of the white pith

Step 3: Identify each section by the thin white line and carefully cut along each side of the section to remove from the fruit.

Step 4: Work all the way around the orange until all sections are removed and all that’s left is the remaining membranes. See how perfect each piece is!

This can take some practice, so working with a larger citrus fruit like a Grapefruit or Pomelo can help you hone your new skill. Also be very careful and use a sharp paring knife for best results. Impress your friends and family!

How to Cut a Mango

Mangoes can be deceiving. So plump and juicy, lest we forget there is a giant pit in the middle taking up 2/3 of the space. Cutting a mango is sort of an art because you are trying to maximize fruit without the pit getting in the way. Here is a guide on how to cut a mango the proper way.

The mango pit is narrow which allows you to slice the meat off each side, making two pieces. Take care not to catch the pit in your slice since it will be a bit fibery. It is almost as if you are cutting it into thirds, leaving the pit in the middle.

Next, score each slice with parallel cuts but don’t pierce the mango skin. Do it on the diagonal to end up with diamonds.

Now comes the fancy part. Turn the mango “inside-out” and each piece will be easily accessible and it looks oh-so-pretty.

Peel the skin off the middle pit and happily eat the remaining fruit from the middle (just gnaw it off!) You can also cut the diced mango off the piece to add to a fruit salad or salsa.

There are also some nifty gadgets out there like this mango splitter.

How to Chop an Onion

One of the most important ingredients to have in your pantry at all times is The Onion. This mighty vegetable can add so much flavor to any dish — as an aromatic (mire poix – more on that later) or even as the main event (caramelized onion tarte, anyone?) So how do you chop an onion? There are many techniques out there and I have tried a few different variations, but I have settled on this one as the tried and true way to chop an onion.

Step 1: A firm onion without any mushy spots and a nice sharp chef’s knife

Step 2: Cut off each end of the onion

Step 3: Make an incision through the paper layer and the first layer of the onion and peel away both for quick removal

Step 4: Cut the onion in half length-wise

Step 5: Slice the onion along the “lines” but (most important thing) do NOT go all the way to the end, separating from the main piece

Step 6: Turn the onion and slice in the opposite direction, creating nice diced pieces. Once the end “in-tact” piece is left just chop that into small chunks. Then repeat with the other piece of onion.

The nice thing about this technique is that you can easily control the size of the dice. You can do much smaller pieces with slices closer together, or you can create larger chunks for (like for a chili or soup) by making the slices further apart. Also, for Fajitas or caramelized onions, skip Step 5 and just slice for nice long pieces for sauteing.