How To Bias Slice A Carrot
Have you ever come across a recipe and ever wondered what “Bias Slice” means? The term Bias slice simply means cutting on a bias or cutting at an angle. Most of the time cutting it at a 45 degrees angle. Since Bias slice is gaining its popularity through the years, it would be best if you will be familiarized with the term. In this post, let us talk about what Bias Slicing means and how to slice a carrot using the Bias Cut.
What is a Bias Slice?
If you see on the recipe the term “on the bias”, this means that cutting that ingredient on the Bias. But it is not just cutting for the sake of cutting but rather cutting at an angle and not simply cutting across.
Why not make a cut across rather than cutting at ang angle? Chefs prefer to cut the “on the bias” cut to have a more surface area to brown the food of the ingredient. Also, cutting it on the bias cut will lessen the time required for cooking because the thinner the cut of the ingredient (example is a carrot or a celery), with its sharp angle there will be more surface area hence the time it will took to cook the dish will also reduced.
Reasons why cutting carrot on a bias?
There are several reasons why cutting vegetables on a Bias, a carrot to be specific.
Improves presentation
The beautifully angled cut of the ingredient will improve the entire presentation of the food. A slightly angled cut will make the presentation of the dish more elegant. It will definitely make your dish more pleasing and more appealing.
More Surface Area
When cooking, the more surface are the carrots or the celery has the faster the cooking process and it will also be evenly cooked. Other than that, with increase surface area there will enough space for toppings as well.
Easier to make thin slices
Since most of the carrots are thick, cutting it first on a bias will make it more easy to cut it in thin slices.
How to Bias Slice a Carrot
Similar to Celery, there are different ways on how to slice the carrot on the bias. But what does it really mean to slice carrots on a Bias? It simply means creating an oval cut (than perpendicular) by angling the knife and cutting the root end of the carrot.
Here’s how to Bias cut a carrot:
- Preparation Time: 1 minute
- Active Time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 6 minutes
Materials and Tools
- Carrots
- Cutting board
- Chef’s Knife or Serrated Knife
Instructions:
- Remove the stem of the carrot by chopping it off.
- Peel the outside layer of the carrot.
- Place the carrot on the chopping board and hold it firmly using one hand. Make sure the fingers are not on the way of the knife.
Position the carrot on an angle position. Positioning will help you cut the carrot straight away from you.
- Carefully slice the carrot using a sharp knife at 45 degree angle, there goes your first cut.
With the first cut you will actually get an idea and determine the angle and the size of the cut for the rest of your carrot slices. Note: The more angle the carrot cut is, the longer the slices will be.
- After the angle of the cut has been determined, you can now continue creating the next slices of the carrots by simply following the lining of the knife aligned to the first cut.
It will also help determine how thick you want all your carrot slices to be.
- Continue to cut until you finish cutting the entire carrot.
FAQs
A Bias cut is done by cutting the ingredient at a 45 degree angle (common angle used). There are two basic cuts with “on the bias”, the first one is slanting to the right while the other one is slanting to the left.
As mentioned, chef’s prefer the on the bias when using the ingredients for cooking simply because there will be increase surface area to brown the food. At the same time, helps in reducing cooking time.
For long and thin ingredients such as a carrot, celery, or a baguette or even a Zucchini, cutting it “on a bias” will allow you to make a long, angled and tapered slice of it.
Conclusion
Whether you are cutting celery (stalk is removed) or cutting carrots, on the bias cut is the preferred cut when used in cooking. Not only will it make your food presentable, it will also help in reducing the cooking.
We hope that this guide has helped you understand the term “on the Bias” cut whenever you come across it on a recipe. You should then be able to do the cutting since the steps were also mentioned above.
