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Tip for slicing a soft tomato with a subpar knife

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While looking up a 1996 Cooks Illustrated recipe, I noticed a hint for easier slicing of tomatoes. Peel a narrow strip, 1/2" wide or so, from the stem end to the other end. Then hold the tomato on its side, with the stripped area uppermost. That way, the knife goes into the tomato with very little pressure, a good idea if you find yourself lacking a well-sharpened blade.

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  1. Hmmm......Did they give any tips about how to peel the strip of skin with the same dull knife?

    1 Reply
    1. re: sfmiller

      Actually, I mentioned the less-than-ideal knife in hopes of warding off posts about this not being a problem if one buys top-notch expensive knives which are routinely given professional sharpening, etc, because that is not the point. The original CI tip eases the initial part of the cut regardless of sharpness. Of course, a strip of skin can be removed with a knife or vegetable peeler.

    2. I always find that if I'm somewhere where there isn't a good knife, it's easiest to use a serrated knife if one's available. A sub-par serrated knife works better on a tomato than a sub-par regular knife, in my experience.