10 types of potato cuts for your preparations

Cutting a potato is more than just taking a knife and slicing it in half. There is a wide variety of cuts suitable for specific recipes, which will make us take full advantage of the nutrients of that food. In addition, using the appropriate utensils and techniques, we can give a distinctive touch to all our preparations.

Cooking is an art in which seasoning, color, textures and aromas are mixed, capable of conquering the most demanding palates. To do this, different cutting and cooking techniques applied to food are required. In this way, our guests will not only delight their palate, but will also enjoy dishes with attractive presentations.

Said this way, it may seem a bit complicated, but you should know that everyone can prepare delicious dishes. All we need is practice, perseverance and, of course, the right tools.

Potatoes, for example, are tubers rich in vitamins and minerals whose preparation is not limited to just steaming them in one piece. There are various recipes for this food, according to which the potato can be sliced ​​into julienne strips, sticks, cubes and many more shapes. Remember that you do not need to have the best potato cutter at hand, much less the most expensive one, since a mandolin or a conventional knife will suffice.

How to cut a potato?

You don’t need to be an experienced chef to cut your vegetables and tubers. The slicing techniques to apply to this type of food are really varied. However, there are some that tend to be more frequently used, because they are intuitive, fast and simple to perform.

The best thing is that we do not need sophisticated instruments with cutting-edge technology, since a sharp knife or a mandolin will suffice, common utensils found in any kitchen.

potatoes with knives

Let’s start with the knife, which is a classic cutting instrument made up of a duly sharpened stainless steel blade and an ergonomic handle made of wood or polymer. With it we can make high-precision cuts, thus creating turned, sliced, cracked, diced Spanish potatoes.

baked potatoes

Turned potatoes are mainly used as a side dish and require several cuts to give the potato an oval shape, similar to what we see in a rugby ball. To do this, the first thing you should do is cut the tuber rectangularly and carefully mark the edges. Then, you must put them in a pot with water so that they cook with the boil, but you can also prepare them stewed and season them to your liking.

sliced ​​potatoes

Slicing is one of the most common preparations, which surely many times we have done intuitively. It’s very simple: we just have to place the potato horizontally on the work surface and start making vertical cuts. 

The size of the slice will vary depending on the potato selected, while the thickness of each cut will be defined according to your taste and cooking needs. For example, if you plan to fry the slices, they will need to be as thin as possible for crispness. On the other hand, when baking or boiling them you will have to increase their thickness a little.

cracked potatoes

Cracked potatoes are ideal for stewing, for which you need to take the potato and place it on the work surface, carefully inserting the tip of the knife into it. In this way, you will be able to make a kind of leverage effect so that the potato is cut naturally. This technique allows you to take advantage of the starch contained in it, which will make the broth thicken.

spanish potatoes

For Spanish potatoes, also known as French fries, you will need to make two types of cut. First, slice the potato so that you get long slices. Then, section these slices creating irregular strips. It is important that you pay attention to the thickness so that it is approximately one centimeter.

diced potato

Another cut that you have surely made more than once is diced potatoes, which is nothing more than the classic cut that we make on the rest of the vegetables. You just have to split the potato vertically, obtaining four rectangles, which you must then cut into small regular cubes of one centimeter, which are called “paisana”. You can also make “mirepoix”, which are these same cubes but with an irregular and smaller cut. Both techniques are suitable for frying or boiling.

Potatoes with mandolin

The mandolin is a metal kitchen utensil with a compact and light body, which is made up of a system of blades to make cuts of different lengths. This tool offers a defined finish in each cut and can be used with vegetables, root vegetables such as potatoes and even with any type of cheese.

When it comes to potatoes, this utensil will help you make the well-known julienne, stick and matchstick cotes, as well as straw and chip potatoes, all of which are suitable for frying.

Julienne potatoes, sticks and matches

If you want to surprise your guests with some delicious French fries with a julienne, cane or matchstick cut, you will have to start by cutting the potato vertically with a knife into two or four parts, depending on the size of the tuber. Next, you need to take each piece of potato and slide it through the sections of the mandolin from top to bottom. In this way, you will get the aforementioned cuts.  

Potato straws

For this technique known as “straw” you will first have to cut the potato into slices with a knife. Next, you can apply the longitudinal and fine cut given by the mandolin.

potato chips

To make this type of potatoes, the first thing you should do is remove the skin of the potato completely with a knife. In this way, you can proceed to use the mandolin to make the “chip” cut. It is a very fine incision, approximately one millimeter thick, with an appearance quite similar to slices but with an irregular body.