The Only Way You Should Be Cutting A Tomato

If you like to cook, chances are you cut tomatoes almost daily, whether it's for dressing a sandwich, adding to a salad, or prepping a recipe for dinner. However, the fact that we do it so often doesn't necessarily mean that we are doing it right. How many times have you been frustrated by a tomato that turns to mush when you try to slice it? If you use the correct technique and the right knife, cutting tomatoes should be a breeze, even if they are juicy and ripe. 

Tomatoes come in dozens of colors, shapes, and sizes, but no matter what kind of tomato you are using, there is a right way to cut it, depending on how you intend to use it. According to chefs and kitchen experts, you should always slice tomatoes horizontally against the core. Since the seed pockets grow vertically, cutting the tomato horizontally keeps the seeds evenly distributed, so your slices remain intact and beautiful. 

The most important thing to know is what kind of knife you should use. While most of us would reach for our trustworthy chef's knife, the best knife for cutting tomatoes is a serrated knife. The ridges on serrated knives grab onto the tomato's thin, delicate skin, which helps to slice straight through it instead of slipping or crushing the tomato. You can use a 6-inch utility knife with serrated teeth when cutting small to medium-sized tomatoes, such as cherry and Roma. To get perfect slices of bigger tomatoes, like beefsteak or heirloom, you'll need a more sizable blade, so grab your bread knife to get the job done. Even a sharp steak knife will do if it's all you have.

You can slice any and all varieties of tomatoes, but if you can find them, beefsteaks are some of the most versatile tomatoes, producing lovely slices for everything from sandwiches and burgers to perfect caprese salads. For picture-perfect slices, place your tomato on its side on a cutting board and hold it firmly. The tomato's stem should be facing your dominant hand. Slice off the end with the stem, then continue gently slicing in the same direction, making even cuts of the desired thickness. If you like, you can first remove the core with a sharp paring knife. 

Once you have a row of horizontally-cut slices, dicing the tomato for things like pico de gallo is super easy. Stack a few slices and cut them into strips, then rotate them 90 degrees and cut them again to produce cubes. The strips can be as thick or thin as you like to obtain the desired dice size. To cut tomato wedges, or to remove the seeds and core before dicing a tomato, there's a different technique. Place the tomato on a cutting board, stem side up, and cut through the center to halve the tomato. With the tip of the knife, cut a "v" into the top of each half. This allows you to remove the core. After that, cut each half into wedges, keeping in mind that thinner wedges will lose their seed structure and fall apart more easily. 

If you wish to deseed the tomato before making julienned cuts or tomato concassé, cut it into four wedges and place each wedge skin side down. As you slice along the flesh, the seeds and core will separate from the rest of the fruit. Should you need to save your slices for later, there is a proper way to store cut tomatoes in the fridge or freezer so they preserve better for longer.