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There are a dozen different ways to cut a tomato, but the best method depends on the tomatoes’ intended use. Tomato wedges are ideal for salads of all kinds — tomato salads, green salads, or for just eating drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. The goal for cutting tomatoes into wedges is to keep the tomatoes’ seed jelly intact once cut.
Thinking about how a tomato grows and learning its parts will make slicing it much easier. All this is in the effort to keep it from falling apart en route to its final destination. Tomatoes have a fleshy core that grows down from the stem. This core holds together a series of flesh-built cavities filled with the seeds and juicy jelly (sometimes refereed to as tomato caviar).
Slicing the tomato in half, from top to bottom through the stem, lets us see where these chambers of seeds are and how to either open them up to remove the seeds or how to avoid them.
The Best Knife for the Job
Some knife manufactures make specific knives just for cutting tomatoes. Unless you’re in the tomato business, you don’t need to add one to your knife collection. The best knife is a small, serrated knife that can easily slice through the tomato skin. Bread knives or even a steak knife with teeth can also do the job. A very sharp chef’s knife will also work for cutting fresh tomatoes.
Makes 1 perfectly wedged tomato
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1
tomato
Equipment
- Serrated knife
- Cutting board
Instructions
Prep the tomato: Rinse the tomato and pat dry. Place the tomato stem-side up on a cutting board and remove any green stem and leaves.
Halve the tomato: Use a serrated knife to cut the tomato in half from top to bottom, cutting through the core.
Core the tomato: Remove the core from each half by making a "V" cut around the core.
Cut into wedges: Place the tomato cut-side up. Slice lengthwise into wedges.
