# Does food slide less on a wood board than plastic cutting boards?



## GeneH (May 18, 2013)

I have trouble slicing onion sideways like in all the vid's because it seems to slide on our plastic cutting boards. The knife is a Tojiro DP 180mm Gyuto, and does seem to bind a little. Is it my technique?


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## rahimlee54 (May 18, 2013)

I never have any problem on either. Is the knife sharp enough to slice through or does it tug when trying to start? This assumes you are holding it correctly, palm on top.


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## Dream Burls (May 18, 2013)

Another "trick" with sideways slicing is to bring the cutting board right to the edge of the counter. That gives your arm more vertical clearance to get the blade/handle down and parallel to the board. The grip is also very important as is the sharpness of the knife. Finally, don't worry about doing it all in one stroke. Go as far as you can easily, then just go back to the start point and do it again and again until you're through. Good luck.


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## GeneH (May 18, 2013)

The Grip: Ah, don't assume my grip is right - most likely it is waaaay off. If I push down on the onion, I bind the kinfe. I haven't figured out in the video's where the pressure is put on the onion, or how to keep it from sliding apart also when I take the next slice.


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## rahimlee54 (May 18, 2013)

GeneH said:


> The Grip: Ah, don't assume my grip is right - most likely it is waaaay off. If I push down on the onion, I bind the kinfe. I haven't figured out in the video's where the pressure is put on the onion, or how to keep it from sliding apart also when I take the next slice.




Give this a try then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQOOwsgTc_c


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## GlassEye (May 18, 2013)

I never even do horizontal cuts on onions, they already have those built in.


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## Mike9 (May 18, 2013)

Since I'm rarely in production mode anymore I slice mine radially then give 'em the chop. This depends on the size of the layers too - if it's a big honkin' onion with wide layers I'll slice them horizontally first.

Back home the guys at the Lafayette Coney Island would chop what seemed like a 5 gal. pail's worth at once using two knives. Very much the way I've seen Chinese cooks make chop meat.


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## GeneH (May 18, 2013)

GlassEye said:


> I never even do horizontal cuts on onions, they already have those built in.



Can you explain? Is it the layers you are talking about?

rahimlee54: good video. I like the "onion cheat." might give that a try also.


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## GlassEye (May 18, 2013)

GeneH said:


> Can you explain? Is it the layers you are talking about?



Yeah, I am talking about the layers, though I suppose you would need to do the horizontal cuts if you want a smaller dice than the layers.


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