Once You Learn This Trick, You’ll Never Slice Your Tomatoes One-By-One Again

I generally roll my eyes when people start talking about optimization – I feel like it’s a word that’s been co-opted by tech bros, personally, in pursuit of the removal of any human touch – but I do have to admit that I love a good old time-saving trick in the kitchen. Yes, so much of the joy of making food is in the process, but sometimes that process, or parts of it, can be just a little too lengthy. Slicing is one such area where I’ll accept optimizing tips: Sometimes it’s meditative, but most of the time it’s just boring. 

Videos by Sporked

So when I saw this trick for slicing cherry tomatoes, perhaps the most time-consuming member of the nightshade family to break down, my interest was piqued. This one’s worth trying. 

Deli Container Lids + Cherry Tomatoes + Knife = Success

This tomato slicing hack came courtesy of @NicksKitchen on YouTube, who demonstrated how cutting cherry tomatoes can be the work of moments. Instead of slicing them one by one, you take a deli container lid, place your cherry tomatoes inside, and put another container lid on top. Unless your tomatoes are especially teeny, this should leave a small gap between the two. Then, take your knife and slice the tomatoes horizontally, cutting them all in one go. 

Naturally, you’ll need your cherry tomatoes to all be around the same size for this to work properly, and you’ll also need your knife to be really sharp. If you start having to saw at them, you’ll end up smushing them up. Provided those two things are just so, though, you could end up saving yourself a lot of time. @NicksKitchen’s video also mentions that the same trick can be useful for slicing multiple grapes in one go – and if you want to level it up and cut even MORE tomatoes in one go, you wild thing you, then you can swap out the deli containers for dinner plates. More surface area, more tomatoes, less work. 

Get Those Juices Flowing

While we’re on the subject of tomato slicing tricks, one that’s saved my pristine white T-shirts more times than I can remember is a quick move to prevent juice splatters. Before you start slicing your tomato, pierce it with the tip of your knife, then carefully make a few cuts through the length of the body (without actually cutting it in half). Then, flip it over onto its side, and dice it, with the cuts facing away from you. 

By doing this, you give the trapped juice inside somewhere to escape to, instead of lying dormant and ready to burst all over you. Piercing your tomatoes is also a very useful move if you’re going to grate them: Not only does it prevent juice bursts, but it gives your grater blades something to cling to and stops you from having to crush the tomato into them to get things going. Oh, and remember to separate the liquid from the tomato pulp once you’ve grated it, for a more concentrated flavor.