Topic · Vegetable Cookery Fundamentals
Cutting Bell and Chile Peppers
Bell peppers (aka sweet peppers) and chile peppers (e.g., serranos, habaneros, jalapeños) belong to the capsicum genus. Inside, they have a stem and ribs that are covered in seeds. This internal structure needs to be taken out before you can start cutting up a pepper.
Coring a Pepper
Out of all the many ways to cut up a pepper, I like this one for being so fast and efficient. Put simply, we cut off the ends, then roll the pepper forward with the knife inside to easily cut away the seeds and core. You can use this method with any large capsicum.
- Put the pepper on the cutting board and steady it with your guide hand. One end needs to face your knife hand, but since we are cutting off both ends, it doesn’t matter which.
- Cut the end of just enough so that you can see inside the pepper.
- Turn the pepper and repeat for the other side.
- Rotate the pepper so that one of the open sides faces you. Use your guide hand to steady it.
- About 1 inch above the cutting board, place the blade against the side of the pepper. Cut into it at a slightly downward angle.
- Turn the blade slightly so that it is parallel to the cutting board, trapping the pepper between the knife and the surface of the board.
- Keeping your blade parallel to the board, slide it along the inside of the pepper to sever the ribs.
- Roll your pepper in the same direction as the knife as you cut. The pepper flesh should be rolling out in front of the blade, just like the tread of a tank.
- Once you’ve rolled through the whole pepper, the core should come out all in one piece. The end product is a long pepper rectangle.
- Go back and remove any ribs you missed while keeping your knife parallel to the board.
You can cut your rectangle of pepper into dice, sticks, lozenges, paysannes, or threads. It will be easier to handle if you cut it in half, and also if you keep the pepper skin side down on your cutting board.
Remember the end pieces that you cut off in steps 2 and 3? Don’t throw it out—they still work for sticks or dice.
