Not so long ago we learned about carving - the art invented in the East a thousand years ago. It represents artistic cutting. In English, the word carving means "carving." You can cut out of wood and stone, from soap and ice, from vegetables and fruits, cheese and chocolate - in short, from any sufficiently malleable material that can be cut.
This art requires high skill, because it is not so easy to handle tools for carving. For cutting, special sharp "Thai" knives are used, as well as all sorts of cutters, molds, notches and stencils.
Culinary carving has become widespread in our culture: decorating a festive table with whimsically cut fruits (in other words, carving from fruits ) and vegetables. Usually they choose vegetables of bright, juicy colors: yellow, green, red, orange. This is tomatoes and carrots, peppers and pumpkins, apples and oranges. Using the technique of carving, you can decorate any dish, whether it's a second course or dessert.
If you want to learn artistic cutting of food you can even at home. To do this, it is enough to train hard and the result will not slow down. In the meantime, we offer you a small master class on carving for beginners to master this interesting art.
Carving from vegetables: a master class for beginners
- First, prepare the products: a few white salad bulbs, cabbage forks (white or Beijing) and one medium-sized carrot. All vegetables should be clean and dry: this is a very important point in carving. From the tools you will need only a small
- Choose the flat and flat cabbage leaf as flat as possible. He will imitate a lotus leaf, lying on the watery surface. If necessary, you can trim uneven parts, but it is better to do without it and leave the cabbage leaf in its original form.
- Now proceed directly to carving. Cut the bulb across into two equal parts, and from one of them cut a small segment with a knife.
- Continue to cut out the same size segments, moving in a circle. When the bulb breaks up into several layers of different sizes, join them together, slightly shifting each layer relative to the previous one. Thus, your bulb will start to resemble a white lotus flower.
- The next stage of the work will be the transformation of a piece of carrot into the middle of the flower. To do this, cut the vegetable with circles 3-4 mm thick and choose the most beautiful and large of them. Give it the shape of an octagon, cutting off the edges for a couple of millimeters. On this piece of carrots should be made several cuts along and across at a right angle - the "lattice".
- Make sure that the middle of the future lotus flower is slightly larger than the hole in the bulb - it should not fall into the interior.
- Such decoration of the table is suitable for a festive feast or a romantic dinner. This carving pattern is not intended for food and plays a decorative role, although it can be eaten if desired. So, according to the technology described above, cut out a few lotus flowers (no more than 2-3 for one plate) and gently place them on the cabbage sheets previously laid on the surface of the water. The dishes for this purpose should be chosen as wide and flat as possible.
A similar product for beginners can be made in the technique of carving from fruits. Also note that you can create creative crafts from carrots , zucchini and even from paper. Artistic cutting, no matter what material, is a very beautiful, creative activity. We wish you success in mastering carving!