First and Foremost, here are your very basic vegetables that you can use and Just as a little disclaimer, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to chop a Salad, these are just some tips I've learned that make my Salad look more uniform and aesthetically pleasing when serving to guests or displaying at a dinner party.
Also, If you don't know how to cook or if you're just starting out, then it's important that you purchase a variety of knives, they don't have to be fancy and more specifically they don't have to be extremely sharp! You're not a Sous Chef and you're not going to be cutting up Sushi. I'm very careful with using my knives but there are times where I slip up and I cut myself, but the cuts are never serious.
However I can't say the same about people who do have sharp knives...
Start with chopping your more dry vegetables like lettuce and work up to the more wet vegetables, this helps keep your Salad from turning into wet mush. I'm using Romaine lettuce and I know most people really dislike Romaine lettuce, but I've learned that if your Romaine lettuce tends to have a strong bitter taste-- then that's probably because you didn't give it a good wash.
A good tip for cleaning your lettuce is to completely cut off the core and give your leaves as well as the core a good wash or you could just disregard the core since most of the bitterness and dirt stems from there.
Ha, get it? stems?
The easiest way to chop lettuce is to hold it down with one hand and in a vertical line chop small and slow strokes until you reach the size you want and continue with that same motion until your done chopping the whole lettuce.
Here a side by side of what is considered a more roughly chopped lettuce and a more evenly chopped lettuce. In my opinion, I like both, I like roughly chopped lettuce in my Cesar salads and I also like the more evenly shredded lettuce for assembling Tacos or having guests over, because no one wants to eat Salad around others with a huge piece of lettuce hanging from their mouths.
Cucumbers can be extremely annoying to cut, especially when they're curved, I've learned to always cut them in half and then slice them in thirds and then cut them into what is called "matchsticks" which is basically long straight cuts and then you chop them! Also, a little tip, always cut off the ends of a Cucumber, some people tend to forget and it can be very unpleasant for some people.
Here's a side by side between a roughly chopped cucumber and an evenly chopped cucumber, don't ask me which I like better, I don't like cucumbers.
Not many people love chopping Tomatoes or as my Niece likes to call them "Motatoes" but I really like chopping tomatoes, especially if you use a jagged edged knife.
Here's a close up of what a jagged knife looks like, the jagged edges make it so much easier and faster to cut Tomatoes, it's essential to have a jagged edge knife in your kitchen, seriously.
Chop, chop, chop.
Side by side comparisons between tomatoes chopped with a normal edged knife and tomatoes cut with a jagged edged knife.
This is what's called a "Mini Strainer" you gotta have one of these in your kitchen, I use this strainer so much it's not even funny and after discovering this method, I've never had to worry about pulp or seeds ever again.
pure lemon juice.
Here's my finished Salad! It's a blend of my How to's and How not's, it's an absolute mess, but I freaking love it! Pour lemon, sprinkle some salt, If you don't have any lemon, use Italian dressing, throw in some beets or chickpeas! I started this post completely obsessing over particularity and then I was like what the hell, do what you want!
Just kidding,
My salad looks better than your salad.
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