What does it mean to seed your vegetables? Some people might think you should leave the seeds intact in fruits or vegetables, no, no, no. I took a quick survey, among friends, to see if they knew the term “seeding”. Some of them knew what the term “seeding” was and some did not. The ones that cooked more often, knew the term “seeding” as opposed to the ones that did not cook on a regular basis. That makes sense to me, doesn’t it? So, what happens, when it comes to reading a standardized recipe and your recipe indicates in the directions to “seed” your tomatoes or peppers? Will the “seeds” hurt your recipe? Let me take you through the term “seeding” and the technique used to seed your fruits and vegetables, when you just want to move quicker, simpler, and cleaner in the kitchen.
What is seeding?
First, let’s get the term “seeding” in the context of cooking. Seeding is used in the culinary world as a technique to get rid of or remove the seeds. The word may confuse some folks out there to think that they should keep the seeds, but it is just the opposite. GET RID OF THEM!!! Unless you want them. Seeds and gel can cause your food to become watery. We don’t want that. On the flip side, some studies show that seeds in fruits and vegetables have positive health benefits.
There are many ways to “seed” your fruits or vegetables and I will take you through my steps of a quick and simple technique that you can use with any fruit or vegetable that needs seeding without squeezing the life out of them. The first thing that is needed to cut anything properly is your knife set. You can never go wrong with a set as you have different knives for multiple tasks. Don’t forget your cutting board as you will need a solid flat surface to cut and prepare your food. Here is my go-to list for the three main items to tackle any cutting methods your culinary heart desires.
In this blog, I am going to take you through the steps of seeding peppers and tomatoes. Using this technique will leave you seedless in no time. Make sure that your knife is sharp, and the cutting board is stabilized by placing a non-slip chef’s pad or a damp kitchen towel underneath it. The non-slip chef’s pad prevents the cutting board from moving while you are cutting your food. You don’t want to get hurt while preparing food so, please be careful when using your knives from your knife set.
How to Seed a Pepper/Tomato
Step One – Rinse your bell pepper, removing all dirt and impurities. Place it on the cutting board.
As you can see, I am using a chef’s knife from my knife set, which is the most widely used knife among chefs. The chef’s knife can perform many different cutting techniques and holds up well under extreme pressure and rightfully deserves a spot in your kitchen. In the above picture, I have red and yellow peppers along with tomatoes to show you how to “seed”. These two fruit/veggies are my favorites to use. When planning and cooking, they are cut and prepared a few days ahead of time.
Step Two – Lay your peppers on its side and trim the top and bottom part. Put these parts of the peppers to the side as you may use some for later.
Step Three – As you can see the pith/membrane and seeds are exposed, lay the pepper down and cut horizontally down the pith, from top to bottom opening. Your pepper will open like a front door. If it doesn’t, position your knife to keep the right-side opening, down (if you are right-handed).
Step Four – Open your pepper’s front door slightly. While holding the top part of your pepper, cut the pith as you roll your pepper back while continually cutting the pith along the way. The pith gradually opens your pepper, creating a walkway. Simple, I know you did a good job!!!! Rinse your peppers with water for any seeds that remain.
Check out the tomato being “seeded”. I think this is a better picture for you to visualize what needs to be done. In the picture below, normally, I would hold the top and bottom part of the portion with seeds, which is easier to remove and discard. You might have seen demonstrations on, cutting the tomato or peppers into quarters and then removing the seeds. Even though this technique is great, there are many different techniques to “seed” your fruits and vegetables. So, you are not obligated to do this technique. But I would appreciate it if you did. If you have another one that is better for you, go for it! There is also smallware equipment that you can purchase, to remove the seeds, but this technique that I am about to show you is a quick process and can be done using one of the tools from your knife set. Can’t get any simpler than that!
Once you try this cutting technique of “seeding”, it will get easier and quicker with practice. That’s today’s world, everything needs to be fast, fast, and super-fast. Once again, be careful using knives. Try to remove as much as the pith as possible, even though it is edible, it can give off a biter taste to your palate. We don’t want that!
Step Five – Now we have a long, wide strip of pepper to cut into julienne, batonnet, brunoised, small, medium, or large diced cuts. I recommend storing them in julienne style cuts, that way if you need them small diced, it’s just a one step process. Peppers are perishable, so have a plan to use them in a few days. I will share with you one cut, where you can make additional cuts. First, using the wide strip of pepper, from the shortest end, cut long, medium strips of pepper until you have finished the whole pepper.
Step Six – Turn the strips sideways and cut into small, medium, or large dice, whatever your preference. That’s it. So simple. If you use this method of seeding, you will be a master at it in no time.
Remember, there are three essential kitchen tools needed, a knife set, cutting board and non-slip chef’s pad. If you decide to try this technique, send me a comment on your success!!!
Bye now,
Aunt Carmen
