I agree with the posters who said “fingers”. Last time I got one of mine was slicing a potato on a mandoline (for au gratin potatoes) and wasn’t paying enough attention. Took a considerable piece of my finger. Lots of blood, weeks of neosporin and bandaids. (But I got out of doing the dishes!)
Other than that, someone once said the most dangerous tool in the kitchen is a dull knife.
@yeld We once grew some large pumpkins in the garden. Their walls were so thick that slicing them up with a knife was out of the question. They I thought of my Sawzall - it made cutting them up a breeze. Many good pies were made.
@Hrairoo or you could wear gloves (i say, after roasting, peeling, and seeding some 15+ pounds of mysteriously hot AF hatch chiles this year without gloves and regretting it…and then doing it again a second time XD)
garlic, but not because it’s small. it’s just annoying and sticky and takes the most hand/grip strength for me to get it the way i want it. (grated or minced fine, or mashed into a paste with salt.) i have a repetitive stress injury in my hands from my years in data storage and it makes certain tasks uncomfortable. but garlic is delicious so i put up with it. (and jar-lic doesn’t cut it.)
ETA: onions don’t bother me since i almost exclusively use vidalias. sometimes red onion is necessary but i don’t chop too much at a time. shallots though, those things will make me go blind from irritation & tears.
Chicken though, those slabs of goo, are difficult to cut and contaminate everything, multiplying dishes and requiring you to wash your hands and not lick your fingers. Boo.
But gagh must be eaten while it is still fresh and lively!
Colonel Kira Nerys : There are varieties of gagh?
Ezri Dax : Oh, yes. I can remember what each one tastes like. And the way they feel when you… swallow them. Torgud gagh wiggles. Filden gagh squirms. Meshta gagh jumps…
[She starts dry-heaving; the conversation continues as she composes herself]
Ezri Dax : …Bithool gagh has feet.
…
Ezri Dax : Wistan gagh is packed in Targ blood…
[she looks nauseated]
Ezri Dax : I have to go now.
I absolutely HATE when my fingers smell like food. Onions and garlic are lingerers. I can tell I made spaghetti for days after because of the smell of my fingertips.
A mezzaluna makes chopping anything easier. It’s a must have for the kitchen.
My finger!
@Evansdoor I dunno. I think it’d be easier for me to chop your finger than some of the other stuff they have listed…
@shahnm It said worst, not hardest. I’d agree with finger.
Calf’s liver, keeps oozing through your fingers.
@davea510 Kill the calf first next time.
Cherry tomatoes. Yes, I know the plate trick. But I rarely cut up that many that it makes it worth it.
Putting meats in the freezer for 10-20 minutes will firm it up enough to make slicing/dicing easy.
@SpyreFox Good tip, thank you Mister Fox!
@SpyreFox Same for onions
Pomegranate is definitely not worth the effort it takes to prep it.
@katbyter Doesn’t seems that hard.
Bell peppers. They are is nothing but a hollow shell, just like these knives.
A cat.
You didn’t ask whether I would do it, just what the WORST thing would be.
Carrots. They always roll off the cutting board.
Your
?
Slicing cheese from a block. If you have a hollow ground chef’s knife it’s tolerable but not easy.
Onions, but not because of weepiness, but because the horizontal cuts necessary to a good dice are super difficult even with a really nice knife.
@jitc Learning this method changed my opinion on dicing onions: Gordon Ramsay: How to Chop an Onion
@laurict huh. I’ll give that a shot next time. Definitely asks less of the knife than dragging through the whole of an onion horizontally.
Your fingers
I agree with the posters who said “fingers”. Last time I got one of mine was slicing a potato on a mandoline (for au gratin potatoes) and wasn’t paying enough attention. Took a considerable piece of my finger. Lots of blood, weeks of neosporin and bandaids. (But I got out of doing the dishes!)
Other than that, someone once said the most dangerous tool in the kitchen is a dull knife.
Yeah, it is.
@lisaviolet
Turnips or hard squash. My late mother used to break down cushaw with a hatchet. A cleaver might work.
@yeld We once grew some large pumpkins in the garden. Their walls were so thick that slicing them up with a knife was out of the question. They I thought of my Sawzall - it made cutting them up a breeze. Many good pies were made.
I’m not the biggest fan of slicing super hot peppers because the but my fingers, but I love a little heat in my food, so… I’ll just suffer through it
@Hrairoo or you could wear gloves
(i say, after roasting, peeling, and seeding some 15+ pounds of mysteriously hot AF hatch chiles this year without gloves and regretting it…and then doing it again a second time XD)
@jerk_nugget yeah, I never remember to put them on and then my finger start burning and I’m like… meh, too late
Garlic, because it gets sticky.
garlic, but not because it’s small. it’s just annoying and sticky and takes the most hand/grip strength for me to get it the way i want it. (grated or minced fine, or mashed into a paste with salt.) i have a repetitive stress injury in my hands from my years in data storage and it makes certain tasks uncomfortable. but garlic is delicious so i put up with it. (and jar-lic doesn’t cut it.)
ETA: onions don’t bother me since i almost exclusively use vidalias. sometimes red onion is necessary but i don’t chop too much at a time. shallots though, those things will make me go blind from irritation & tears.
Onions are physically painful.
Chicken though, those slabs of goo, are difficult to cut and contaminate everything, multiplying dishes and requiring you to wash your hands and not lick your fingers. Boo.
@InnocuousFarmer I wear gloves for chicken. I hate getting bits of chicken under my nails.
To the writer of today’s bullet points: I appreciate the nod to Cake.
The Gagh tends to bite when you’re prepping it. Also the Targh can sense you’re about to use it as food, and won’t cooperate.
But gagh must be eaten while it is still fresh and lively!
I absolutely HATE when my fingers smell like food. Onions and garlic are lingerers. I can tell I made spaghetti for days after because of the smell of my fingertips.
@goldnectar Aw man, I love it when garlic lingers. Garlic is my jam!