What's The Best Way to Mince Cilantro, etc.?

By the time you get that gizmo out of the drawer, used it, washed it and returned it to the drawer, you could have used your handy-dandy chef knife to mince the stuff to teeny bits, wiped off the blade and had enough time for a cocktail.

I exaggerate a bit, of course. Those rolling mincers work fine--I've used one--but I don't see much improvement over using a knife rocked back and forth 'walking' through the pile of stuff to be minced.

Now many Italian kitchens are equipped with mezzalunas which are cool, and will make short work of your veggies.

Here is a link that might be useful: mezzaluna

I think the best way is on a board with a chef's knife.
On the occasions whan I have had to mince a couple of cups of the stuff, I have put it into the Cuisinart and pulsed it...but for a few tablespoons, a board and a knife work best.
Linda C

With a knife imho...tho if you wash, dry and freeze it, you can just crackle a bit to break it up for a garnish. Ditto parsley.

You just reminded me that I have an Oxo rolling mincer. DH bought it for me. I never use it though - just a knife.

I have an herb board with a slightly concave center and a double blade rocking chopper that slips on the edge of the board [for storage] from Ikea I think I paid $10 for it, works great when I need to chop alot of fresh herbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kommer Herb Chopper

Scissors! Roll the herbs (cilantro, parsley, whatever), into a tube and snip away.

Personally, I thought the rolling mincer is worthless. I didn't have the WS brand, but the one I did have did work worth a flip. I second the scissors idea.

Tracey

For big piles of that kind of mincing, I use two chef knives of the same size. I hold both them in one hand with a bent knuckle between the blades, creating a gap. I get two chops for the price of one that way

michael

Wow, thanks friends!! I've learned alot--from the best!

Trudy

I've had a double bladed mezzaluna for years but I find a chef's knife or santoku does the job just as quickly and you don't have to pry out the leaves and stems that get stuck between the two blades of the mezzaluna LOL. I roll a bunch of parsley into a tube as Gina suggests and chop away.

SharonCb

I've tried the roller cutter, but I get much faster results with a good knife. I've gotten pretty fast with a chef's knife - I guess I've been watching too much Martin Chan.

Lars

Michael....wow. Don't you think you could make a video to show us your technique???? ;-)

Masaharu Morimoto does the double handed herb chop in the intro to Iron Chef if I recall correctly.

If all else fails, try your trusty pizza roller-cutter! It works very well, and is easy to clean, too.

I use a chef's knife and cutting board. I have a hard time keeping my chef's knife sharp enough, so I received a ceramic blade Kyocera chef's knife for Christmas and it's the sharpest knife I've ever used. I love it for mincing herbs and it isn't supposed to get dull for a very long time.

I'm with Gina in the scissors camp. I gather the leaves together and pull the larger stem areas out of the way, but keeping them attached, then just snip. When I chop with the chef's knife it takes me longer to get uniform bits.

I used to use scissors....before I learned how to use a chef's knife. A chef's knife is much much faster.
The only thing is...I gather the herbs using scissors....and if I just need a couple of basil leaves on a plate of fresh sliced tomatoes ( Oh! My that sounds so good!!) I will just use the scissors.
Linda C

Call me lazy... I adore my mini-Cuisinart! This is exactly what it's made for -- a few basil leaves or garlic cloves or sprigs of parsley, or anything else that's a small quantity.
Five seconds, tops!

scissors for small bunches, chef's knife for large amounts.
I found the roller thing pretty useless, something else to store until I put it in the garage sale pile.

Either my 30 y/o Varco mincer (a favorite appliance which has the added benefit of being a snap to clean) or my Alaskan ulu. Mincing with the ulu is particularly easy if you have the chopping bowl.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alaskan Ulu