# cutting straight

Category: Daily Living

## Post 1 by dissonance (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Thursday, 29-Nov-2012 22:11:08

I'm curious if any of yall have any tips for cutting large round things like pizzas, pies, etc. I get the job done and it's fine, but I've gotten comments about how my pieces aren't all straight. My goal isn't to have my food be the most aestthetically pleasing, but I definitely want to work on cutting food straighter. On smaller pizzas and things I find it easier because I can draw the lines easier in my head. Has anyone found any tips to be helpful?

## Post 2 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 0:15:07

Get a long metal ruler and a pizza cutter. They even have some rulers that conveniently have a slot down the middle for one reason or another, if you can find one, it works great. Lay the ruler across the pie or pizza, and cut along the edge with the pizza cutter. Pies and pizzas are difficult to cut with knives even for sighted people, the pizza cutter makes it so much easier.

## Post 3 by Smiling Sunshine (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 8:48:00

Oh, SL, the ruler with a slit down the middle is a great idea. I was going to suggest lining up with the edge of the counter top and using that as a guide but the more I think about that method, te more I think we'd need 3 hands. lol The ruler idea is much better.

## Post 4 by Imprecator (The Zone's Spelling Nazi) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 11:50:45

It's even more difficult with thin crust pizza.

## Post 5 by forereel (Just posting.) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 12:54:00

They have a pie cutter. You lay it on the pie and pound it down. You can get it in 8 or 12 piece. If I can remember where I saw one of these things I'll post it, but maybe do a search for one.
Cutting pie is not easy. Also check with your local bakery shop, they'd know.

## Post 6 by Nicky (And I aprove this message.) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 16:53:26

Metal Pie Divider
Cut Pie in Eight Equal Slices with One Easy Press
Item Number: 1299
There's nothing quite like a fresh apple pie for a Summer evening, a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or a banana-cream pie at Christmas. There's also nothing quite so frustrating as pulling a hot, bubbling pie out of the oven and slicing it up, only to discover that the pieces are all different sizes and not at all the right shape. With our brand-new pie divider, however, that never needs to happen again.
This ingenious pie cutter is made of unbreakable metal, and is dishwasher safe. Eight metal blades extend from the center, then slant upwards to accommodate an eight-inch pie. You can use it to cut larger pies, you'll just have to cut the last inch or so yourself. You can even use it to cut giant pie-shaped cookies, which are a big hit with kids. A metal ring surrounds the top of the cutter and the blades are welded firmly to it, so it won't be wearing out any time soon. This little gadget is built to cut thousands of pies perfectly, every time, year after year. Finally, two sturdy handles, one on each side of the pie divider, insure it's easy to use and pressure is applied evenly for every cut. In short, preparing your dessert just became - well - as easy as pie.
Price: $39.95
http://www.braillebookstore.com/view.php?T=Metal+Pie+Divider&uId=0oKKr9BNM3YBkCe
Looks like you could use this on a pizza and then keep it in the pizza as you cut the last few inches and use it as a guide.

## Post 7 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 18:36:11

Yeah, but then you have to figure out how to store an eight inch circle of sharpened steel until the one day you ned to cut a pie. I don't eat pie everyday, so this tool would just sit and rust and take up space.

## Post 8 by forereel (Just posting.) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 20:15:54

Yes. That is like what I was talking about. It might take up space, but if you like to cook tools are not space wasting. Lol

## Post 9 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Friday, 30-Nov-2012 23:21:10

I love to cook. That's why I've learned to use things that do multiple actions. A pie cutter cuts pies, and that's it. If you aren't cutting a pie, it sits there. A pizza cutter can cut pizzas, pies, dough, brownies, cake, some kinds of cookies, any large solid food that needs to be cut, and it does all those things quickly.
My favorite chef has a saying that the only uni-tasker allowed in his kitchen is a fire extinguisher. I've found that philosophy to be great when trying to save space. Otherwise you'll end up with a pie cutter, a pizza cutter, an apple cutter, an orange slicer, a salad spinner, a pasta drainer, and the list goes on and on and on of things that have one purpose and one purpose only. That takes up a lot of space, and is hell to organize.

## Post 10 by forereel (Just posting.) on Saturday, 01-Dec-2012 23:08:19

You mean you don't watch or listen to infomercials?
You've got to have all these things.

## Post 11 by dissonance (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Saturday, 01-Dec-2012 23:32:55

Hmm. Both the ruler with the pizza cutter and the pie cutter sound like they could work. I've tried using a pizza cutter by itself but have still found that my lines weren't straight enough, but I haven't tried it with a ruler.

## Post 12 by Smiling Sunshine (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Sunday, 02-Dec-2012 12:42:43

The pie cutter sounds cool but not cool enough that I'd spend $40 on it.
Perhaps if I baked more pies.

## Post 13 by Nicky (And I aprove this message.) on Sunday, 02-Dec-2012 18:25:41

Well, you could always make your own guide line. You could get those cutting boards that are a cheep flex plastic and then cut it like an hour glass and then cut the pizza or pie whatever with the guide, then twist it to cut another bit and keep doing that like a clock. You would twist it so the cut goes from one side to another side and the first side will become a guide to a new space to slice.
hope that makes since. Or you could make it a triangle too. Mark it on the correct length for the size of the pizza so you could use one triangle for different things and different sized stuff. So one long triangle and you could mark the tip to the space that you would stop at a small pie size, then a bit farther for a medium pizza and again for large so on so on. This way you will get the point of the triangle in the middle of the circle every time. If your looking to cut round things evenly, this might work.

## Post 14 by changedheart421 (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Saturday, 08-Dec-2012 11:57:43

love my pizza cutter. use it for everything haha.

## Post 15 by BryanP22 (Novice theriminist) on Tuesday, 11-Dec-2012 12:29:25

I can't even cut straight with a pizza cutter LOL. Then again I'm the only person in the house who'll eat Pepperoni pizza so it wouldn't matter if my pieces were all straight. And that pie cutter sounds to me a lot like an apple corer since they work in more or less the same way from what I gathered.

## Post 16 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Tuesday, 11-Dec-2012 13:03:16

I like Cody's suggestion of the ruler. Yeah cutting a pizza is surprisingly challenging.

## Post 17 by rdfreak (THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE-BLUE KANGA-KICKIN AUSIE) on Wednesday, 12-Dec-2012 23:23:57

I have a pizza cutter which I do highly recommend also, but I have a lot of problems cutting slices which are still in trays.

## Post 18 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Thursday, 13-Dec-2012 0:04:07

If the pizza is still in a tray, still use the pizza cutter. However, when you finish with the pizza cutter, take a boning knife or some other sharp straight blade and run it through the cuts you made with the pizza cutter. This will cut anything the pizza cutter missed. Be sure to cut the sides near the edge of the tray where the circular blade of the pizza cutter can't reach.

## Post 19 by Wraith (Prince of Chaos) on Thursday, 13-Dec-2012 14:11:47

Greetings Dissonance.
I'm going to tell you a secret that you probably already know: Sighted people rarely are able to make straight cuts themselves, never mind even ones. I've ordered pizzas before that, I swear, my 4-year old niece could've cut better with her plastic safety scissors.
Me? I use knives for everything. Peeling, coring, scoring, and dividing. I don't like having tons of gadgets and specialty, one-purpose items.
Get a knife with a curved blade, so that the blade itself, not just the end or its shape is beveled outward. The ones I'm talking about have a straight back, but the center of the blade's length is rounded outward for easy rocking cuts.
Place the point of such a knife at the closest point you can get to the center, then firmly rock the blade down towards you, using your fingers carefully at the side of the blade as a guide and stabilizer.
I cut my cheesecakes, pies, and pizzas this way, and it's always worked out fine for me. The trick is to make sure the blade is as clean as possible for each cut. After a few passes through a pie for cheesecake, for instance, you'll wanna rince it off with hot water. Pies and cheesecakes can be gauged with two or three fingers: each piece should be about two fingers wide for a slice of cheesecake, and just slightly larger than three fingers for a slice of pie. That, of course, is my preference, and you may prefer your cuts either narrower or wider, but the concept will still be the same.
Kai

## Post 20 by Lisa's Girl forever (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Friday, 14-Dec-2012 6:56:10

hi i cut pizza ok.

## Post 21 by Gracesong (Zone BBS is my Life) on Friday, 14-Dec-2012 8:46:41

Kai, i love the idea of getting a rocking blade. How much of a bevel in the blade would you suggest? Most chefs' knives aren't that beveled, so are we talking about a slight curve or a larger one?

## Post 22 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Friday, 14-Dec-2012 10:50:46

I've also use that method, and find it extremely useful. I find the easiest way for me to do it is to use a graton blade. This blade has a straight edge, with a curved back that leads down into the point. They are usually eight inches long, but I've seen them as long as twelve. They also have little dips in the side of the blade to aid in cutting.
If you put the point of the blade as close to the center as you can, then rest the blade itself down on the pizza or pie and make one long sweeping cut, it makes a straight cut. It takes a little practice, and of course you should always be careful when cutting toward yourself. This can also be done with a bread knife, though the slices are a little jagged due to the jagged edge of the knife itself. Either way works.
I highly encourage people to master the use of knives and blades though. Having those skills makes cooking much easier and more fun. You really don't need a bunch of gadgets that all do one thing. All that does is take up a whole lot of space and money.

## Post 23 by Winterfresh (This is who I am, an what I am about. If you don't like it, too damn bad!!!) on Wednesday, 09-Jan-2013 3:02:43

Brooke shouldn't be allowed to use knives, bad things happen when she does. Hahahaha jk jk. I love Cody's and Kai's suggestions both. hanks for posting this topic, as I've often wondered the same thing.

## Post 24 by BryanP22 (Novice theriminist) on Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 12:04:34

I'm to the point where I don't really care about cutting straight. The again it is only me living here so it matters less than it might otherwise. But I have noticed the tendency an earlier poster described, where food somehow tastes bad to a sighted person if it isn't cut perfectly straight, even though many of them probably couldn't cut straight to save their lives.