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Valley Olive Oil
& Balsamics, LLC
Located in McGaheysville, VA
Just a mile from Massanutten Resort on Rt. 33!
Charcuterie Cuts & Folds
For descriptions and additional photos, scroll down or use buttons above to jump to item.
Carrot Spiral
Carrot Spirals
(Check back soon for an updated photo of steps)
Tips:
You must keep pressure against the back of the carrot. If you lift your hand off the carrot to turn your hand, it will cut your spiral in pieces. Try to keep the base of your pointer finger at the palm of your hand on the back of the carrot with pressure while you rotate your hand on the carrot to then grip the carrot
and twist it in the spiralizer. If your spirilizer has the texture peeler or if not, you can use a fork to drag down the side of the carrot to create lines of
texture before twisting it in the spirilizer.
1. Place the thinner end of the carrot into the spirilizer and twist it like a pencil sharpener until you have a nice long section of carrot.
2. Remove carrot from the spirilizer and it will chop the section off.
3. Gently roll the shaved carrot strand back onto itself with the most recently cut, widest portion rolled up first into the center and the first sliced thinner
section wrapped around the outside.
4. If desired, you can trim off the bottom so it will sit flat and tuck that piece into the center of the carrot flower.
Cucumber Flower
Cucumber Flowers
Tips:
Be careful carving out your flower base to not slice through the skin or it will not hold your petals. Once you have the center slice in place, this makes a great spot for a dollop of a ranch or dill dip and some carrot shavings for
added decoration as the flower stamen.
1. Slice 1/2 inch sections of the cucumber for your flower base.
2. Carve out the center, making a napkin ring look, being careful to leave a little flesh for support and not cutting through the skin.
3. Slice 6 thin slices of cucumber per flower base using a knife or a mandolin.
4. Sit one of the slices to the side, this will be the center support, not a petal.
5. Either place your 5 petals around inside the base one by one, or lay them out in a row and gently/loosely roll them up and place them inside the base, spreading them around in a flower shape.
6. In the 6th cucumber slice, make a cut from the center to the skin like you would for a lemon slice to be placed on a glass rim.
7. Rotate one side of the slice into the center and one on the outside in opposite directions to create a funnel and place it in the center of your flower to hold your petals in place and create a cup that will hold a dollop of dip.
Apple Carving
Apple Carving
Tips:
In a tested study of citric acid, lemon juice, can of Sprite, and a saltwater bath, the salt kept the apples from going brown the longest. A teaspoon of salt in a couple cups of water, with a 5-10 min soak. If you want to soak them longer, add a packet of stevia leaf to counter the saltiness. Red and delicious apples tend to be extremely soft in the flesh and difficult to carve. Most other verities are more firm. When carving V layers, remember to use the flat edge of the knife horizontally, not the hilt in the air vertically, and do not try to pry the layers out or apple will crack, and keep each layer superficial not deep or you will reach the bottom of the
apple with very few layers.
1. Cut each apple into quarters from stem to bottom.
2. Slice the core area flat so that the apple quarter will sit flat.
3. Start with the center top and cut a small long V shaped thin layer of skin a
couple mm wide. Set to the side.
4. Move the knife out a few mm of skin and cut a V in from both sides
just below the piece you previously removed.
5. Repeat those steps each time going wider and deeper until you are close to the bottom, removing each layer and sitting them to the side.
6. Soak all the pieces in the salt bath then put the apple back together.
7. Slide each layer forward in the same direction just a bit to show the skin
with the contrasting flesh of the apple showing.
Orange Twist
Orange Twist
Tips:
Watch your half way split points when you carve the slice free or they will break and not twist. Come in slightly on the bottom of the slice all the way through so that the non split half is not too thick or it also will not twist properly.
1. Slice the end off of the orange so that you have the inside of the orange slice.
2. Approx. an 1/8-1/4 inch width, carve a slice to the half way point of the orange.
3. Slice the orange again, with the same width, from top to bottom removing the whole slice from the orange with the half way split in tact.
4. Do not make this next cut on the half that has the split, but directly at the bottom running through the peel and almost up to the center of the orange.
Picture a T with the horizontal top of the T being the center line that runs
from left to right where you stopped the split cut and the vertical line of the T
being the cut you make at the bottom of the orange.
5. Holding the split orange slice in your hands, place your pointer fingers in each side of the horizontal half way split and hold each side of the vertical bottom split between the thumb and middle finger of each hand.
6. Push your right thumb and middle finger forward away from you, and your left middle finger and thumb towards you, making the two sections of vertical cut orange going in opposite directions.
7. Sit the orange down in that position on a flat surface, with the horizontal half way split section of the orange twisting and creating a raised split ridge.
Kiwi Flower
Kiwi Flower
Tips:
Softer kiwi carve easier than unripened kiwi that are still fairly hard.
1. Using a knife or a starburst fruit carving tool, cut a zig zag line around the center of the kiwi creating the cracked egg look all the way around and
separate both halves of the kiwi.
2. Minimally trim the bottom of the kiwi so that it will sit flat, but try not to cut too much off as you will need the peel for the flower petals.
3. Keeping the knife angled instead of flat, carve the peel down to create a petal.
4. Skip a petal space between, and then carve the next petal section down. Skipping space between petals will help keep them similar in size and not chopped off.
5. After carving the alternating petals, then carve the in between spaces to finish the petals all the way around the kiwi.
6. Fold the petals down as shown, creating a kiwi lotus or kiwi succulent.
Strawberry Rose
Strawberry Rose
Tips:
Make sure your strawberries are firm. If they are too ripe and soft, they will be like carving applesauce. If needed, minimally trim the bottom of the strawberry
so it will sit flat.
1. Starting about half way up on the strawberry, thinly slice down and fold back the first petal being careful not to chop it off.
2. Leave a little space between your bottom layer of petals, and repeat step one again, leaving spaces between petals all the way around the strawberry.
3. Move to the top of the strawberry and starting with a spot over the uncarved space on the bottom of the strawberry, between the lower petals, and thinly
carve the upper layer of petals stopping just lower than the
tops of the lower petals.
4. Repeat step 3 around the top of the strawberry. The petals should look like they alternate upper and lower and use the knife edge to fold them out more.
Pepperoni Rosebud
Pepperoni Rosebud
Tips:
These rose buds are wonderful with a long toothpick with the rose or roses in the center with a fresh basil leaf on either side, followed by a mozzarella cheese ball, then cherry tomato on both sides of the pepperoni. Plate on a charcuterie board or plate in a wheel spoke design or in rows and drizzle with
quality olive oil and Italian dark balsamic,
1. Place 4-6 pepperoni slices in a row with each half way on top of the previous.
2. Fold the line of pepperoni in half lengthwise.
3. Start at the end where the last pepperoni is on the outside of the next, and roll the pepperoni folded line up on itself until you reach the end.
4. Slide a toothpick through the tip of the last pepperoni first, and through the bundle to keep it from unrolling.
Pepperoni Ribbon
Pepperoni Ribbon
Tips:
When building your ribbon, try not to rotate or flip your ribbon or may confuse which edge to fold. Always fold the bottom pepperoni up, never down, will make it easier to keep the strand going. This fold is simply repeating the same action on the left, then the right, and back and forth.
1. Start with your 1st pepperoni held flat.
2. Place a 2nd one half way on top of the first.
3. Fold the bottom one up and in half to hug the 2nd pepperoni.
4. Place the 3rd pepperoni on top of the one that is folded in half, with the rounded edges lined up and the 3rd pepperoni should not overhang onto
the one that has not been previously folded.
5. Next, fold the new bottom pepperoni up in half and
"hug" the 2 pepperoni above it.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with additional pepperoni, just switching sides from left to right and always folding the bottom one up over the next.
7. At the last pepperoni, fold it up and over to complete the ribbon and slide a toothpick through the center of your ribbon to hold them all in place.
Salami Rose
Salami Rose
Tips:
If salami is too thick it will not hold the rose. Ask deli carver to use a .75 setting with no down pressure. The downward pressure while carving causes uneven cuts and slices in the meat. Larger roses with more salami can be folded using a rocks glass or wine goblet. Try the same process with sliced smoked gouda cheese for white roses along with your salami roses and use celery stalks for the bouquet stems.
1. Place your salami slices half in the cup with the other half folded
over the outside of the cup.
2. Place the next slices half on top of the previous making a first layer.
3. Add additional layers until the desired thickness,
with a minimum of 6 slices per rose.
4. Place your hand on top of the salami and flip hand and cup upside down, then twist the cup to release your rose.
Cheese Zipper or Moutains
Cheese Zipper or Mountains
Depending on which class you took, you may have had pre-cut slices or a block of cheese. If you are working with the pre-cut sliced squares, simply stack them and cut the stack corner to corner to turn into triangles, then skip to step 4.
Tips:
Carve cheese cold, but serve at room temperature for best flavor.
1. Cut a rectangle block of cheese in half for 2 squares.
2. Cut block of cheese from corner to corner creating 2 triangles from each square.
3. Place each triangle on its longest side and cut lengthwise
into thinner sliced triangles.
4. Stagger triangles to create a zipper or mountain range, lining up peaks in a row.
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