3D Potato and Fruit Puzzles for a Unique Culinary Twist

Surprise and puzzle your guests with an unusual cut of potatoes or citrus fruits! To be honest, at one time I couldn’t do this thing the first time. So if you suddenly don’t succeed either, don’t be discouraged, try a couple more times, thoughtfully, slowly. That’s why I chose potatoes for the first demonstration because you don’t mind if you cut them incorrectly. As for the rest, I have not yet seen a single company that would not start groaning and throwing up its hands at the sight of these three-dimensional puzzles. There is also a great risk that someone will immediately try to repeat this culinary masterpiece, so never serve such things when people are already... um... in a state where they could cut themselves with a knife. You can cut potatoes, radishes, and citrus fruits into three-dimensional puzzles (for example, limes for squeezing into cocktails; or lemons, which are served for pouring juice over fish and shrimp). Not all kiwis are suitable; sometimes they have a too fibrous base. Very interesting configurations of this kind can be made from daikon, having first cut it into cubes — but this will turn out, in principle, to be inedible jokes, purely a table decoration.
cook time: 3 min
Ethan Rowley
3D Potato and Fruit Puzzles for a Unique Culinary Twist

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

42
Calories
9g
Carbs
1g
Protein

Ingredients (1 portion)

Basic:

Potato 1 pc
Lemons 1 pc
Lime 1 pc

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
To make a three-dimensional puzzle you need some kind of vegetable or fruit — and three knives. A beginner needs three knives; a carving specialist is quite capable of getting by with two. I still don’t recommend one — it’s possible, but it’s inconvenient.

Step 2

Step 2
Peel the potatoes. (Citrus fruits do not need to be peeled). You can try to make the same shape from boiled potatoes in their jackets, but then before slicing, you need to let them sit for a day after boiling so that they don’t fall apart (and even that doesn’t always work, it depends on the variety.)

Step 3

Step 3
Then it’s better to look at the photographs; it’s difficult to describe it in text. One knife must be inserted into the object to the central axis.

Step 4

Step 4
Insert another knife strictly perpendicular to the first so that their blades meet. We sort of cut the potatoes crosswise, but not all the way, but in half.

Step 5

Step 5
With the third knife you need to make two cuts in the plane from which they have not yet been made. Cut with it until it makes contact with the blades of the other two knives. So, one cut like in this photo...

Step 6

Step 6
... and the second one just like this one. Maybe the cuts didn’t turn out completely — twist the knife a little more, cut through all the corners

Step 7

Step 7
Voila, the 3D potato puzzle is ready!

Step 8

Step 8
Potatoes can be fried or baked in the oven, and then served, for example, in this amazing high-tech composition.

Additional rubrics

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