How to Tourne a Potato

[yourasianprincess]

this is a big help. thanks so much, I was worried that I was gonna fail my CA class :))

[KORuthless]

Hey potato! Knife.

[googo151]

Great vid and perfect against your skin. Nice job!

[Draconisrex1]

You know you can do it when you can do it in seven cuts. It's hard to do. And they're supposed to be 2" long, 3/4" in the middle tapering to blunt ends.

The set-up in this video is good, but... I'd avoid the rest...

[rj0drex047]

thank you gill ! :)

[jujumaher]

THANK YOU! FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART THANK YOU!

You have just made culinary school a whole hell of a lot easier for me. I REALLY appreciate this video. Now I'm pissed at my instructor for letting me do it the hard way for weeks!

[fandbmgr2012]

Thanks a lot gill, you presented an excellent video. I hope I can impress my instructor

[ayannace]

THANK YOU! I thought I would never get this, but I actually have hope, this is simpler than what was shown by my "SUPER" Chef instructor! MILLIONS OF THANKS!!!

[WarriorsEmbrace]

I'm a culinary student and I have a knife skills exam in a couple of hours. This really is a big help -- my chef instructors never squared it off and I think that might make a big big difference.

[lecksofthebyr]

@WarriorsEmbrace Same here, my instructor doesn't square off the edges, not sure why but this vid helps where I was lost. Thanks Gilbert!

[xhottestpink]

thank u!! <33

[BrokenPromises3]

gotta do this for an exam tomorrow... making chicken saute hungarian style. gotta cut the chicken up to 8 peice.. looking forward to it! woo.

[grlblu73]

This was really helpful. Do you find using the paring knife is easier than the tourne knife?

[biggie1127]

For people like myself who is a student of Le Cordon Bleu this is a major help.

[xhottestpink]

@biggie1127 omg meee too. im a LCB student, even though im in the more advanced classes i could never ever do a tournes! this is more helpful than the anal chef instructors iver had! (:

[Asheth]

@biggie1127 WEEELL WELL. Fancy Dan, ain'tcha, Biggie?! Le Cordon Bleu. WHOOP-DEE-DOO! I go to Culinary School, it ain't Le Cordon Bleu, and it costs a lot less... AND I LEARN THE SAAAAAME THING AS YOU. So yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhh­hhhhh... this'll help ME a lot toooooo... while I practise over summer BREAK!

[BalsamBastards302]

@Asheth you spelled practice wrong. good job dee-dee-dee

[Asheth]

@BalsamBastards302 Are you my friend? My friend is always calling me a dee-dee-dee...

[hobbes71002]

Am I the only one that doesn't particularly care how my potatoes are cut, as long as they aren't made to look explicitly phallic?

[xhottestpink]

@hobbes71002 ugh same here! potatoes are potatoes! but as for myself, i am a student of a french culinary school so we have to do the damn potato cuts into tournes for soup garnish or whatever. pretty stupid i know! (;

[crzymexicangrl]

great! this is the one cut that i am having the most trouble in .... but this vid helped alot. thanks!.

[chr0n1cl3]

Hmm, you just have to see the form of the object in the SQUARE patatao, mostly i use round 5 cm potatos :)

[chunkypuff91]

Learning how to do this in school. Our chef makes us do 1/8 pieces..... It would be SO much easier if we got to do qtrs instead... :P

[XxXStarLoveXxX]

Are you going to give those scraps to the worlds hungry or are you just going to chuck them? People who tourne and waste need to experience the world.

[MrNastyzProductions]

@XxXStarLoveXxX or make mashed potatoes

[XxXStarLoveXxX]

@XxXStarLoveXxX Or make something out of them. That'd be good too! :D

[biggie1127]

@XxXStarLoveXxX scraps get used for mash..... Anyone ever comment who are't retarded???

[weffulon6]

@XxXStarLoveXxX And you have experianced the world? you prolly waste alot of food and at the restaurant i work at we keep all veggie scraps if they dont get made into soup or mash or somthign we split em up between all the kithcen staff ( who want it) for out composts

[lovelycook21]

damn!! had my assesment today on tourne.. if only i watched dis vid earlier..

[Hanabanananz]

OK...first thing first, he knows what he is doing, so i am not going to dis him. But i will say that he is wasting his time on a starchy potato, that will not hold its shape during cooking; i would recommend to use a more waxy potato such as red or Yukon gold potato.....and it really doesn't matter what knife u use, as long as you get the job done right!!! : )

[albertuqui1]

this guy SUCKS! For one that is not a birds beak knife and also, tournes are supposed to have an oval appearance. Those "tournes" look more like pillars. potatoes are the easiest, I can't imagine how this guys tourne carrots look like!

[MartheMoon]

@albertuqui1 it's completely fine to use a paring knife too you idiot, it just depends on your preference

[toko3d]

@zachasa yes, a tourne is a CUT. it is not specific to just potatoes. you can tourne just about anything. zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes

[toko3d]

My only issue is at Le Cordon Bleu, they DO expect the Tournes to have 7 sides. This guy cuts side on the 4 corners, thus making 8 sides.

When I worked on these, I spent a lot of time looking at the model and trying to picture how much to turn the potato when I was looking straight at it. If you do that, less cuts are needed.

And I will agree with koop171, that potatoes are easy. At least in that they have smoth, continuous resistance. We had to Tourne carrots as well as potatoes.

[koop171]

Not a bad vid but to tourner a potato isn't that hard (b/c potatoes are soft) And I would have liked to see a better quality vid. But great reference guide

[fathomboy991]

This is a good video. I never got my tourne's right. I've seen a lot of people on this video sayin' that it's pointless, but truth is, you can charge more for your food if it looks immaculate. Hard work pays off.

[bledsoe2009]

wow I have to do 6 of these in my mid-term practical and I suck so bad at it! this guy's could be better though.

[stabmyheart69]

i used to make atleast 100 to 250 pcs a day of it

[Yomamama81]

wow this guy sucks. I'm a STUDENT in culinary school and my potatoes look 10x better than his. hahaha.

[Y2JMAN1986]

Thats my teacher at Le Cordon Bleu School in LA.

[VIETNAMESECUZZ]

@Y2JMAN1986

ay i go to le cordon bleu too lol

INTRO 1 CUHHzzzzzzz

a schedule sonn

[Y2JMAN1986]

@VIETNAMESECUZZ Which Le Cordon Blue do go to. The one in Pasadena or the one in Hollywood.

[VIETNAMESECUZZ]

pasadena

[Y2JMAN1986]

@VIETNAMESECUZZ I go to the Hollywood campus he teaches there.

[M1A8R2C4U4S]

@VIETNAMESECUZZ you goto pasadena's school? Me Too!

[VIETNAMESECUZZ]

@Y2JMAN1986

but i havent heard of no chef boyd at the schoo though.

what class does he teach

[TriGGz1211]

Thanks for uploading

Our instructor introduced us to this cut today and I couldn't get it right

I'll use your technique

[godspunchingbags]

I agree with you mongoose, pointless technique, but you can use your scrap for mashed potatos. Still a serious waste of time. I hate the french so much.

[mongoose3769]

Dekagaru, I am the moron? You call me a moron when you write two separate statements as one sentence? Using the wrong punctuation. On top of that, you can't even spell the word judg-E-ments correctly. Obviously your parents didn't get the memo advising parents to not allow their kids to chew on window sills painted with lead-based paints. So sorry for you. Retard.

[estoymuyharta]

@mongoose3769 Actually both "judgment" and "judgement" are correct. And "windowsills" is written as one word as far as I know.

[mongoose3769]

What a pointless technique and a waste of food. Just another necessary evil.

[Dekagaru]

You are a moron, keep your judgments to yourself.

[archemayus]

Where is your tournet knive? A proper Tournet has 7 sides. Its 2" x 3/4D. The tournet knive has that name for a reason.

[ElectroJeffie]

@archemayus ehh shut up! it's a widow's beak paring knife..

[VIETNAMESECUZZ]

@ElectroJeffie

thats not no beak knife.

[ttcontain]

Counting is hard!

[tastygarlic]

A peeler works well

[AnimeBearFL]

i have tried this, i still can't tourne to save my life not sure what i'm doing wrong i just can't get the sides

[foodjunkie89]

@AnimeBearFL: same here

[jekh]

was late for my class and r chef instructor made me do 150 of these...

[foodjunkie89]

@jekh: dang that sux dude =[

[sbj9210]

I have a practical on this tomorrow. I think ima gonna use your method

[aznttboy]

You have potential, but your tournes are far from the shapes and consistency that the ACF judges are looking for during competitions.

[Templa85]

Great video, great instruction!

Now, few people actually like to tourne, but nobody enjoys having to do like 60 of them :P

[xcOrei666]

much better if u use a birds beak knife

[tenderjuicy69]

A turne traditionally have 7 sides and 2 inches in length. cutting the potato into a rectangular shape doesnt make it easy to form cause you need 7 side. if you cut the edges out, it will give you 8 sides. the turnes in this video are not even identical with each other. needs more practice.

[1079charles0499]

You're right. At two inches, the center of you;re arc should be about 3/8" wide, using that as a template, will ensure an even seven sided tourne

[WickedTormentor]

You all want practice of Tourne, run your knife around the sides of an egg. It's the same motion and the same sort of shape you want, but just it'll have flat sides instead of round

[syzyxgy]

I hate these.

[sonyan1191]

i cant stand them either :P

[EmilianaBlake]

dude a much easier way to do it. the way we were taught sucks.

[musikmike420]

I have to cut a tourne tommorow in class as part of my mid-term, I'v been practicing for about a month and they still don't look very pretty, he makes it look so easy

[poonjoonoob]

whoah. check out tourne johnson over here.

thanks bro.

[rendox]

You can save yourself some time by not peeling the potatoes, and just cut them into four. Also you don't really need a tourne knife, you can use a regular paring knife and it will do the same job.

[thescorpiowoman]

You make it look so easy. I have a hard time doing it.

[jalcocer77515]

One of the things that I see with the video is that he must have a lot of rough spots or sides. They don't seem to be very smooth.

[jalcocer77515]

I should post my instructors video on here. He's entered his tournee's in the World Culinary Competition in Germany and won second place. His way is somewhat weird but the man can even do them behind his back, perfectly

[SeanK3186]

What is with culinary instructors and egos? I had 3 before I left my culinary program that did nothing but boast about things like this.

[irich62]

dumb spook had to stop and think about 2 x 4 = 8!

[andrewkilramos]

easiest way i found to do it and make perfect ones is to use a vegetable peeler.

[jalcocer77515]

HA, when I first started making them I used a peeler myself. I find it interesting someone else found that way of doing it.

[sonyan1191]

LMAO!!! holy shit a veggie peeler??? now why didnt i think of that?? :P

[mofitzpatrick]

thanks for presenting this cut in a non-mystical manner...something I didn't know how to do but would never admit it :-)

[michaelmjc24]

Thanks so much, I have a culinary exam tonight and I've always had trouble with this.

[arhaznook]

What a waste of food for the sake of looking the same.

[dracbeat]

We just learned how to tourner in school today and we save the scraps for mash potatoes. If the all the scraps aren't used, then we compost it.

[jjdurney88]

I cant trust anyone with a 5 dollar pairing knife.

[EdStark22]

who cares how much it cost--as long as it's sharp. So many people spend way too much on knives and for that matter kitchen toys who don't even know how to use them properly anyway.

[jalcocer77515]

Agreed Ed. People buy these expensive knives with all the little toys that go along with it but have no clue how to use them.

[maltodextrin1000]

why the hell did you peel the potato when you have to tourne the peel off in the first place, talk about wasting time. Also you can get 8 perfect 2 inch tourne's from that potato; cut into quarters.

[EdStark22]

If you peel it first you can use the scraps for potato puree

[itzhez]

i just started culinary school, im doing the practicals for my first class now actually. but as a part of yuition, we get a chefs knife kit and it has that same exact paring knife... but i believe that yours is a full tine that has a riveted handle? ours has a teflon handle or rubber im not exactly sure, nut the logo at the end of the handle is what holds the tine... anywho, i thought it was really cool that i saw that. hopefully this video will help me, im doing a competition for a scholaschip

[bundens]

now do it with a damn rutabega...yarr

[jalcocer77515]

Well Rutabega's actually aren't that difficult. The most difficult vegetable to tournee, in my opinion, is the carrot. This is because it has different densities and can throw you off if you don't know how to start it out.

[Dagothdaleet]

this video just made my life so much easier.

and too all the people saying he sucks, he is just showing the basic technique not how to create the perfect tourne

[theblunted]

no kidding, why are people always total assholes on this site?

[guerillagardenkong]

YEAH FUCKING THANKS MAN!!! YEAH!!!!

[mdworth]

those tournes blow

[tapehiss]

thanks so much for posting; very helpful explanation for culinary students.

[Jotamrocksdashit]

what a waste

[Jedah5]

You'd ideally be doing this with the intention of saving the scraps for a mash or something like that, because yeah, very wasteful otherwise.

My chef colleagues are convinced that the origin of this particular item is a form of torture for chef apprentices.

[itsmeagain234]

i agree with that accusation. :)the tourne is time consuming, wasteful (i know you can use the scraps of most things, but still, it's the principle idea of how much you cut to get the football shape), and in my opinion a very ugly shape.

[jalcocer77515]

Well the tournee, if done correctly is difficult, but being able to do it, as you most likely cannot, is more about knife discipline than anything else here in the US. There is more than 4 different ways to start off. It all depends on who shows you.

[itsmeagain234]

uh, i can tourne just fine thank you. i don't know why you had to go on the personal attack for that. i know it is about discipline and it is also about presentation. why the fuck else would you spend a long period of time creating such a shape. Fuck me sideways, every time someone puts their opinion up here, some jack off has to come in and put their two cents in. Well guess what, i don't care what you think! I think that the tourne is ugly and a waste of time. PERIOD.

[jalcocer77515]

Evidently you cared enough get offensive. Opinions make the world go round and we all have our right to just that. I stand by what I said. But I will not stoop to your level of pity. If we could not put our two "cents" in then we would not be able to reply nor could we comment on the videos.

[peibel10]

i just gave both of you thumbs up , i thinks BOTH of u have some good point,,,,, and by the way , i can do better tournees than him..,,,an yes i think that carrots are a lil more hard to make tournees from...

[AceStardom]

With a boning knife even.

Good Job.

[Jedah5]

Nope, that's a paring knife. Boning knives are long and have a taper to them, not to mention are ideally quite flexible.

[twanga]

it's those flat spots that always messes me up!! 6 small side and 1 huge side... when i start to trim off the huge side... i add more sides and it's no longer 7 sides... i hate tournes!! at the end of the day, my finger looks more like a tourne than the potato!!

[XxGuitarHero4LifexX]

thats a paring knife you noob ass

[sleepingnathan]

I was a couple of minutes late last thursday in my class, so by next thursday I'm supposed to bring 50 of these bastards,tsk,life's a bitch...

[alero8202]

the tourne has just 7 cuts

[thaigirl90]

ughhhhh! i hate potatoes tourne!! -__-

[skeetmoses]

Thanks for posting this I think I can create better tourne from watching this video

[Xxtombxx51]

Thank you for posting such a video.

[Walter833]

thats the most ugly turne that i ever see

[digitwoman]

I still can't do this. Test in a day. Doing last minute practice now..

[digitwoman]

LOL, me too!

poopoo where do you live

[pooppoo]

lmao!!

me too!!

it's part of the final tomorrow and i haven't practiced that much.

thank yoU!

[theeventsnetwork]

Thanks. i'm having a hell of a time with this at school.