Food carving is to process various edible raw materials with carving properties into "craft" works with beautiful shapes, auspiciousness, lifelike and ornamental value through special knife techniques.

Food carvings come in a wide variety of styles and use a wide range of materials. Regardless of ancient and modern times, Chinese and foreign, flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes and architecture, myths and legends, anything that is a symbol of good luck and good meaning can be expressed in the form of art.

Commonly used raw materials for food engraving

There are two major categories of commonly used raw materials for food engraving. One is roots, stems, leaves, melons and fruits with fine texture, solid crispness and pure color. and other vegetables; the other type is cooked food that is both edible and ornamental, such as egg products. But the most commonly used one is the former one. The characteristics and uses of commonly used vegetable varieties are introduced as follows:

1. Green radish: Large in size and crisp in texture, it is suitable for carving various flowers, animals, landscapes and buildings, etc. It is a relatively Ideal raw material for engraving. It can be used in autumn, winter and spring.

2. Carrots, radish, and lettuce: These three vegetables are small in size and have different colors. They are suitable for carving various small flowers, birds, fish, insects, etc.

3. Beetroot: Also known as blood pimple, it is suitable for carving various flowers due to its bright red color and almost round shape.

4. Potatoes and sweet potatoes: fine texture, can be used to carve flowers and figures.

5. Cabbage and onions: These two varieties of vegetables have relatively narrow uses and can only be carved with certain flowers, such as chrysanthemums, lotus, etc.

6. Winter melon, watermelon, pumpkin, water melon, jade melon, cucumber: Because these melons have flesh inside, the color and shape of their appearance can be used to carve various relief patterns. If the inner flesh is removed, it can also be used as a container, such as melon cups and hollow carved melon lanterns. Small raw materials such as cucumbers can be used to carve insects, and cocoa can be used for decoration and embellishment after processing.

7. Red peppers, green peppers, coriander, celery, eggplant, red cherries, scallions, and adzuki beans: These varieties are mainly used for decoration of sculptures.

Principles for selecting raw materials for food engraving

When selecting raw materials for food engraving instruments, just pay attention to the following principles.

1. The selection should be based on the theme of the sculpture, and must not be blind.

2. Raw materials should be selected according to the season, because vegetable raw materials are highly seasonal.

3. The selected raw materials, especially the solid parts, must be seamless, with neat, fine fibers, heavy weight, and pure color. Because food carving works only have a smooth surface and texture, so that people can feel its beauty.

Commonly used knife techniques for food carving

The knife techniques used for food carving are different from those used for processing and cutting raw materials for dishes on the pier, and they are unique. Based on the carving techniques of senior chefs, that is, the specific use of tools, and our specific practice in the food carving process in the past ten years, the following knife techniques are roughly summarized for reference only.

(1) Spin: The spin knife method is mostly used to carve various flowers. It can make the work smooth and regular, and it can be divided into two methods: internal rotation and external rotation. External rotation is suitable for flowers carved from the outside to the inside, such as roses, roses, etc.; internal rotation is suitable for flowers carved from the inside out or flowers where the two knife methods are used alternately, such as calla lilies, peonies, etc. .

(2) Carving: The carving knife method is the most commonly used knife method in carving, and it always runs through the carving process.

(3) Insertion: The inserting knife method is mostly used for the feathers, wings, tails, strange rocks and landscapes, buildings and other works of flowers and birds. It is a kind of knife technique completed by a special knife. .

(4) Drawing: It refers to a knife technique that draws out the general shape and lines of the idea on the carved object, with a certain depth, and then carves it.

(5) Zhuan: The knife technique of Zhuan refers to a knife technique performed on a specific carved object, which has a regular circle and arc shape.

(6) Drawing: The drawing method is more suitable for carving large-scale relief works. It shows the general shape and outline of the image to be carved on a plane. For example: This knife method is often used when carving watermelon cups, generally using a diagonal knife.

(7) Sharpening: It refers to a knife technique that "rounds" the surface of the carved work, that is, to achieve a smooth and neat surface.

(8) Cutting: Cutting refers to using various knives to cut out the excess parts when carving specific positions on the work.

(9) Hollowing out refers to a knife technique used when carving a work to reach a certain depth or to penetrate the air.

Precautions before carving food

In order to achieve the desired effect of the carved work, you should pay attention to the following requirements before carving:

( 1) Understand the banquet format. There are various forms of banquets, which can be simply divided into "birthday banquet", "celebration banquet", "party banquet", "family banquet", "state banquet" in international exchanges, work banquets in trade exchanges and large-scale cocktail parties, etc. etc.

After mainly understanding the form of the banquet, you can carve carvings that suit the banquet form to enhance the banquet atmosphere. For example, for the "birthday banquet", you can carve "Songs and Cranes in Everlasting Spring", "Old birthday star" and so on, the "celebration banquet" is engraved with "dragon and phoenix presenting auspiciousness", "mandarin ducks playing in the water", "peacock and peony", etc., and the "celebration banquet" is engraved with "eagle spreading wings", "horse galloping" and so on.

(2) Understand the customs and habits of guests. With the deepening of reform and opening up, our country has more and more interactions with international affairs, which requires us to know more about the living habits, customs, religious beliefs, preferences, taboos, etc. of people in different countries and regions, so as to adapt accordingly. Each customer is different, and we can carve the work that the customer likes.

(3. Highlight the theme. In order to avoid the clutter of the carved works, the theme should be determined first before carving, and the structure, proportion (layout) and other issues of the work to be carved should be conceived to ensure that the theme is prominent and at the same time It is necessary to consider the foiling effect of some additional works, such as the "Hundred Birds" in "Hundred Birds Facing the Wind", the "Peony Flower" in "Peacock Peony", etc. Don't make the additional works far-fetched or patchwork to avoid the danger. Adding superfluous information will not achieve the final goal.

(4) Selecting raw materials and applying techniques according to the materials are crucial to the success or failure of the sculpture. When selecting materials, not only It is necessary to choose raw materials with high quality and beautiful color, and also consider the shape of the raw materials. Generally speaking, if the shape of the raw materials is similar to the general shape of the image of the work, the carving will be smoother. In addition, for some carving raw materials with strange shapes, you should give full play to them. The author's imagination broadens his horizons, and he uses his skills according to his materials in order to make the best use of them and create novel and unique works of art.

(5) Pay attention to the hygiene requirements because food carving and dishes are very close. At the same time, it is also the "first officer" before serving the food at the banquet. Therefore, it is particularly important to take good hygienic measures for food carving. This requires us to first keep the raw materials clean and of good texture. Do not use spoiled or rotten raw materials. Thereby ensuring the quality of the banquet and the health of the guests.

The use of food carvings in dishes

The use of carvings is multi-faceted. It is not only to beautify the banquet and set off the atmosphere. Art, and its uniqueness can be shown in the combination with dishes. It can make an exquisite dish the icing on the cake and become an artistic masterpiece. It can also achieve harmony and unity with some dishes in terms of meaning, which is pleasing to the eye and thought-provoking.

The use of carvings in dishes is selective. It determines the shape and use of carvings based on the content and specific requirements of the dishes.

The use of food carvings. For cold dishes, some carved parts are usually combined with the raw materials of the cold dish to form a complete shape, such as "peacock spreading its tail". The peacock's head is carved, while other parts of the body, such as feathers, are made of cucumbers. , ham sausage, sauced beef tongue, mixed chicken shreds, crane eggs, spicy cabbage and other meat and vegetable ingredients, making the sculptures and dish ingredients integrated.

Food sculptures are used on hot dishes. , we need to consider the meaning, homophony, shape and other aspects of the dish. For example, the hot dish of lotus fish maw, paired with a pair of mandarin duck carvings, becomes a "mandarin duck playing with lotus" with a festive and auspicious meaning; another example is eating bear paws. Paired with an eagle sculpture, its homophonic pronunciation means "Eagle (Eagle) Hero ③ Fighting Spirit", which immediately makes it interesting; from the perspective of the shape, a plate of fish with sauce is placed on the side of the plate, and a carving of a fisherman holding a fishing rod is placed on the edge of the plate. , which is called "fishing boy fishing", so that the whole dish and the carvings have a harmonious effect.

In the specific placement, the cold dishes and the carvings can be placed closer, while the hot dishes and the carvings can be placed closer. To be further away, for example, use fresh cucumber slices, cauliflower, etc. around the carvings to increase the decorative effect without affecting each other.

In short, the application of food carving is flexible and changeable. Whether it is to accompany the dishes or beautify the countertop, the modeling requirements are very strict, which requires our chefs to have both the style of a gourmet and the style of an artist. , making food carving truly an indispensable part of cooking technology.

The significance of food carving:

Food carving is a plastic art that beautifies the banquet, sets off the dishes, sets off the atmosphere, and enhances friendship. Whether it is a state banquet or a family festive banquet, it can It shows the vitality and appeal of its art, allowing people to enjoy art as well as material enjoyment. If an exquisite dish is accompanied by a carving that fits the dish, it will make the dish more dazzling and make people unable to bear to eat chopsticks, such as "Fire Dragon Skewers with Three Delicacies", Fenghuang Playing with Peonies, Goddess Scattering Flowers, Heroes' Fighting Spirit, Fisherman Fishing, etc. , because the dishes and sculptures are integrated, the dishes and sculptures reach a harmonious state in terms of meaning and shape.