For Perfectly Sliced Cheese, Turn To An Unexpected Utensil

Whether you're preparing a charcuterie plate for a plane ride or just making a late-night snack for yourself, cheese is a vital component. We all know that no charcuterie board is complete without at least three different cheese types, if you can stop at three; but they are such a pain to cut into uniform slices. Well, one TikToker, randyandco, shared their hack for ensuring cheese gets cut up into even slices, and while it does use a knife — obviously — it also requires a fork.

@randyandco

Great cheese hack! 🙌 #hacks #lifehacks #cooking #cheese #entertianing #smart #interesting #food

♬ original sound – Randy and co.

A typical fork has four evenly-spaced prongs, called tines. To use a fork for uniform slices of cheese, you'll lay your cheese in front of you, length-wise, and starting at one end, press the fork (holding it so that the tines are horizontal) into the top, enough to create indents. Repeat this all along the cheese, starting the next set where the last left off. When you're done, you have a perfect guide for cutting the same size slices of cheese every time, and you can make quick work of cutting it up for your charcuterie board.

Your fork has another purpose when cutting cheese. How often have you tried slicing a block, only to have it slide around the cutting board, putting your fingers in danger? You can actually use a fork to hold your cheese in place while you cut it (after marking the little guidelines with the tines, naturally). Just slide the tines into the cheese near the opposite end from which you're starting to cut and hold securely. You can adjust the fork placement as necessary.

Let's say you need some grated cheese, but you've just moved and your grater is nowhere to be found (and it's not in the box marked "kitchen"). Grab your fork, because we have another "grate" hack for you. You're going to hold the block of cheese firmly with one hand, and with the other, take the fork and place the tines at the top of the block. Scrape them down along the side of the cheese; you'll end up with uniform little cheese squiggles that work as shredded cheese. It'll do in a pinch!

Before you bust out your fork and get to slicing cheese properly, there are a few ways you can make your cheese cutting experience easier from the outset. First and foremost: if you're making a charcuterie board, make sure you slice cheese last. Not only does this keep the temperature-vulnerable cheese at the proper temp for longer, but it's actually easier to cut when it's chilled.

You should also choose the right knife for the cheese you'll be cutting. The fork tine guide cutting hack actually works well for all types of cheeses, but you'll need a good sharp kitchen knife for cutting hard and semi-soft cheeses, like parmesan, gouda, or Jarlsberg. For soft cheeses, a knife with cut-outs in the blade should be used to keep the slices from sticking to it, or you can get out your cheese wire and draw that along the tine markings, without significantly warping or smushing the cheese.