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Re: Yet more food related dilemmas
Posted By: Faux Pas, on host 38.164.171.7
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2001, at 11:39:33
In Reply To: Re: Yet more food related dilemmas posted by Sam on Wednesday, August 29, 2001, at 06:42:45:

> But there is such a wide range of options! As a kid, I used to like my sandwiches in a K-cut. My way of doing this was to cut the sandwich down the middle, from top to bottom, which served as the vertical line in a K. The right half got two cuts, one for each of the other lines in a K. But the left half needed a cut too, so that half got cut diagonally from its upper right corner to its lower left (NEVER the other way). My favorite of the five sandwich pieces that result from this cutting scheme was always the right-most one in the left half, because that piece had the most non-crust pointiness. Pointy interior sandwich wedges taste the best, I think. I always ate that piece last.
>
> S "wants to K-cut his next sandwich now" am

This is utterly fascinating. For when I was a wee tyke, my mother would oft send me to school with a sandwich that was cut in a similarly complex manner. We never applied a title to the slicing method; however, based on the cut you describe, I would endeavor to term it "The W Cut" or perhaps "The Bisected-W Cut". To perform this sandwich slicing, one would require the bare minimum of instruments: a compass, a straight edge (such as a cork-backed metal ruler), a t-square, a small marking pencil, a knife, and -- of course -- the sandwich.

Firstly, you take said sandwich and places it with the curve (or "rise") of the loaf away from yourself. This will allow you to have the straight edges of the crust closest to you and on the left and right sides of the sandwich. If you can obtain a loaf with four straight sides, all the better.

Secondly, the initial bisection of the sandwich. Taking your compass, open it so the distance between your marking pencil and the point is less than the length of the side of the sandwich, yet greater than half the length of the side. Starting at the lower left corner, place the point of the compass in the corner and draw an arc on the bread from the bottom edge to the side. Repeat from the lower right corner. The arcs will cross somewhere near the center of the sandwich (point A0).

Next, lightly place the t-square atop the sandwich, aligning the square with the bottom of the bread. Place the t-square so the straight edge goes through the intersection of the arcs you have previously drawn (A0) and draw a verticle line along the side of said t-square. This is line A, with the endpoints being A1 (nearest you) and A2 (furthest away, or at the top of the sandwich). Note that point A2 may be along the curved portion (or "rise") of the bread. This may affect later measurements.

At this point, we now have to bisect the left half and the right half of the sandwich. This is similar to what we did earlier with bisecting the sandwich as a whole, only this time we must decrease the arc the compass is set to. This time, the compass should be set to slightly larger than the distance between the left corner and A1.

Place the compass at the lower left corner, draw the new arc. Place the compass at the lower right corner and draw a new arc. Place the compass at point A1, and draw an arc that intersects the two arcs just created (B0 and C0, respectively). At this point, you might want to take a break and have a snack (no sandwiches, or you'll be back slicing again!).

Once again, take your bottom-of-the-bread-slice-aligned t-square and draw two vertical lines: one from the top of the bread through B0 to the bottom of the bread, the other from the top of the bread through C0 to the bottom of the bread. The line through B0 will be termed line B, with endpoints B1 (nearest you) and B2 (the other one). The same with the line that passes through C0, except replace the B's with C's in the previous sentence.

You are almost ready to begin slicing your sandwich.

Now, you would take your straight edge and your marking pencil and draw lines connecting the upper-left corner of your sandwich thusly:

If you are using square-shaped bread, begin at the upper left corner and draw a straight line down to B1. From B1, draw a line to A2. A2 would then connect with C1. C1 would be the start of a line that terminates at the upper right corner. If your sandwich has been made from a loaf with a rise at the top, you would start at the lower left and work your way through B2, A1, C2, and end at the lower right corner. This would result in an "M Cut" sliced sandwich, which is similar to the "W Cut" sandwich. We would order our slicing this way ("M Cut") in order to maximize the number of straight edges one would have in the final sliced sandwich.

Taking your knife and your straight edge, begin the first slice on line A, from A2 to A1. Repeat your slice on line B, from B2 to B1. Slice again on line C, from C2 to C1. Take some time to clean your knife between cuts, especially if the sandwich is rather messy. If things have proceeded correctly, you should now have four sandwich strips, each with a diagonal line drawn on them. Begin your slicing of these strips, following the diagonal lines, making certain to use your straight edge as a guide and pausing frequently to ensure your knife is clean.

Congratulations! You now have six interior-pointing slices, which maximizes your non-crustiness consumption pleasure. Needless to say, this slicing technique should only be attempted with sandwiches comprised of spreads or sliced meats and/or cheeses. In other words, don't try this with a sandwich featuring multiple tomatoes, onions, or sardines.

-Faux "Tomorrow: The Double-H Cut" Pas

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