Fruit and vegetable carving lessons for beginners: free videos for practicing at home. Carving from vegetables and fruits, step by step photo for beginners Which carving knives are better

01.02.2021

Learn how to make a cone from carrots, chrysanthemum from onions, flowers from radishes and apples. And carving for beginners will help this, which everyone can master.

The content of the article:

Carving in translation from English means "cutting". In cooking, it is the art of artistic cutting of fruits and vegetables. This interesting type of creativity originated in Southeast Asia. Japanese chefs lined earthenware, in which food was served, with leaves. They understood that the beautiful arrangement of the leaves gives the dish an additional appeal and began to artistically cut fruits and vegetables.

Later, carving penetrated Europe, but at first it did not have much popularity here. However, with the advent of restaurants, this art has become in high demand.

There are kits for artistic cutting for every budget and taste. But carving for beginners can be carried out without the use of special equipment for this type of creativity.

If desired, you can turn sets for wood cutting, for linocut into tools for carving.

The most important knife used in this type of creativity is Thai. That's what he is.

With the help of such a tool, you can perform various carving elements from vegetables and fruits. Therefore, if you have a similar narrow knife with a thin blade, you can use only one at the initial stage. As you master this technique, you can purchase additional equipment to create more and more complex and interesting compositions. For these, the following types of knives are used:

Thai - sickle-shaped curved and wedge-shaped knives also belong to the group of these tools.
Karbovochnye are V-shaped tools, as well as oval and round.
Flute. Used to remove thin strips from fruits and vegetables. Flutes are the decorative grooves on such instruments.
Noisettes are notch knives that are used to cut shapes out of fruit. They have a different shape (rhombus, round, clouds, etc.).
Engraving and other carving knives with replaceable blades are used if you need to peel, remove the core; clean vegetables, etc.
Culinary tools such as our domestic cookie molds.

Here is a sickle-shaped knife, which is used, like the Thai one, but they cut larger parts with it.

The fluting knife makes it easy to groove fruits and vegetables. First, longitudinal strips are made with this tool, and then, for example, a lemon is cut across in circles and flower-shaped figures are obtained.

Carving knives for carving come in various diameters. They can be V-shaped and U-shaped. The first is easy to cut out the leaves, to carry out engraving images on the fruit bark.

With the help of U-shaped knives, ornaments with rounded cuts are created.

Also included in the carving tools are small scissors. With the help of them, flat straight, oblique or other cuts are made along the edge of the fruit.

Another interesting tool for carving is a double-sided noisette spoon. It is used for extracting pulp from large fruits, cutting balls, hemispheres.

The noisette spoon is often used in French cuisine. Cooks use this tool to cut balls out of raw potatoes and then deep fry them.

If you have not acquired such tools yet, you can replace them by carving vegetables and fruits with a scalpel, a fruit peeler.

Decoration from vegetables - a flower from a radish

The dish looks much more attractive if such an edible flower flaunts in its center or side. Even those who have never done this before will be able to cut it out of a radish. For this decoration, you can use ordinary small scissors and a sharp knife. In addition to them, you will need radishes. The root crop should be even, rounded. In the photo it is red, but now those who grow this vegetable in their backyards know that radish varieties of various colors have been bred. Therefore, a lily from this vegetable can be red, pink, yellow and even purple.

Cut off the top of the radish and mentally draw a 5-gon here. Now lead from this place down with a knife (but not all the way) so that the first petal is indicated. So complete all five.

To make the next, inner row of petals clearly visible, cut around the layer of pulp that is located between the first and second row of petals.

Now take the scissors and process all 5 petals of the outer row with them, sharpening the top of each, as shown in the photo.

Next, complete the second row of petals, which is staggered relative to the first. Then - the third and subsequent inner rows.

This is how you can make salad dressings from vegetables. Try to cut not only a lily, but also a rose from a radish.

To make it so multi-petalled, wash the root crop, cut off the green part from it. On the opposite side, make several parallel cuts in the center and then on the side of the root. Take another radish, chop it into thin circles. Insert them into the slots of the first root crop. Here is such an elegant flower you got. Find out what other salad dressings you can cut out quickly.

How to make a lily from an onion?

Here is such a wonderful chrysanthemum you will get in just 5 minutes of work.

For this carving you will need:

large onion;
sharp knife;
a bowl of water;
beetroot juice.

Peel the bulb, cut off the top - 5 mm. Next, put the knife across, cut the onion from top to bottom almost in half, but without reaching the bottom about 8 mm.

Now make a cut perpendicular to this, and then a few more. The more of them, the more fluffy the flower will turn out.

Pour water at room temperature into a bowl, lower the workpiece into it, let the onion soak in the liquid for 40-120 minutes. During this time, the petals will "bloom", and you will get a beautiful carving flower.

The time for soaking onions in water depends on the variety. Some will begin to “bloom” in as little as 40 minutes, while for others, the waiting time for this process will be longer.

Now moisten the workpiece in beetroot juice, and you will get such a wonderful flower.

You can, by turning the chrysanthemum over, moisten only the tips of its petals in the juice, or place the entire flower in the food coloring liquid.

How to cut a delicious carrot decoration?

Don't these bumps look bright, realistic and festive? You can make them using carving knives, or by taking a regular kitchen knife with a narrow blade.

Take a root crop with a diameter of at least 3 centimeters. Cut upwards so that the length of the carrot is 8–12 cm. Remove the extreme pulp at the wide end of the root crop so that a square “tail” remains.

Now process the workpiece from the same side along the turn, rounding its hangers from all sides. Then visually divide this top of the carrot into 6 parts, which will turn into scales of a do-it-yourself cone.

Deepening the tip of the knife by 2–3 mm, mark these scales. To prepare the area for the second row of scales, cut the carrot pulp in a circle just below the first. In the same way, but in a checkerboard pattern, complete the second row of scales. Beneath it again remove some carrot pulp in a cone to make the third row of scales, which will be staggered in relation to the second.

In the same technique, you can make a few more cones to create a beautiful vegetable bouquet.

To harden the carrots and open the scales, place them in ice water for 15 minutes.

If you were making this salad dressing, then put the cones in the center of the dish or place them around the edge of it. If you want to create such an amazing bouquet, as in the photo, then string the processed carrots on a wire wrapped in green floral tape. You will stick the second end of the wire into a pumpkin, the flesh of which is also carved using the carving technique. It remains to cut the petals from the cucumber, decorate the composition with dill, after which you can put it in the most prominent place in the house or in the center of the festive table.

If you have carving knives, then use a V-shaped knife to make pointed scales. A U-shape will help create rounded ones.

Today you learned how carving is made from vegetables. Follow the publications and soon you will learn how to artistically cut fruits that will turn into a firebird, a basket, and become colorful flowers.

In the meantime, check out the videos from which you will learn how to cut a rose from carrots, see what ordinary vegetables can be turned into with carving:

The talent to do this amazes everyone - what is the name of curly cutting on fruits and vegetables? What is the name of the skill to make real works of art out of products? What is the name of the ability to turn vegetables and fruits into beautifully designed compositions? What is required for this, where is it taught, how long will it take and where did this direction come from - interesting subtleties and nuances.

The process of cutting out any pictures, abstractions and decorations on fresh fruits and vegetables is called - carving(English "to curve" - bend, bend). As a rule, a whole set of small knives, spatulas, spatulas and tongs is involved in the embodiment of "pictures". Tools are created specifically for such creativity, but more on that later.

It is worth noting that carving is a fairly common word used not only in the field of cooking. So, carving is called permanent curls, curls, modeled in hairdressing and the style of skiing and snowboarding from snowy slopes.

The history of carving - fruit and vegetable carving

The historical homeland of this skill is considered to be Southeast Asia. It was there, back in ancient times, with the help of cutting fruits, poor tables were decorated, on which, as a rule, only rice and cane were served.

Painted orchids, whimsical patterns and elephant symbolism are favorite "pictures" depicted by Thais on the surfaces of watermelons, papaya and mangoes. Cheap decorations made from “improvised” exotic fruits and a small knife quickly fell in love with Thai housewives.

Later, the technique of carving on fruits and vegetables migrated to China, from where it spread throughout the world.

Until now, carving is a favorite idea of famous Japanese chefs, Chinese chefs.

Carving in Russia and the CIS - why is it not fashionable

At the moment, in Russian-speaking countries, figured fruit cutting is almost not relevant. The “peak” of fashion for such undertakings was noticed at the beginning of the 2000s. Even special sets were actively sold that cut vegetables and fruits in a “curly” way.

The lack of demand in our countries is primarily due to the lack of "area" for carving as such - a small selection of fruits that have a soft, at the same time, overall surface. Watermelon is used in the summer, in winter it remains to be content with the walls of oranges or apples, or pay for the brought exotic.

In addition to the lack of abundance for fruits, our holiday tables do not need additional decoration - all dishes are bright, self-sufficient.

Nevertheless, in Russia, carving is used in rare cases, when the theme of the feast allows and disposes. This includes major celebrations, weddings, anniversaries.

How fruit and vegetable carving is done - how much to study for it

As mentioned earlier, a specific set of knives is used to create paintings and patterns on fruits and vegetables. Of course, depending on the skills and the desired result, it will vary. So, for a true professional, the basic Thai carving knife will suffice. As a beginner, will use the entire set.

The main types of carving knives include:

Thai knife - wedge-shaped, basic version;
Carb knives - V-shaped, oval or square tools;
Noisette-knife - in the form of a certain form, stamp-knife;
Fluting - a knife for creating the thinnest lines.

It is believed that the basic skills of the skill can be acquired in just a few hours of practice. Professional carving "comes" with experience.

The set of basic tools for working in the carving technique is small: 5 carving knives, a Thai knife, a noisette knife “ball” with a diameter of 2 cm and a sharpener for sharpening. They are aimed at both professionals and those who want to master the art of carving.

These are grooved knives for decorative cutting. With triangular section karbovy knives - acute and U-shaped - it is easy and simple to cut spiky flower petals and patterns. Oval knives different size indispensable for cutting petals and rounded patterns.

Musat
Grinding stone for delicate dressing of the cutting edge of the tool.

Thai knife
Special knife for cutting and applying complex patterns. With the help of this one knife, Thai craftsmen create real works of art from vegetables and fruits.

Noisette knife (knife-notch)
The noisette knife "ball" is used to cut balls or hemispheres, which is especially important when making flower stamens. Convenient to use double-sided noisette knife with grooves of 2.2 and 3 cm in diameter.

Additional tools
In addition to the main ones, there are a number of additional tools that will become your faithful helpers when performing any work with vegetables and fruits, they will save time and greatly expand your creative possibilities. Try to get additional tools the same quality as the main ones.
Thus, you can be sure that they will not let you down in the process of work and will not spoil the product.

Knife-piler (vegetable peeler)
Tool for peeling vegetables and fruits. The floating blade removes a thin layer of peel. Also, the tool is equipped with a point for removing the "eyes" from potatoes.

Knife small curved (sickle-shaped)
Used to make round shapes. When cutting, the knife slides along the contour of vegetables, cutting off a layer of pulp of the desired thickness and width. Ideal for cutting arcs, curves, petals and intricate patterns on large fruits like melon, watermelon, pumpkin.

Calibration knife
It is intended for curly cutting of crude and boiled vegetables. It is used for cutting decorations - corrugated plates, spirals.

Noisette knife "oval" and "cloud"
Used for the manufacture of three-dimensional figurines.

Cannelling knife
Designed for removing thin strips from fruits and vegetables and applying decorative grooves-flutes on them.

Engraving knife (triangular)
It is widely used in carving for cutting ornaments and patterns of varying complexity. Allows you to set different widths and depths for decorative grooves.

Serpentine cutter
The tool works on the principle of a sharpener: it removes continuous thin shavings from a vegetable, from which you can make a decoration in the form of a serpentine or a flower bud.

straw knife
With this tool, you can quickly cut any hard vegetable - carrots, zucchini, cucumber, daikon - into thin straws.

curlers
A device for cutting garlands from cylindrical vegetables - cucumber, zucchini, daikon, carrots.

Spiral
A tool for cutting a spiral of hard vegetables - daikon, carrots, beets, as well as for preparing potatoes for stuffing.

Word "Carving" entered our speech thanks to the English word " carving", which literally translates as "cutting". Further in the culinary arts, Carving began to be called artistic cutting of vegetables and fruits. We will not delve into the history of the emergence of Carving, we will better deal with its very basics, see many master classes, learn the secrets of professionals and be inspired by the masterpieces of the Masters. If you knew just a little bit about Carving from vegetables and fruits, then after reading this detailed article "Cross" you will know almost everything about it!

Fruits and vegetables for carving

Vegetables and fruits that are most suitable for curly cutting:

carrot;
potato;
cucumber;
radish;
radish;
ginger;
melon;
watermelon;
pumpkin;
vegetable marrow;
Apple;
quince;
pear;
kiwi;
mango;
avocado;
banana;
orange and other citrus fruits.

For cutting, it is better to choose fruits and vegetables with a flat and smooth surface, because they are easier to work with. The minimum amount of pulp and seeds will also facilitate the cutting process.

Fruits are better to choose the most solid or even unripe. Do not use overripe fruits, otherwise ready product it won't hold its shape well. Thick-skinned citrus fruits are preferred.

Cucumbers and carrots are more suitable for straight, plum-shaped tomatoes, radishes and beets are spherical.

Choose the brightest vegetables and fruits so that the patterns on the peel look more spectacular against the contrasting background of the pulp.

Core remover apples or pears and creating notches in patterns:

die cuts- molds with a pointed edge, thanks to which it is convenient to squeeze out the outline of the image on the surface of vegetables or fruits (just attach it to the fruit and press). Figured elements made using carvings can serve as decorations for a dish or become details of a complex composition.

curly cookie cutters Perfect for carving on vegetables and fruits.

Knife "Girol" to remove the thinnest layer from cheese and other soft products, it can also be used in Carving to create:

An analogue of this knife can be multifunctional spiral tool Slicers with stainless steel knife:

Photo from www.gearbest.com

toothpicks are irreplaceable at a fastening of vegetable and fruit preparations.

Skewers for barbecue find even more uses:

Skewers facilitate spiral cutting

Great for mini skewers

To make curls from lemon zest, you will also need skewers.

Alternative to special tools

Don't be upset if this moment do not have at hand all of the above tools for carving. Resourceful people have already come up with a great alternative to them!

spicy scalpel;
tools for ;
eroded over time kitchen knives;
tin can lids(bent in half, they will replace oval knives, bent to the end - triangular);

tea spoon and a spoon for ice cream balls - a great replacement for a noisette spoon;
for cleaning vegetables will allow you to cut long strips that can be twisted in the form of roses.

egg cutters and apple cutting may also be useful:

How to choose the right tools

Knife blades must be free of burrs and nicks.
The best blades are those made of high-strength stainless steel - they will not deform and oxidize during operation.
Quality tools have an ergonomic handle that provides comfort and safety when cutting.
Handles made of modern materials, such as polyamide, are durable and meet all hygienic requirements. They are resistant to juice, fat, detergents, do not absorb moisture and odors.
Be careful with metal grips, they are durable but slip in your hand.
Wooden handles absorb odors and moisture, cracks form in them rather quickly.

Carving Basics for Beginners

You should start mastering the art of Carving with the simplest figures.

Fruit carving

Carving on apples

If it seems to you that you need to carve only masterpieces and only on whole fruits, then you are mistaken! Even a small piece of an apple, decorated with a simple checkerboard pattern, already looks quite interesting!

How the most simple patterns are made (including the “checkerboard”) is shown in the video obento4kids:

By spending a little more time, you will give a completely different sound to your usual dishes!

Photo from kinarino.jp

Do you want to surprise your guests? Slice the apple into thin slices!

The method of carving a swan from an apple, known to many, is shown by Ekaterina Vozhova:

And you, using the same method, make a basket or:

Carving on bananas is quite difficult, because. the peel is soft, and the flesh darkens quickly. Nevertheless, bananas are used as the basis for carving.

Author - Stephan Brusche

Bananas are more convenient to use in table setting. You can make dolphins - impromptu vases from bananas, as in the channel's video ItalyPaul:

And here the peacock is from a banana, and its tail is a fruit and berry cut:

Carving on oranges and other citrus fruits

Carving on citrus fruits is quite popular, especially under.

How to do pomanders- natural flavors shows Elena Perova:

Channel Fruity Fresh Juicy shows how to make a rose from an orange, and leaves from an apple:

The orange cat will provide good mood in any season!

See the original ways to cut a lemon in this video:

A little more difficult to make an edible lemon basket:

And for dessert - Carving on the peel of a lemon!

Variations on a theme:

Vegetable carving

Pepper carving

Both sharp and bell peppers fit mostly:

Channel FRUITCARVING.PL teaches how to cut Anthurium from bell pepper:

Carving on carrots is very, very curious! See for yourself, you can make at least corn, at least:

Of the simpler options - flowers and leaves:

Potato carving

From potatoes you can make not only a beautiful decoration for the table, but also delicious!

It was previously mentioned that finished work can be steamed, deep-fried and baked in the oven.

For example, if instead of ordinary potato sticks you fry or bake potato roses, you will get such a beautiful dish:

Photo from lublyou.com

How to cut potato roses

For each rose use 1 medium or 1/2 large potatoes.

Peel the skin thinly, cut off one end of the potato in five slices so that the bottom looks like a pentagon and the top remains round.
Use a thin and sharp knife and start cutting off a thin petal, gradually approaching the base, but not reaching it. Make 5 of these petals (one on each side of the pentagon).
Remove some of the potato pulp all around under the first row of petals, forming the base for cutting out the second row.
Cut out the second row of petals, alternating them with the first row. Again, remove the pulp all over the potatoes under the new row.
Repeat until you reach the middle.
Store finished potato roses in a bowl of cold water so they don't dry out.
Before baking, quickly dry the roses with a paper towel, place in an oiled baking dish, sprinkle with salt, add rosemary or your favorite seasoning and bake until soft and golden.

Potato Carving is also notable for the fact that it allows you to do it on paper or fabric.

However, pumpkins can be completely harmless, even if they are lanterns...

The above examples of cutting vegetables and fruits are enough to beautifully serve the most ordinary dish, the main thing is to try to do it yourself. For more inspiration, look at examples of exquisitely set tables and carved dishes.

Bouquets of vegetables and fruits

In addition to decorating the table, vegetable and fruit carving can be used when compiling.

Fruit is cut and put on skewers for barbecue

Flowers from vegetables are collected in exquisite bouquets

Luxurious decoration of the festive table!

Photo from http://www.templeofthai.com

You can collect bouquets directly from flowers, vegetables and fruits. Most often, whole fruits are used in these, but to give the bouquet a certain “zest”, some fruits are cut in half or partially peeled:

Photo from vkusdi.ru

You can use Carving elements when composing bouquets, for example, by collecting a rose from dried apricots, as well as very carefully cleaning a pomegranate or even cutting simple patterns on it:

Bouquets of vegetables are also very interesting if, in addition to greens and selected vegetables, some of them, for example, bitter radish, are carved:

Photo from vk.com/o_horosho

And be sure to check it out error parsing when composing bouquets of vegetables and fruits from the channel flower chef:

Interior decor

Vases for fresh flowers

Please note that citrus circles are placed in a separate container with water (larger in size), and the bouquet itself is placed in a narrower vase or transparent glass

It will be difficult for a child to make even the simplest patterns and cuts, so use awl and paper templates. The picture is superimposed on a fruit or vegetable, holes are made with an awl along the entire contour (this can be done by the child himself under the supervision of an adult), which are then cut out with a sharp knife (and it is better for an adult to do this).

. "Cross" has collected for you the simplest options for crafts using Carving elements. They are so cute that you definitely want to repeat them!

Penguin and Pear Parrots

Snail (www.handmadecharlotte.com) and Cucumber Killer Whale

If your child is not very fond of fresh vegetables and fruits, apply fantasy and carving!

It's safest to give kids cutouts, not sharp knives!

A banana is a perishable product, so it is not suitable for crafts, but you can surprise and please your baby for breakfast or an afternoon snack!

Masterpieces of Carving Masters

Finally, so that you finally and irrevocably fall in love with Carving, we will tell you about two Masters of their craft.

Marilyn Sunderland (USA), an artist by training, practiced traditional painting until she found her true calling in Carving. Namely, in artistic carving on pumpkins.

Before carving, Marilyn dries each pumpkin for about 6 months.

Her works are very popular with private collectors, exhibition and art galleries also buy them.

Daniel started carving at the age of 7. The first material for creativity was ordinary soap, later he tried his hand at carving and he did great!

Now Daniel Baressi is a recognized master of carving at the international level.

As Daniel himself says, he forgets about everything in the world when he starts carving. His works are so beautiful from what he creates with his heart.

History of carving

It's no secret that everything ingenious is simple. This is how you can characterize the amazing art of carving, which arose many millennia ago in the expanses of the eastern lands of Asia.
Carving owes its appearance to attempts to somehow diversify the meager diet, which has always been in short supply among the poor inhabitants of East Asia. However, in contrast, they had an abundance of intelligence and ingenuity, which allowed carving to be born into the world. There is one legend, according to which once a rich gentleman came to visit a poor family. He demanded to set the table, but the hostess had nothing but a few fruits and vegetables in stock. Fearing the wrath of the master, the hostess decided to deceive him. She created strange birds and animals from fruits and vegetables, which impressed the rich gentleman so much that he did not dare to try these creations - they were so beautiful. Since then, all the inhabitants of the country, as well as those nearby, began to decorate their tables, creating incredible compositions from simple products.
Modern fruit and vegetable carving is still one of the most interesting arts in Asian countries. However, it is worth noting that his techniques have made significant progress. If earlier there was not even a good knife in service, today the field of possibilities is expanding, thanks to modern instruments. However, many masters adhere to the classics - they try to follow ancient methods, avoiding newfangled devices.

Is it possible to carve at home?

The answer to this question is of course yes! Not only possible, but absolutely necessary! This art will allow you to incredibly diversify your long-familiar home-cooked food. It is generally accepted in the world that carving is a lot of creativity, and has no special relation to the world of food, as such. However, we dare to resist such speculation. Thanks to carving, food can be not only tasty and healthy, but also beautiful. An example is the classic dish - mashed potatoes with meatballs. Speaking about the composition, it is quite difficult to give a twist to this dish. The lack of the possibility of creating forms, as well as the consistency unsuitable for design, keep the dish within certain limits. However, the decoration with vegetables, which acquire their new forms in the carving technique, can add brightness and novelty to it. Having learned all the subtleties of art, you will be surprised by all the facets that will open before you.

Modern types of carving

Nowadays, actual carving from vegetables and fruits is usually divided into several areas. These include:

Chinese
Japanese
Thai
European

1) Chinese carving represents wonderful world where food is transformed with stencils. Although it is also customary in Chinese carving to create compositions with a knife, a stencil takes the place of the classics.
honors this direction is the choice in favor of vegetables. The only exceptions are watermelon and melon. The explanation is quite logical - the art of screen carving requires large area than other subspecies. In addition, the creation of stencil carving implies the maximum rigidity of the surface, which most fruits cannot boast of.

2) Japanese carving from vegetables and fruits - a real immersion in history. Having absorbed the best traditions of their brother (China and its carving techniques), the Japanese decided to bring a peculiarity. She became the traditional carving of hieroglyphs, as well as the creation of complex paintings, which are based on martial arts. Apple and watermelon became classic objects for Japanese technology.

3) European type of carving- a combination of the traditions of the East with the classics of the North. This species stands out in a special direction, since Europe, unlike Asian countries, is much richer in terms of products. European-style techniques are concise and focus on geometry. The flight of oriental fantasy in this genre is not so pronounced. The emphasis is on ease of use.

4) Thai carving of vegetables and fruits- the quintessence of this art. It is the Thai version that has gained wide popularity around the world. The reasons for this phenomenon are simple - Thais create the most complex compositions. In their work, they strive for perfection, because for them carving from vegetables and fruits is not just an art, but a real lifestyle.
It should be noted that most of the famous schools and even carving academies focus their attention on the Thai version.

There are several reasons for this:

in the Thai version, there are many techniques that are available to beginners;
there are no restrictions on art - the creator can turn off fantasy control and create their own masterpieces;
combinatoriality, which is expressed in the possibility of combining various techniques;
no need to purchase a wide range of equipment for creating compositions.

Based on this, as part of our lesson, it would be wise to focus on the Thai method.

Tools for creating masterpieces

Now it is necessary to highlight in more detail the basic tools that you will need to comprehend the art of carving. Among them there are a huge number of variations, but the main ones are:

To additional elements that you may need to improve your practice include:

However, this list is far from complete. The popularity of carving has led to constant developments in the field, often resulting in new tools.

The basis of skill, or the secrets of professionals

In order to make your first experience as productive as possible, you should pay attention to the achievements of eminent carving masters.
The main postulates that will allow you to successfully begin to improve in your chosen area include the following points:

The main thing in carving is practice. Over time, you will be able to learn how to correctly calculate the force of pressing the knife, as well as the angle of its direction.
Additionally, the masters note that fantasy plays a huge role in carving. Even if something didn’t work out for you, look at your creation from a different angle - perhaps your small flaw or small mistake allowed a new technique to be born.

From theory to practice: carving for beginners

Now that the basics of this art have become clear to you, it's time to put the acquired knowledge into practice. In order to achieve the best result, you should gradually increase the complexity of the work. Through such a gradation, you will have skills, thanks to which in the future any element will be available for you to manufacture.
First of all, we choose the object of creation. Experts advise starting with the following applicants:

cucumber;
carrot;
Apple

They have earned such trust due to their qualities - a dense consistency allows you to get the necessary skill with minimal loss of quality.
So, let's see what masterpieces a beginner in carving can make.

1. Cucumber flower

It is necessary to take one dense long cucumber. We cut the middle into halves (2-3 pieces are needed), and we will use the edge with the “tail” to give the composition color and create a flower.

In the flower part we make six cuts, not reaching two cm to the tail (use a long knife).

We cut the resulting blank along the edges to get the outlines of the petals, as in the photo (use a Thai knife).

We remove the core of the cucumber (if there is no special knife, you can carefully make it with a spoon). Next, we make cloves with a Thai knife.

Now, with a Thai knife, carefully separate the skin from the pulp. Finally, make small triangular windows at the base.

Place the blank in ice water - so you can straighten the future petals.

From the pulp of the cucumber, make a round core, which must be decorated with an ornament and placed inside the flower.

We cut the cucumber, not reaching the base, as shown in the photo (7 layers each).

We divide the plates into 7 pcs.

We make bends of each even plate (in one direction);

We collect everything together and enjoy the creation of our own hands!

2. Carrot cloves

It is necessary to cut the carrots according to the proportions shown in the photo.

On the long part, using a Thai knife, it is necessary to cut the grooves. Their number can be unlimited, but you should not grind too much.

Next, we cut the resulting part with grooves in such a way that we get thin flowers.

The remaining part needs to be corrected - cut its edges so that it takes a conical shape.

On the wide side, using a Thai knife, you need to create a semblance of a grid.

Create, by shallow longitudinal cuts, pockets for the finished petals.

Place the petal blanks in the cut pockets.

The carnation is ready.

For beauty, you can decorate the core with dried cloves or something else.

3. Apple flower

Arm yourself with a hard apple and a Thai knife.

Cut off 1/4 from the side where the apple has a tail.

Carefully, without reaching the end, separate the peel with a thin layer of pulp from the core. It is also necessary to make 13 cuts - they will serve as blanks for the petals.

Using the marks, make triangular cuts to create petals on the apple.

Now you need to repeat 13 marks, and in the same way cut the petals from the apple pulp.
Important! The petals of the second level must be between the petals of the first level.

The procedure should be repeated with another row of pulp.

Next - create the last row of petals. Remove the bones from the middle and fill it with something of your choice. Something brighter would look good.

Thus, carving vegetables and fruits is an amazing activity. It keeps the traditions of the ancient East, at the same time combining them with new technologies. Allows you to turn food into works of art that give us not only food saturation, but also aesthetic pleasure.

Having tried your hand at carving, you can diversify homemade food, as well as surprise your family and guests with your extraordinary approach to creating dishes.