The Viral Hack To Make Cutting Grape Tomatoes A Breeze

Grape or cherry tomatoes add a pop of sweetness and color to your salad, pasta, or bruschetta. However, slicing them in half one by one can be tedious and time-consuming, so it's no wonder dozens of people have demonstrated their take on this timesaving hack. Instead of slicing them individually, you can cut a bunch of grape or cherry tomatoes at once. 

To try this hack, you'll need a large sharp knife, two matching plates or flat container lids with a small ridge, and some cherry or grape tomatoes. First, place the tomatoes one layer deep on the lid or upside-down plate. Next, place the second upside-down plate or lid on top and press down on the tomatoes with one hand. Be careful to use only enough pressure to keep them in place and not enough to crush them. 

Finally, hold a large knife in the other hand and carefully slice through all the tomatoes at the same level to cut them evenly in half with one stroke. As you gain confidence, you can try gently rocking the top plate to assist with the slicing action. After you've finished, remove the lid to find your perfectly sliced tomatoes. 

This technique is so simple that you can adapt it based on the knives, plates, or lids you have on hand. However, when choosing the tools to try it out, there are a few things to consider.

Choosing the right knife is crucial, so you'll need a sharp knife that is long enough to slice through all the tomatoes in one pass. The best options are a large chef knife or a serrated bread knife. Whether to use lids or plates is also up to you. All you need is a surface that allows access to the middle of the tomatoes, so something like a bowl wouldn't be the right choice. The small ridge on the perimeter of a lid or the bottom of a plate also helps hold the tomatoes in place.

The last thing to consider is what you will do with all those tomatoes. With large enough lids or plates, you can slice a whole package of grape tomatoes in less than a minute. Tomato and avocado salad for a potluck is a breeze, as is Lidia Bastianich's recipe for baked cherry tomatoes with pasta. To make good use of your halved grape or cherry tomatoes, consider trying these other cherry tomato hacks, such as grilled tomato skewers.