Why would you chop beside a sink?

Definitely chop-and-drop---but it's hard to tell how much of that is a function of our current kitchen layout. (I was trying the other day to remember how I've cooked in kitchens past, but couldn't come up with much.)

Our only decent counter space is an 18" butcher block right next to the stove, so I tend to wash things first, dump then in a bowl, and then chop-and-into-the-pot. We have two other small counters, but one is on the far side of the sink and also the designated spot for dishes waiting to get washed, and the other is very shallow and right by the door, so it's often filled with non-kitchen things.

I tried that little exercise that bmorepanic recommended to record what steps I take and where I lose time with our current layout, and discovered that most of the time lost is me standing in front of the sink and/or refrigerator with food and knife in hand, scanning the room for a surface that is clear enough to put the cutting board down on. Not surprising, but---ugh! :)

plllog, went back and read the post you were referring to (linked below for anyone else interested). I thought a lot about the layout of our kitchen and never once did it occur to me that I would be always "facing the wall" by having the cooktop on the perimeter rather than the island.

I think it's because of what Buehl said I spend very little time actually standing in front of the stove "cooking" when we have guests over. ThatÂs because, like you, I do a lot (most) of my "mise en place" ahead of time. When I am prepping while guests are there, itÂs at my handy dandy sink across from the cooktop  just as you will have. (Bmore, itÂs to wash and prep all at the same time!). It sure helps that the sink has lots of custom built cutting boards and bowls, which I use constantly.

Beside the sink (to the left) is enough space for another smaller cutting boards, or bowls, ingredients etc.

Even when I have several pans flying at once  which is often  usually the stuff doesnÂt need minute by minute tending; IÂm timing things to be cooked in stages. I have no problem socialising with guests because for sure they are in the kitchen  either gathered around the island eating the apps and drinking or coming around and chatting with me while I cook. I face out when prepping and that is perfect for staying engaged. The island is really the social hub.

FWIW, DH preps to the right of the cooktop. He has the main sink to his right and uses that if he needs to wash anything. We have the kitchen set up so that we have two sets of everything on either side of the cooktop  measuring cups, spoons, essential utensils  and we can both be cooking without a hitch. When itÂs just the two of us, we are cooking in close proximity, but each with our own counter space for prep; me on the island sink, and behind me to the left of the cooktop, and DH to the right. I *love* the way it works and it suits the way we cook and entertain to a T.

LOL!! Artemis, that's a big UGH indeed!

Bmorepanic, Why would you chop anywhere else? I often rinse my hands, my knife, etc. I use the sink basin to collect the peels, seeds, ends, etc. I can prep with a bowl of water and a bowl for discards if I don't have a sink, but that's just sink light.

If you don't chop (slice, dice, fillet or whatever) by your sink, what kind of prep do you use a prep sink for?

Hands, filling pots, draining pots, rinse a pot here and there. I'm wondering if people with disposals are more likely to chop at sink...

Even tho I'm getting the world's smallest fitted cutting board for the small sink, it's really just in case of crab attack, deveining shrimps or other messy seafood things.

I always love these threads about how everybody works.

In our last kitchen I prepped by the stove, not the sink. The sink had dirty dishes around it and other people needed to get to it. I didn't have a prep sink, and even though I did use the island sometimes, it meant moving things twice, and the salad prep and other tasks were usually being done by someone else there...So next to the stove made the best sense and was handy to where I needed the things after they were prepped.

In my current kitchen I wash things in the prep sink, but actually find that I move and work from the other side of the island (behind the prep sink) to prep where there's more width and where I can grab from the island easiest when I'm at the stove. (Also probably because my knives and cutting boards are housed on that side.) I don't feel the need to be on top of the sink when I prep...Unless we're talking about washing and paring the eyes out of potatoes or something, where it works to rinse and work on something at the same time. But chopping, no. So I think I understand Bmore's point on this one.

I don't know what Rachel Ray's chop and drop is, so can't speak to whether I ever do it or not! :)

I would actually believe the disposal part might be at play. When I chop, the tops and such go into a bowl to get taken out to the compost. We also have food waste collection, so meats and any paper-based packaging goes into a container on the counter. I discovered early on in the remodel that we have very different trash needs as a result (trash is 60-25-15 compost-recycle-landfill, so the big need is a good way of managing the green waste v. trash pullouts.) It hadn't occurred to me that this might affect other kitchen patterns too---but it makes total sense! I use the sink only for the water to rinse food before it gets prepped, so that's much easier to do all at once than if I were also running back and forth mid-process.

Cool to hear about all of the differences!

I prep by the sink (always), but I have no disposal. Yes, I can hear your gasps. It is embarrassing to say that I have no disposal, but we moved into a house with a septic system and I'm not comfortable with the ones that don't empty into the pipes. Anyway, I think I always prep by the sink because I'm washing almost everything I touch and I don't want water dripping all over the floor (think broccoli). I also have a nice view from the sink, so I wonder if I would choose to prep near the stove if it were reversed. Having said that, most of the cooking I prefer requires some time at the stove stirring but not usually too much. I plan on having a beautiful backsplash for those moments.

Where has everyone placed their garbage pullouts - by the cleanup sink, the prep area - or someplace in between? If you were to do your layout again, would you keep it in the same location?

When I had no disposal I also prepped by the sink. I have a triangular sink strainer that fits in the corner to catch all the bits. The original kitchen sinks were dry. It's just nice working at a recessed basin. Put the cutting board across the top edges and dump the cuttings over the side.

The responses so far are fascinating!

Gwen, ours is to the left of the prep sink - pullout that has both garbage and a bin for composting. Two cooks can both access it (although I often use a small bowls to gather scraps and dump them all at once).

Eliz

Interesting thread.

My range is just 30 inches from my corner sink. The pull out trash is right below in the cabinet between range and sink. And the knives are on a strip on the wall right there. Is that where I usually prep? No.

I wash stuff at the sink, then usually pivot and chop on the 5 ft island across from the range (where there is no prep sink), turn and drop into the pan. I'm too 'in the moment' for "mis en place"; I like to get the heat going and get started. I will sometime quickly chop something on the perimeter counter to add, but most chopping is on the island. And my scrap drawer for composting is at the island.

Does that make me 'chop and drop', LOL? Or because I pivot am I something else? I don't even understand the term.

I gotta watch more TV...I am so out of it!

I chop next to the cooktop. The cooktop is on an island and faces the TV and sitting area. The sink is two steps away against the outside wall.

I love having 2 sinks at opposite ends of our kitchen but I don't prep next to either. I prefer chopping/prepping at the peninsula.

When our kitchen was on paper I thought I would prep between the "prep" sink and fridge. It seemed a pleasant spot since it has a long run of windows looking out the front.

It turns out most of the veggie washing gets done at the main sink which is at a right angle to the range. Scraping gets done either at the sink or at the peninsula, also at right angles to the range. I have a big wooden chopping board there and I like prepping away from the mess of the sink. Even though we have old wooden floors, I manage to transfer washed items without too many drips on the floor.

It occurred to me only recently that I love having the chopping/mixing area at right angles to the range. It's easy to make a slight turn to put veggies into the pan or to stir a pot or to check on things in the oven. I find prepping next to the range (along the same run of counter) less convenient.

Certainly there are some negatives, but overall I really like our layout. I like using the "prep" sink for gathering items for the dw. It keeps the mess out of the cooking area. It is also nice having both the prep sink and dw close to the baking area (I'm a really messy baker.) Our stand mixer lives to the right of the prep sink and the tall cabinet is the baking cabinet. We have 3 clean up zones--dishwashing by hand gets done at the main sink, dw gets loaded at the prep sink, food gets put into leftover dishes by the mw (the same pyrex dishes get used for mw'ing.) Now I just need 2 helpers more often!

Compost used to be at the prep sink but we recently changed it to the main sink. It helps a lot. Dh will eventually make a small compost pull out for the prep sink for the small amount of food waste that collects there.. We don't have a disposal.

Our trash pull out is to the left of the prep sink. It collects landfill trash (mostly plastic wrapping) and paper recycling (other recycling goes into the mudroom---it usually collects at the prep sink and gets rinsed out there before being moved.) I like the position of the trash pull out because it's convenient to the peninsula (I throw the garbage away during clean up) and is also close to the dining area and the living/family room. It's the only trash we have in these 3 rooms. I plan to put a bucket that will collect trash and recyclables under the main sink. DH will separate it when he gets ready to go to the dump/transfer station.

I would have planned the storage in our peninsula differently if I had known ahead of time how I would use it.

{{gwi:1615455}}

Some dishes are "Prep As You Go" friendly. You can prep one thing, start it cooking in the pot, prep the next and add it to the pot, and so on. Timing is not critical, the dish is supposed to cook for a longish time anyway, usually at lower heat. I associate Prep As You Go with boiling, braising, and simmering.

Other dishes are "Prep Ahead" required. You need the food prepped and ready, then you can start cooking. Timing is less forgiving, something in the dish needs to be cooked for a only short period, often there is higher heat involved - or, some part of the cooking process needs close attention or you'll ruin the dish - or, the dish is meant to be fully assembled and then cooked. I associate Prep Ahead with sauteeing, frying, deep frying, woking, steaming, broiling, roasting, and baking.

I like more of the Prep Ahead type of dishes, so I - surprise! - usually prep ahead. Also, when I'm cooking multiple dishes at the same time, even if it is a mix of Prep As You Go and Prep Ahead types, I tend to prep ahead. Otherwise it is too hard for me to have dishes come out at the right time.

Almost all of my prep is done on one board. It is 18'' x 24'', end-grain butcher block, almost 2'' thick, and raised 1/2'' with rubber feet. It sits to the right of the sink. I am right-handed, which means my left hand feeds food to the knife held in my right hand. The waste tends to end up under my left hand - the root ends of veggies and so on - which means it is on the left side of the board, and gets swept directly into the sink. The cut pieces get piled up on the right side of the board, put on small plates or in prep bowls (little $2 glass bowls, I have scores of them) and lined up on the counter to the right of the board. It sounds very mechanical, assembly-line - and it kind of is. When I'm done cutting, I scoop the waste out of the sink and throw it away - we don't compost nor use the disposal much. Then I start doing whatever - marinating, assembling, cooking.

Having the sink there is very convenient, because its just one "sweep" motion, with the knife or the back of a hand, to clear waste off the board, rather than pick up the waste, open a trash can or pullout, dump, close, rinse hands.

Also, I'm rinsing something every couple of minutes during prep. Bisect leeks. Rinse out dirt. Break down leeks. Rinse knife. Peel onion. Rinse sticky skin scraps off fingers. Dice onion. Rinse knife. Mince garlic. Rinse knife and fingers. Retrieve and rinse chicken. Break down chicken. Wash hands, board, and knife. Rinse all. Chicken in work bowl, add marinade, toss chicken in marinade, set aside. Wash hands and rinse. As you can see, there's a lot of "rinse" going on, so being next to a sink is practically a must.

Speaking of "As You Go" behaviour, I do practice "Clean As You Go". It drives me nuts to finish cooking and see the kitchen covered with dirty cookware, littered boards, splattered counters, overflowing sink. I may be a tad fanatical about this, actually. SWMBO and I even have a rule that whoever cooks, also does the dishes. Terribly unfair-sounding, but SWMBO does not clean as she goes - she piles it all up to clean at the end. After some heated discussions early in our marriage, in which someone told someone that someone would rather not eat dinner than deal with someone's mess, we developed this rule and have lived happily ever after for close to 20 years now.

This may all make me sound - err, anal? - but in my defense I'm used to making multi-course dinners for 12 hungry friends from a small kitchen with one sink, very little counter space, and (before this house) no dishwasher or disposal. So being organized and tidy has always been pretty critical.

Great thread plllog. I agree it is so interesting to read what others are doing.

We are definitely in the more organized mise en place group. We do so many dishes that require multiple complicated spices/steps that it would be chaos to prep and cook at the same time. We both like vegetarian cooking a lot . That means that the sink gets used at the start to wash up the food and then that is all...no need to wash cutting boards / hands etc. We have lots of prep bowls too and everything gets lined up and ready to go before the wok gets heated.

We have 2 huge restaurant cutting boards and one small and we each have a 10" chef knife that is used for about 90% of all prep...learned that from DS1.

Meats/seafood when used, get done first as they always need to marinate. Then everything gets soap and water and the rest of the meal gets underway.

We clean as we go so that at the end of the cooking all that is left to do is what we are using to eat and the cooktop. We share the putting away of foods...they get placed in containers and wait on the soapstone baking area to cool a bit as we finish up.

The long soapstone baking area is where all prep for our baking gets done. Not much water is needed and it is only a few steps to get what is needed. My baking of bread has really changed this year since I use my wild yeast starters . It requires much more hands on but only for a few minutes every hour.

I know our cooking has improved tremendously due to our organization in the last 39 years and most especially since the last 4 with the new kitchen. I agree with johnliu that anal is better :) I would not have tackled a lot of the more complicated things that I now cook if I didn't do mise en place. Organization frees ones mind to explore without chaos.

As in trailrunning you don't do the whole 50 miles at once...just one step at a time. Very Zen way of cooking and running....c

After reading the above threads, I have to say my prepping/cooking style is closest to johnliu.
Currently, I do all my prepping on the 2 1/2 by 5 ft. center island and place the vegetable waste on papertowels to be carried to the trash when I am done. I do have a disposal, but I put most all of my waste in the trash can. The disposal gets used mostly for rinsing and grinding food remnants off of our dinner plates.

The sink and range are located on the perimeter cabinets on nearly opposite sides of the island. So, I chop and prepare everything to be cooked ahead of time and clean up. Then I turn to my corner range to cook. So, maybe I am a pivoter too!

In my kitchen renovation I am planning a prep sink on the island and I received one of those big wooden 3 inch thick cutting boards for Christmas and I am very excited about chopping next to the sink, sweeping the waste into the sink on the left and placing the prepped food on the right. It seems highly efficient. Currently my island is too small and I run out of places to place all my food preparation.

I really enjoy wok cooking and right now I use an electric wok on the center island, which takes up even more precious prep room. In our new kitchen, I will be getting a Wolf gas top and I am wondering if I will change to wokking there.

Before I begin to stir fry, I handwash all of my prep equipment. However, I don't dry it, so it ends up on the counter dish drainer next to the sink and on several towels next to the sink. That makes me crazy and I am not sure how to solve that problem in the highly anticipated new kitchen.

I am wonder if it will be better to leave that huge cutting block out on the center island or store it under the prep sink? What do other people do?

I have a plastic type cutting board (the softer kind not that hard kind which I can't even bring myself to cut on!) for the meats. I like to use bleach to clean it afterwards, especially with chicken. Now it isn't a problem, but I am planning on getting a Silgranit sink and I wonder if this will prevent me from using bleach?

After the cooking, the island is once again used to serve our meals. Everyone helps themselves buffet style and then carries the plates over to the table. I do have some nice serving dishes, but they are rarely used, which I feel badly about. (I would get a very bad grade on food presentation!) I keep meaning to change this, but now it's been 20 years of habit. Plus it's less dishes to wash. However, I feel much guilt over this issue.

I am really curious to see how much working improvement I get out of our kitchen renovation. Garden Web has been a great TKO outlet for me. I feel very prepared to embark on the renovation which starts on Monday.

As Plllog mentioned, I feel I have the best layout (for me anyway)... My corner prep sink is on the same counter run as my cooktop and I have 41" b/w them. I do the majority of my prepping in that space. The refrigerator is on the other side of the corner prep sink across from the peninsula end, so it's also close by. The GD is on the main sink, though, so sometimes I'll peel potatoes there instead of the prep sink, but not always. I find that with the sink grid it's pretty easy to pick up the peels later to take to the main sink or trash. (I don't compost, I keep meaning to, but I never seem to get started.)

How do I prep? It depends. If everything needs to go in at once, I get everything ready ahead of time. However, most things I cook do not need "all at once", so I usually get the first couple of things ready, start cooking, and then get the others ready as needed. I will say, though, that I probably use the oven more than I use the cooktop.

While I do stack dishes in the cleanup sink as I cook, I'm not anal about it and I don't need a clean kitchen in order to eat (I don't understand that attitude, but hey, if that's the way you feel...). In our family, I do 90% or more of the cooking and 100% of the baking/roasting. Personally, I think it's unfair for one person to "do it all"...cook & cleanup, so we agreed very early on (even b/f we were married), that if one cooks, the other cleans up...a very fair division of labor. Since my DH isn't thrilled with cooking and doesn't mind cleaning up and I'm the opposite, it's worked out well for us for almost 20 years. (Besides, effort-wise, I think cleaning up takes less effort than cooking, but not as much fun!)

So, what would I not change? The location of the prep sink, cooktop, and refrigerator and their relationship to each.

What would I change? Two things...

(1) The location of the trash/recycle pullout. Right now, it's next to the main/cleanup sink and across a 6'6" aisle from the prep area and it's a pain in the neck to be going back & forth...dripping all the way in many cases (both trash & recyclables). If I had it to do over, I'd put it in the Prep Zone. If I had room, I'd also at least put a 12" trash pullout in the Cleanup Zone, but my priority for trash & recycle would be the Prep Zone. (More trash & recyclables are generated and more extended time is spent needing to dispose of them in the Prep Zone than in the Cleanup Zone.)

(2) Put a GD on both sinks. However, if only one, I would choose the prep sink next time. (Actually, I did this time, but my DH objected and since I had other things I wanted, I gave in for "future favors"! I would probably insist next time.)

Oh, forgot to mention that I store my cutting boards under the corner prep sink...utilizing the space on one side and straight back, the space that's probably the most difficult to get to in a corner sink base. But, since I store them in a "tray storage" rack and orient them so the long way goes back (i.e., lengthwise toward the back), they're very easy to get to and I use space that would be otherwise wasted or annoying to use.