Why is it important to cut vegetables into a uniform size before cooking?

Why is it important to cut vegetables into a uniform size before cooking?

This is a romanesco, aka fractal broccoli. It is a delicious member of the broccoli and cauliflower family. You can make it exactly as you would cauliflower: remove the florets, peel and slice the inner stalk, sauté in extravirgin olive oil with garlic, add salt, a little water, cover until al dente, remove the lid and let the water evaporate. (A couple anchovies or some chilli are welcome variants.)

This version has pancetta and a dusting of Pecorino

As you can see, some florets are fairly big and need to be sliced in 2–3 pieces, others are tiny and need to be cooked in bunches of 2–3, and the stalk must be sliced so that the piece are about the same size as the florets. If you don’t, you end up with very hard pieces of stalk, with the larger florets almost raw, while the smaller ones are mushy.

Why is it important to cut vegetables into a uniform size before cooking?
Because if you don’t they don’t cook at the same rate.

Carrots and potato mash: the carrots haven’t been boiled long enough and are still hard

Beware, though: if you are cooking different vegetables you must also keep into account that they may cook at different rates due to their structure. Carrots require a longer cooking time than potatoes. If you plan on making a carrot and potato mash you must cut the carrots in smaller pieces and boil them for longer than the potatoes in order to achieve the same doneness point.

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