How To Cut 8, 9, or 12 Pieces
As you may have already noticed, often times your serving size is 1/12th (or 1/6th) of a casserole or lasagna. Or, sometimes a lasagna recipe shows as making 12 pieces.
We get the question from time to time- How do you cut 12 pieces? Well, it can be tricky, so we created this article to demonstrate how to cut various dishes into various numbers of pieces.
The thing to remember is that close is good enough! If you find that you are truly poor at estimating distances, go ahead and use a ruler!
And don't forget! If you need 1/6th, then just cut the dish into 12 pieces, and eat two! Or, if the recipe calls for One and a half pieces, and the recipe makes 12 pieces, then simply cut the dish into 12 pieces. Then, just take one piece, and cut another in half to get your one and a half pieces.
With a little practice this will become second nature!
8 Pieces
OK, We're starting with the easy one. Just cut in halfs, and getting 8 pieces is, well, a piece of cake! Here's how you do it:
Cut #1, starting with the long edge (if there is one), find approximately halfway across the pan. Close is good enough! Don't sweat it if it isn't exactly half way. If you are truly unsure, you can always use a ruler to get a more accurate measurement.
Cut #2, find halfway from cut #1 to the edge of the pan.
Cut #3, find halfway from cut #1 to the other edge of the pan.
Cut #4, turn the pan 90 degrees, and find approximately halfway across the entire pan in the other direction.
9 Pieces
This one is pretty common, but a bit trickier. You've got to be able to judge (or measure!) thirds. Once you can do that, this one works out well. We've shown it on a 9 by 9 pan, but this works just the same on any square or rectangular pan.
Cut #1, find approximately 1/3 of the way across the pan. Close is good enough! Remember, you can always use a ruler to get a more accurate measurement.
Cut #2, find halfway from cut #1 to the edge of the pan.
Cut #3, Turn the pan 90 degrees, and find approximately 1/3 of the way across the pan in the other direction.
Cut #4, find approximately halfway from cut #3 to the edge of the pan.
12 Pieces
This one is also pretty common, and is probably the trickiest of them all (well, except for trying to cut 11 pieces!). Like with cutting into 9 pieces, you've got to be able to judge (or measure!) thirds. Once you can do that, this one works out well.
Cut #1, starting with the long edge (if there is one), find approximately halfway across the pan. Remember, close is good enough!
Cut #2, find halfway from cut #1 to the edge of the pan.
Cut #3, find halfway from cut #1 to the other edge of the pan.
Cut #4, Turn the pan 90 degrees. Find approximately 1/3 of the way across the short edge (if there is one) of the pan.
Cut #5, And finally, find halfway from cut #4 to the edge of the pan.