finely chopped

Meaning

This term describes ingredients, usually vegetables or herbs, that have been cut into very small, uniform pieces. It is commonly used in recipes to ensure the ingredient distributes evenly throughout the dish and cooks quickly. It is a neutral, practical term essential for following culinary instructions.

Examples

• The recipe calls for two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley.

  The recipe calls for two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley.

• Make sure the garlic is finely chopped so it doesn't overpower the sauce.

  Make sure the garlic is finely chopped so it doesn't overpower the sauce.

• Add the finely chopped onions to the pan and sauté them until translucent.

  Add the finely chopped onions to the pan and sauté them until translucent.

• Finely chopped nuts can be sprinkled on top of the dessert for extra texture.

  Finely chopped nuts can be sprinkled on top of the dessert for extra texture.

• She preferred finely chopped celery in her tuna salad for a subtle crunch.

  She preferred finely chopped celery in her tuna salad for a subtle crunch.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ thinly chopped

  ✓ finely chopped

  'Thinly' is typically used for slices (e.g., thinly sliced), whereas 'finely' is the correct adverb for small, chopped pieces.

• ✗ fine chopped

  ✓ finely chopped

  An adverb ('finely') is needed to modify the participle adjective 'chopped', rather than the adjective 'fine'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• For this salsa, the tomatoes should be ___ so they mix well.

  💡 Cut into very small pieces.

  Show answer

  finely chopped

• Sauté the ___ ginger in sesame oil for one minute.

  💡 Tiny pieces of ginger.

  Show answer

  finely chopped