Prepare

• 1). Set out a clean cutting board. You may also want to have a bowl nearby to hold your cut fruit or vegetables. If your fruits or vegetables are dried or already cooked, you may skip ahead to the next section.
  
  
• 2). Select the knife that is best suited for the item you are about to measure. Large, thick and/or firm fruits and vegetables need a sturdy knife, while softer and smaller ones usually can be cut with a small one, such as a paring knife.
  
  
• 3). Rinse with water, then cut your fruit or vegetable, adhering to the guidelines in your recipe, such diced (small cubes), chiffonades (fine ribbons), chopped (large squares) or julienne (cut longways into strips).
  
  

Measuring

• 1). Pack the cut fruit or vegetable into a clean measuring cup. You can use any size measuring cup, but using a 1-cup is the easiest. Pack the fruit or vegetable pieces in with your hand, trying to eliminate as much air space as possible without smashing the food. Be especially careful with soft fruits. You have your measurement once the cup is full. If you are measuring a leafy green however, 2 full measuring cups will be equivalent to 1 cup called for in a recipe.
  
  
• 2). For cooked fruits or vegetables, follow the same instructions and pack gently into a measuring cup. You may need to cut the food into smaller pieces if what you have doesn't already fit. Cooked leafy greens are like other cooked vegetables and do not follow different measurement rules (only raw ones do).
  
  
• 3). Dried fruits and vegetables are different because they have shriveled and shrunken due to loss of moisture. You can use measuring cups, but in this case 1 full measuring cup is equal to 2 cups called for in the recipe.