Can I say 小刻みにする Instead of みじん切り?


When you cut vegetables, you can say みじん切り. Can I say 小刻みにする instead of みじん切り?




> Can I say 小刻みにする instead of みじん切り?

No, you cannot.  
I'll explain etymologically why you cannot.

"みじん" in "みじん切り" is "微塵｛みじん｝" when written in kanji. "微塵" is made up of "微"
and "塵", where "微" means "very small or fine" and "塵" means "dust", so "微塵"
itself means "very small dust or fine dust". Therefore, if you cut something
with the method of "みじん切り", the cut result must be small pieces.

On the other hand, "小刻み" means literally small "刻み _notches or nicks_ ".
Strictly speaking, it means "notches or nicks" with small spacing.  
"刻み" is originally notches or nicks made with a knife on a pillar, plate,
stick or bar. When the notches become continuous, they look like the scale on
a ruler.  
Therefore "小刻み" means continuous cutting with a small interval. So if you cut
something with the method of "小刻みにする”, the result will be sliced as in other
answers.

As a result, in order to make the food material "みじん切り minced" with the method
of "小刻みするにする slicing", it is necessary to repeat "小刻みにする" by changing the
direction of the sliced material several times.

