One sign you might have minced too little is if the pieces of food are uneven in size and larger than desired, making it difficult to blend smoothly into a recipe.
When mincing, the goal is to create uniformly small pieces of food. If you haven't minced enough, you'll notice several indicators. First, the pieces will be visibly chunky and inconsistent in size. Some pieces might be finely chopped, while others remain relatively large. Second, when incorporating the minced food into a dish, the larger pieces will stand out texturally and visually. For example, if you're making a sauce, the larger pieces of onion or garlic won't melt into the sauce as easily, resulting in an uneven flavor distribution and a less refined texture. Finally, if you're using a food processor, you might see larger, unminced pieces clinging to the sides or bottom of the bowl, indicating that the process wasn't thorough enough.
To avoid under-mincing, especially when using a knife, rock the knife back and forth over the pile of food, keeping the tip anchored to the cutting board. This ensures a more even and consistent mince.