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19 French Knife cuts: Top

Chef Chopping terms
Nassie

Learn about the different French knife cuts in

Wondering what life in
gastronomical cuisine. From cube knife cuts to France is really like?

round cuts and more. After living in Paris over

10 years, I can tell you

 all about it! Go behind

closed doors for fun

anecdotes and the

unvarnished truth on
those intriguing French

habits ;)

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French word of the

When is a knife more than just a knife? When it is week: L’amour

(14/2/2023)
used in French cuisine, bien sûr! From sizes large to
(https://snippetsofparis.c
small, it is not about the knife but how you use it to om/french-word-of-the-

week-lamour/)
prepare that meal. (It might be about the knife,

sharpness counts after all.) Boursin pasta with

roasted tomatoes

(https://snippetsofparis.c

om/boursin-pasta/)
 Couper –
to cut
— French – English
translation

If you are a home chef that is looking to take their

cooking to the next level, you may be interested in

the art of the different french knife cuts. There are

several goals here, from balancing necessary

cooking times to a beautiful presentation.

The French style of chopping and cutting is often

associated with professional cooks and chefs. Young

apprentice chefs in France train for 6 months or

more just on having that perfect homogeneously cut

vegetable or fruit to present to their bosses, the

almighty Michelin-starred chef

(https://snippetsofparis.com/french-chefs/).

The use of the correct French cuts is to yield the

cleanest and most elegant-looking slices possible.

And that handy knife

(https://snippetsofparis.com/find/knife-set/) is your

tool par excellence to demonstrate whether that

young apprentice has become a confident cook sure

of his/her technique

(https://snippetsofparis.com/french-cooking-basics/)

and theatrical arrangement.

If you are a home cook, this might sound rather

intimidating but it isn’t meant to be. Sometimes you

just want to know the different French knife cut

terminology in order to follow what the recipe you are

looking at is asking for. Mirepoix

(https://snippetsofparis.com/french-cooking-terms/),

anyone?

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I should note, most of the sizes are mentioned below

in millimetres and centimeters as we do in France.

American inches are unfortunately too large in size to

use as a measure. So let’s get to the most common

French knife cuts that are used today, shall we?

Allons-y!

1) Allumette

Allumette is the French word for “matchstick” as

allume means to “light up”. The allumette knife cut is

about matchstick size strips (in length and width) at

around 3 mm width × 5 to 6 cm length.

2) Julienne
A julienne is a type of French knife cut, where the

vegetable is cut thinner than the allumette at 1 to 2

mm width × 5 cm length. Eg. Carrots julienne or

oignons julienne.

3) Jardiniere
The jardiniere which translates to “gardener”, is

similar to the allumette but a bit larger. It is one of

the French knife cuts that is a rough chop made in a

hurry, and usually measures around 5mm width x 5cm

length.

4) Baton
The baton, as the word baton might imply, is a thicker

version of the jardiniere knife cut. A baton usually

measures about 1.5cm width x 5 cm length.

5) Batonnet
For those Michelin-starred chefs who require the

ultimate in precision, there is the batonnet. It’s size

is between the julienne and the baton at around 1 cm

width x 5 cm in length.

As an example, the surimi crab sticks are usually

referred to in French as a batonnet, for the batonnet

cut. The baton or batonnet are also great for

vegetable crudité platters

(https://snippetsofparis.com/crudites/).

6) Mirepoix
A mirepoix knife cut is where the vegetable is cut into

small rough cubes about 1 to 1.5 cm in size. This is

one of the French cube cuts, and is larger than the

macedoine and brunoise which are compared below,

but smaller than the carré.

Note, the mirepoix knife cut is usually used to cut

vegetables for the French cooking technique

(https://snippetsofparis.com/french-cooking-terms/)

that calls for making a mirepoix flavor base.

In a mirepoix base, a stock sauce is made by lightly

cooking vegetables at low temperatures. The

vegetables used are usually onions, celery, and

carrots in butter or oil, and they are strained out of

the resulting sauce. This mirepoix sauce is then used

to flavor stews and other dishes. .

The mirepoix knife cut is a rough cut, as it doesn’t

really matter how precisely the vegetables are cut,

since they will be strained out anyway.

7) Carré (Large dice)
Carré means “square” in French, and it is sometimes

also called a large dice. The carré is usually a cubed

cut measuring 2 cm evenly all round, and is larger

than the mirepoix.

8) Parmentier (Medium
dice)
The parmentier knife cut is very similar in size to the

mirepoix measuring approximately  1 ⁄ 2  inch (13 mm) in

cubes. The parmentier medium dice is more of a

precise cut, as the cubes should look homogeneous

for presentation purposes, compared to the mirepoix

which is not presented.

It is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine-

Augustin_Parmentier#Dishes_named_after_Parmenti

er), who was a pharmacist in the 18th century and

nutritionist of his day. His many contributions to

nutrition included the first mandatory smallpox

vaccination campaign (under Napoleon Bonaparte

(https://snippetsofparis.com/napoleon-bonaparte/) in

1805, when he was Inspector-General of the Health

Service in France) and the extraction of sugar from

sugar beets.

He was also a vocal proponent of using potatoes as

a food source for humankind, which was not the case

before the 18th century. (Potatoes were banned in

France at the time for causing leprosy).

The parmentier cut comes from bouquets of potatoes

that he would prepare and serve to important guests

like the American ambassador to France Benjamin

Franklin. Antoine Parmentier would go on to have

many dishes named after him in France.

9) Mac2doine (Small dice)

Compared to the mirepoix and parmentier, the

macedoine knife cut is a also a cube, but is smaller

at around 4mm. Roughly, it would be the same size

as a pea or a corn kernel.

10) Brunoise
Brunoise is a French knife cut, where the thin

matchstick size vegetables in the julienne cut

(above) are cut vertically into cubes as well. The

brunoise is usually used as a garnish top of dishes

like a salad or a stew.

Compared to macedoine and the parmentier, it is

even smaller at around 2mm size cubes.

11) Rondelle
Moving away from the cubes, the rondelle is

basically a round knife cut. Cylindrical vegetables like

carrots or celery are cut into thin discs between 

0.2 to 0.5 cm.
12) Paysanne 
The paysanne knife is basically cutting a rondelle in

half, to make thin half circles. To do this, cut the

vegetable (usually a carrot) in half lengthwise, and

then cut slice up to 1 cm thick.

13) Emincé en Sifflet

Emincé en sifflet is similar to the rondelle, but

involves slicing diagonally while cutting 2-3 mm

slices by cutting with an inclination of 30-45° to

obtain an oval-shaped slice.

The more the blade is tilted, the longer the cut

washer will be elongated and oval.

14) Parisienne
The Parisienne is not technically a knife cut, but

more of a scoop. It is about the size of a small ice

cream scoop, that is used to make small round balls

in vegetables like potatoes or fruit like melons or

watermelons.
15) Bille
A bille is also a scoop and is smaller than the

parisienne. It is also used for fruit like melons to add

to a dessert or fruit salad.

16) Lozenge
A lozenge is a diamond-shaped cut that is often used

for decoration in dishes.

17) Tourné
A tourné is an inflated diamond-shape cut, almost like

a rugby ball. It is not round however. A tourné should

have 7 sides that must look homogeneous, and is a

very technically challenging cut in French cuisine.

18) Emincé
Emincé means to mince. This is a thin knife cut that

can refer to vegetables like onions, and also meat

dishes like emincé de poulet (chicken).

19) Chiffonade
A chiffonade is another knife cut where large leafy

vegetables or herbs are shredded into thin and long

strips. It is also usually used as an elegant garnish

when tossed on top of various dishes.

If you enjoyed this article, you may enjoy reading

more about French cooking terms and techniques

(https://snippetsofparis.com/french-cooking-terms/).