Knife Cuts

HPC2
Whether you are working at
being a chef, or simply want to
improve your skills in the
kitchen, mastering the most
common culinary arts knife
cuts will bring you one step
closer to creating impressive-
looking, evenly cooked,
delicious meals. Learn what the
basic cuts are, such as small
dice, batonnet, julienne,
brunoise, and more.
Large Dice
• The large dice is a
culinary knife cut
measuring 3/4 inch ×
3/4 inch × 3/4 inch.
This square cut is
most often used for
vegetables like
potatoes, and
sometimes fruits
such as watermelon.
Batonnet
• The batonnet (prono
unced bah-tow-NAY)
is basically creating a
rectangular stick that
measures 1/2 inch ×
1/2 inch × 2 1/2 to 3
inches. It is also the
starting point for
another cut, the
medium dice.
Medium Dice
• The medium dice
measures 1/2 inch × 1/2
inch × 1/2 inch, and
is a smaller version of
the large dice. This is
generally a good choice
when recipes don't
specify the size of the
dice and the ingredient
list just says "diced
tomatoes."
Allumette
• Measuring 1/4 inch ×
1/4 inch × 2 1/2 to 3
inches, the allumette
is sometimes referred
to as the "matchstick
cut." It's also the
starting point for the
small dice.
Small Dice
• The littlest of the
dice cuts, the small
dice measures
1/4 inch × 1/4 inch ×
1/4 inch and is
produced by slicing
the allumette into
1/4-inch sections.
Julienne
• The julienne cut
measures 1/8 inch ×
1/8 inch × 2 1/2
inches and is basically
the allumette cut once
more lengthwise. You
will most often use this
cut for carrots, celery,
or potatoes, and see
the thin strips used as
a garnish.
Brunoise
• The brunoise knife
cut (pronounced
BROON-wahz)
measures 1/8 inch ×
1/8 inch × 1/8 inch,
which makes it the
smallest of the dice
cuts. Brunoise is
usually used for
garnishes.
Fine Julienne
• The fine julienne
knife cut measures
1/16 inch × 1/16 inch ×
2 inches. It is also the
starting point for the
fine brunoise cut.
This cut is often used
for garnishes.
Fine Brunoise
• The fine brunoise
knife cut
(pronounced
BROON-wahz)
measures 1/16 inch ×
1/16 inch × 1/16 inch.
It sure is tiny!
Mince
• Smaller than a fine
brunoise, the mince
is less precise since it
is supposed to be
finely cut. We most
often mince garlic, or
other aromatics,
when we want the
flavor to be
distributed more
throughout the dish.
Chiffonade
• This cut is mainly
used for vegetable
leaves and fresh
herbs, in particular,
basil. The leaves are
stacked, rolled, and
then sliced
perpendicularly,
creating thin strips.