There are six main ways to cut vegetables in cooking. Since the fundamental foundations of classical cuisine were ordered by the French, these methods, accordingly, bear French names.
Julienne
Julienne is one of the most famous forms of cutting vegetables. This is how carrots, cucumbers, celery and other hard long vegetables are cut. To cut with julienne means to cut into thin strips 5 centimeters long and 4 by 4 millimeters wide. The same method is colloquially called "straw".
Julienne is also called a dish made from meat or mushrooms cut in this way.
To cut carrots into julienne, for example, they are initially cut across into "barrels", then put them "on the bottom" and cut into slices 4 millimeters wide, and then these slices are cut into strips with the same width.
Jardiniere
Jardinière is a method of cutting vegetables, similar to julienne, but longer and thicker. It is also called "sticks". Vegetables cut with a jardiner should be about 10 by 10 millimeters thick. Such vegetables are put in soups, side dishes are prepared from them, boiling or frying them.
Brunoise
Cutting brunoise is done on the basis of slicing julienne, it is also called "small cube". "Straws" from vegetables are cut into pieces no more than 5 millimeters long. Brunoise is often used to make sauces, since vegetables chopped in this way quickly boil down; such vegetables are also sprinkled on dishes for decoration.
Macedoine
Maceduan slicing is done on the basis of jardinier slices. The result is large cubes with a side of 1 centimeter. Such vegetables are put in long-cooked sauces, in stews, in soups.
Paysanne
Peizan slicing is slicing into thin longitudinal strips. It is also made from vegetables cut with a jardinier. This is how vegetables are cut for frying and baking.
The name of the cut "peyzan" is translated as "peasant style".
Chiffonnade
Chiffonade slicing is specially designed for leafy vegetables and herbs. It means grinding them into very thin strips. To do this, the sheets are rolled up and carefully cut with a thin knife, trying to make cuts no thicker than 1-2 millimeters. The herbs cut in this way are used to season dishes, and leafy vegetables are put in salads or served as a side dish.
Other ways to cut vegetables
The main classic cutting methods are suitable for hard vegetables. Soft vegetables (tomatoes) are cut using the Concassees method, although this is essentially diced as well. To cut tomatoes using the classical method, it is imperative to pre-blanch them and peel them.
