Here we will present different ways of slicing fruits & vegetables with a cooking knife (also called a chef's knife or kitchen knife!).
Translation made from French words... English terms may be different.
Julienne :
Julienne involves cutting vegetables into thin sticks as matchsticks. It is generally used to garnish plates with various vegetables as an accompaniment to fish or meat, or in certain Asian preparations such as spring rolls.
Découpe en sifflet - Whistle cut :
Whistle cut, or beveled cut, is like cutting the vegetables at an angle. This creates wider vegetable slices. Long and thin vegetables (like carrots, leeks...) are "whistle cut" to bring a variation of textures and a different aesthetic on the plate.
Chiffonnade :
Chiffonnade is specific to leafy vegetables like salad, cabbage, spinach, etc. It consists in rolling up the leaves of the vegetable to form a roll that we will then cut into strips. This gives thin bands that highlight the texture of the leaf.
Paysanne - Peasant cut :
This technique consists of cutting roughly enough into cubes or pyramids. It is used for cooking vegetables intended to be mixed for a soup or reduced to a puree.
Chiseled cut:
This method is used to finely cut aromatic herbs.
We also speak of "chiselling" for onions and shallots: After sorting and rinsing the bulb, it is cut in half through the poles.
Then slice in small strips in the direction stem-root (without cutting the heel that we will throw), then in perpendicular to make very small cubes.
The chiseled cut allows you to better dose the intake of aromatic herbs.
Brunoise :
"Cut into brunoise" is to cut into very small cubes (2 to 3 mm wide). The brunoise is a technical cuts, due to the degree of precision required.
To make a brunoise more easily, you can cut vegetable slices with a mandolin first, then cut them into thin strips lengthwise, and finally cut these slices crosswise.
The brunoise, by its finesse, allows you to make original accompaniments, and is also used as a base for making sauces, stuffings or for the preparation of flans, quiches, cakes ...
Mirepoix :
The Mirepoix is similar to the brunoise, but cubes are larger, about 1cm thick.
It is the cutting of "diced vegetables", cooked in a homogeneous and aromatic way, to accompany meat and fish, and to make the famous sauce of the same name.
To facilitate cutting and be more precise, remember to well maintain your knife and especially to prioritize quality! At Goyon-Chazeau, we offer several ranges of kitchen knives, ideal for learning to better master each cut!