Here’s a scenario: you are preparing a special meal for your special guests. To make things faster, you ask your child or friend or relative to help you. Then, as you are busily cooking or cleaning, your helper comes to you and asks, “How should I cut the tomatoes? How should I cut the cabbage?” You put down your task and show him or her how to do it. Then, after a while, he or she comes again, this time asking, “How should I cut the cucumbers?”. And since he or she comes back and asks repeatedly, you simply put down your other task and cut the vegetables yourself.

The scenario above is obviously tiring, exasperating and inconvenient, right? But did you know that you can avoid such situations if you and everyone of your helpers know how vegetable cuts are called? That way, you can simply tell your helper to use the concasser cut for the tomatoes, mirepox cut for the carrots, celeries and onions, or chiffonade cut for the leafy greens. Then, you can resume whatever it is that you’re doing as your helper cuts the vegetables away!

So what are the names of the different vegetable cuts and what are they used for? Cutting vegetables depend on two things: the size and shape of the vegetables and the need of the recipe. Below are some of the most common vegetable cuts and how to make them. But first things first: before you cut any vegetable, make sure that you have a sharp knife that has a stable handle to make vegetable cutting safer, faster and easier.

Different Vegetable Cuts

WASHER

The washer or ring cut is best for vegetables that have narrow and elongated shapes like zucchini and cucumbers. And since the vegetables are cut thinly, cooking time is faster and vegetables are cooked evenly. To achieve this cut, place the vegetable on top of a cutting board, remove the ends and cut thinly. If your aim is to add it to omelets, slice into thinner washers.

THIN SLICES

Thin slices are needed for vegetables that are to be used for grilling, like aubergines. You need to follow the direction of the vegetable’s fiber so that it cooks slowly and evenly during cooking. To make this cut, put the vegetable on top of a cutting board, remove the ends, then slice in a lengthwise direction.

 

STICKS

To make vegetable sticks, first put the vegetable on top of a cutting board and cut it into half. Cut the first half into thin slices, then cut the slices lengthwise. Do the same for the other half. Vegetable sticks are best for dipping and frying.

TAGLIO BRUNOISE

This cut is typically used for decorating dishes or for mixing into dishes. It’s easy. Just follow the instructions for vegetable sticks, then cut the sticks into small cubes of about 2 mm.

MIREPOIX

Did you know that this cut is named after its creator, Duc de Lévis-Mirepoix? You can achieve this by simply dicing celery stalks, carrots and onions into very small sizes. This is best for mixing into ground meat, poultry, seafoods, etc. that will be used for frying.

CONCASSER

This usually refers to peeling, seeding and chopping of vegetables like tomatoes. First, create an incision into the bottom of the tomato then submerge it into boiling water for a few seconds. Remove and put it into a bowl of cold water. Then, peel it slowly, starting from the incision that you have created. Cut it into quarters then remove the seeds. Then cut the tomato into thin strips of about half cm per side. Finally, dice the tomato into small, even sizes. You can use this for sauces, bruschetta or as decoration.

JULIENNE

The julienne cut is best for salads or other dishes that call for vegetable strips of the same thickness. Start by placing the vegetable on top of a cutting board. Remove the ends and cut into thin slices. Put the thin slices on top of each other and start cutting them into thin strips.

 

CHIFFONADE

This is best cut for leafy greens that you can use for salads, pies, soups etc. Start by removing the stem to get the leaves. Roll the leaves to form a tube. Then proceed to cutting the leaves into thin strips. Done.

Did you like this article? I sure hope you do. Knowing these vegetable cuts will make your cooking time faster, easier and a lot more fun!

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