Julienning facts for kids
Julienne is a special way of cutting food into long, thin strips. Imagine cutting vegetables into tiny matchsticks – that's a julienne cut! This cooking technique is also known as allumette (which is French for matchstick) or French cut.
Chefs use the julienne cut for many different foods, especially vegetables. For example, you might see julienned carrots in a salad, or julienned potatoes that become thin, crispy fries. Other common foods cut this way include celery and cucumbers. Cutting food this way helps it cook evenly and quickly, and it also makes dishes look very neat and professional.
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How to Make a Julienne Cut
To make a perfect julienne cut, you first need to trim the ends of the vegetable. Then, you cut off the edges to make four straight sides. This makes it much easier to cut the vegetable into strips that are all the same size.
Having pieces that are all the same size and shape is important because it makes sure every piece cooks at the same speed. This means you won't have some pieces that are still hard while others are overcooked.
What Size is a Julienne Cut?
A standard julienne cut is usually about 3 millimeters (which is less than half an inch) wide and 3 millimeters thick. The strips are typically about 40 to 50 millimeters (about 1.5 to 2 inches) long.
If you take these julienned strips and then turn them and cut them into very tiny cubes, that's called a brunoise cut. A brunoise cut makes tiny cubes that are about 3 millimeters by 3 millimeters by 3 millimeters.
History of the Julienne Cut
The word "julienne" was first used in a cookbook way back in 1722. It appeared in a French cookbook called Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, written by François Massialot. We don't know exactly where the name "julienne" came from, but it has been used in cooking ever since!
See Also
- Mandoline
