There are a number of regular knife cuts that are basic to chef skills. Each produces a standardized piece of food, allowing a chef to translate words into cuisine.
The two basic shapes for these cuts are the strip and the cube. Strips are generally cut to 2½-3 inches, and are defined by width, from thickest to thinnest as "batonnet", "allumette", "julienne", and "fine julienne". The cube shapes, in order from largest to smallest, are the large, medium, and small dice, the brunoise, and the fine brunoise.[1]
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Translated literally from French, batonnet means "little stick". The batonnet measures approximately 12mm × 12mm × 70mm ( ½ inch × ½ inch × 2 inches). It is also the starting point for the medium dice.[2]
Sometimes also called the "matchstick cut" (which is the translation of "allumette" from French) the allumette measures approximately 6mm × 6 mm × 70mm (¼ inch × ¼ inch × 2 inches). It's also the starting point for the small dice.[3]
An urban legend has this cut named for Julia Child, but the first reference to it occurs in François Massialot's Le Cuisinier Royal in 1722. The julienne measures approximately 3mm × 3mm × 70mm (1/8 inch × 1/8 inch × 2 inches). It's also the starting point for the brunoise cut.[4]
Measures approximately 1,5mm × 1,5mm × 70mm (1/16 inch × 1/16 inch × 2 inches). It's also the starting point for the fine brunoise cut.[5]
Cubes with sides measuring approximately 2cm (¾ inch).[6]
Cubes with sides measuring approximately 12mm (½ inch), created by cutting the batonnet cut into cubes.[7]
Cubes with sides measuring approximately 6mm (¼ inch), created by cutting the allumette cut into cubes.[8]
Tiny cubes, with sides measuring approximately 3mm (1/8 inch), created by cutting the julienne into cubes.[9]
Even tinier cubes, with sides measuring approximately 1.5mm (1/16 inch), created by cutting the fine julienne into cubes.[10]