KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

Week 2

 Food Preparation and Cooking Terms

What type of thing is food preparation?

 Art – an art, one of the arts, is a creative endeavor or discipline.

 Culinary art – art of preparing and cooking foods.

 Skill – learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time,
energy, or both.

 Meal preparation – the process of planning meals.

Essence of food preparation

 Chef – a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come
to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional
who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.

 Cooking – act of preparing food for eating. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and
combinations of ingredients to improve the flavor or digestibility of food. It generally requires the
selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to
achieve the desired result.

 Cuisine – specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a specific culture.
It is often named after the region or place where its underlying culture is present. A cuisine is
primarily influenced by the ingredients that are available locally or through trade.

Food preparation techniques

Baking

 Baking – the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, normally
in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes or on hot stones. Appliances like Rotimatic also allow
automatic baking.

 Blind baking – baking pastry before adding a filling.[1]

 Boiling – the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling
point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on
the liquid by the surrounding environmental pressure.

 Blanching – cooking technique which food substance, usually a vegetable or fruit, is plunged into
boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed
under cold running water (shocked) to halt the cooking process.
  Braising – combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first
seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid,
resulting in a particular flavor.

 Coddling – food is heated in water kept just below the boiling point.

 Infusion – going to a health cafe and ordering tea without the milk or sugar.

 Pressure cooking – cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a
preset pressure, which allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a higher temperature before boiling.

 Simmering – foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just below the boiling point of water,[2] but
higher than poaching temperature.

 Poaching – process of gently simmering food in liquid, generally milk, stock or wine.

 Steaming – boiling water continuously so it vaporizes into steam and carries heat to the food being
steamed, thus cooking the food.

 Double steaming – Chinese cooking technique in which food is covered with water and put in a
covered ceramic jar and the jar is then steamed for several hours.

 Steeping – saturation of a food (such as an herb) in a liquid solvent to extract a soluble ingredient
into the solvent. E.g., a cup of tea is made by steeping tea leaves in a cup of hot water.

 Stewing – food is cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.

 Vacuum flask cooking –

Broiling

 Grilling – a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from
above or below.

Frying

 Frying – cooking food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around
2500 BC.[3]

 Deep frying – food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or
chip pan.

 Hot salt frying , Hot sand frying, Pressure frying, Sautéing, Stir frying

 Pan frying – cooking food in a pan using a small amount of cooking oil or fat as a heat transfer
agent and to keep the food from sticking.

Microwaving

 Microwave oven – type of oven that heats foods quickly and efficiently using microwaves.
However, unlike conventional ovens, a microwave oven does not brown bread or bake food. This
makes microwave ovens unsuitable for cooking certain foods and unable to achieve certain culinary
 effects. Additional kinds of heat sources can be added into microwave ovens or microwave
packaging so as to add these additional effects.

Roasting

 Roasting – cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source.
Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is
considered by some as a flavor enhancement.

 Barbecuing – method of cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke
of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal.

 Grilling – applying dry heat to the surface of food, by cooking it on a grill, a grill pan, or griddle.

 Rotisserie – meat is skewered on a spit - a long solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked
over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or while being roasted in an oven.

 Searing – technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc., in which the surface
of the food (usually meat, poultry or fish) is cooked at high temperature so a caramelized crust
forms.

Hot Smoking

 Smoking – the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from
burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. Hot smoking will cook and flavor the
food, while cold smoking only flavors the food.

Chemical techniques

 Brining –Brining is a process similar to marination in which meat or poultry is soaked in brine
before cooking

 Ceviche, Drying, Fermentation, Marinating, Pickling, Salting, Seasoning, Souring, Sprouting,

Sugaring

Mechanical techniques

 Basting, Grating, Cutting, Shaving, Kneading, Milling, Vacuum Filling

 Dicing –cutting into cubes

 Julienning –cutting into very thin pieces such as the thin carrots in store bought salad mix

 Mincing –cutting into very small pieces

 Peeling –to take the outer skin/covering off of a fruit or vegetable

 chiffonade; cutting in a ribbon like way

 Mixing ; incorporating different ingredients to make something new; such as how mixing water,
sugar, and lemon juice makes lemonade

 Blending ; using a machine called blender to grind ingredients

OTHER TERMS

Bake – To cook in an oven. When applied to meats in uncovered containers, it is generally called roasting.

Baste – To moisten the foods during cooking to add flavor and to prevent drying of the surface. The liquid
is usually melted fat, meat drippings, fruit juice, sauce, or water.

Beat – To stir a mixture using rapid, regular motions, use a wire whisk, spoon, hand beater or mixer.

Method incorporates air and makes mixture light, fluffy or smooth.

Blend – To mix two or more ingredients thoroughly.

Boil – To cook in a liquid that is at boiling temperature. Bubbles will rise continually and break on the
surface.

Bread – To coat a food with bread or cracker crumbs or other food. The surface may first be coated with
beaten egg or other liquid.

Broil – To cook by direct heat on a rack or spit.

Brown – To cook food with moderate or high heat until brown in color.

Chop – To cut into pieces with a knife or other sharp tool, blender, or food processor.

Coat – To spread food with or dip it into a substance such as flour or a sauce until it is covered.

Combine – To stir two or more ingredients together until the mixture looks uniform.

Cream – To mix fat and sugar with a spoon or mixer until soft and smooth.

Cube – To cut food into small cubes.

Cut – To divide food with a knife or scissors.

Cut In – To mix fat throughout with dry ingredients using two knives or a pastry blender until fat has
coated the dry ingredients. Pieces should be the size of peas.

Dice – To cut into small cubes.

Dredge – To cover or coat with flour or other fine substances such as bread crumbs or corn meal.

Fold – To combine one ingredient with another by gently turning the mixture with a spoon.

Fry – To cook in fat. A small amount of fat is used for pan-frying, sauteing, or stir-frying; deep-fat fried
foods are submerged in fat.

Glaze – To coat with a glossy mixture that adds to flavor and appearance.

Grate – To produce pieces of a specific size by rubbing food (such as carrots or cheese) on a grater or
chopping in a blender or food processor.

Grease – To rub the surface of a pan or dish with a small amount of fat to prevent food from sticking. Use
a brush or a bit of waxed paper or use cooking spray.
Grill – To cook food on a rack with direct heat.

Macerate – To soak foods in a liquid to soften them and to absorb flavor.

Marinate – To let food stand in a liquid.

Mince – To chop or cut into very small pieces.

Pare – To cut off the outside covering such as skins of vegetables or fruits.

Peel – To remove the outer covering of foods such as oranges or bananas.

Pinch – The amount of a substance that can be held between the thumb and forefinger and is smaller than
¼ teaspoon.

Reduce – To decrease volume of liquid by rapidly boiling.

Roast – To cook uncovered in an oven.

Saute – To cook in a small amount of fat.

Scald – To heat liquid to just below the boiling point.

Score – To cut shallow slits on the surface of food.

Simmer – To cook food over low heat in a liquid just below the boiling point. Bubbles will form slowly
and break apart just below the surface.

Steam – To cook food in steam over boiling water in a closed container.

Stew – To simmer food in a liquid.

Stir – To mix ingredients with a circular motion.

Stir-fry – To fry thinly sliced food quickly in only a little oil, continuously stirring with a tossing motion.

Toast – To brown by direct heat or in a hot oven.

Toss – To mix foods lightly with a lifting motion.

Whip – To beat food to incorporate air and increase volume.

 Measuring Techniques of Solid and Liquid ingredients

How to measure dry ingredients:

When measuring flour, do not scoop the cup into your bowl, instead spoon the flour in. Overfill the
measuring cup with the flour, then take a straight edge and level it. Make sure you do not shake the
measuring cup while filling it, because then you’ll over pack the ingredient. Follow the same steps for other
dry ingredients, but an exception to this rule is brown sugar. The correct way to measure brown sugar is to
pat down the sugar as you go along.
How to measure liquid ingredients:

To measure liquid ingredients, pour it into your liquid measuring cup and eyeball it. To measure correctly
be sure to do it at eye-level — this will ensure you have an accurate or close-to-perfect measurement.

Measuring scale:

According to Mairlyn, chefs and U.K. residents are more likely to measure ingredients on a kitchen scale.
If you have one at home be sure to use it when measuring your dry ingredients because it’s a much more
definitive way to measure!

Herbs and spices:

Herbs and spices are a great way to add flavor into your recipe.

A herb is a green plant and the leaves are used either dry or fresh. Fresh herbs are added at the end of a
recipe, while dry herbs are added at the beginning.

A spice is a root, bark or seed that has been dried. Use measuring spoons to get an accurate amount of spice
in your recipe. You want to scoop the spice into a measuring spoon and level it off.

Tips:

Be sure to know whether the ingredient you are using is a dry or liquid. You can always look online if you
are unsure. Below are some ingredients and the category they fall under — some of them may surprise you!

Yogurt: Dry ingredient

Liquid honey: Liquid ingredient

Dry creamed honey: Liquid ingredient

 The List of Tools to Use in Measuring

Measuring Equipment
There are different types of measuring tools used to measure the ingredients properly. The most used ones
are listed below with a brief description.

Measuring Spoons: Usually have at least 4 spoons, which are made of plastic or metal. They are used to
measure small quantities of both dry and liquid ingredients. The set includes 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1
teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon. There are also sets that include 1/8 teaspoon, 3/4 teaspoon and 1/2 tablespoon.

Dry Measuring Cups: They usually come in plastic or metal and in various sizes. There are also adjustable
measuring cups available. The cup has a slide bar that can be adjusted to measure different amounts.
Graduated and adjustable measuring cups are used to measure dry ingredients, such as flour, sugar, rice and
solid ingredients, such as shortening and peanut butter.

Liquid Measuring Cups: Containers of glass or clear plastic with a pour spout and handle. They are
generally available in 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup and 8 cup sizes, which have graduated measures on the side.
Scales: Balance or spring scales are used to measure the weight of ingredients. Balance scales are more
accurate than spring scales. Using a scale will assure a more accurate measurement of the ingredients than
using the method of measuring by volume. Scales are available in manual and digital models.

Portioning Scoops: These scoops are used for measuring, portioning, and forming. The measuring scoops
are a popular utensil used by professional chefs. They are available in several sizes, which are numbered
according to their volume, the higher the number, the smaller the volume. They are useful when making
cookies, muffins or meatballs.

Mixing Bowls: These are plastic, glass, or metal containers of different shapes into which ingredients can
be placed, measured, and mixed.
There are glass and plastic measuring cups also available that are large enough to be used as mixing bowls.
They range from an 8 to 12 cup capacity and are similar to liquid measuring cups in that they have a spout,
handle, and measure markings down the side. They work well for large jobs and can be used for mixing
and pouring batters, such as pancake or waffle batter.

Dry and Solid Ingredients

For baking, in most cases, use a kitchen scale and measure the ingredient by weight for the most accurate
quantity. Why? There can be a difference in how much of a dry ingredient, such as flour, is actually in a
measuring tool. This depends on in which way it is added in measuring cup and by how much the ingredient
is packed. Humidity is also a major factor in the weight of the dry ingredient. Using a scale to weigh the
ingredient will ensure a more accurate measurement.

Methods for measuring dry and solid ingredients

Here are some methods that should be used for some of the common ingredients measured using graduated
measuring cups and spoons.
* For flour, sugar, oats, cornmeal, cereal, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and breadcrumbs, add
enough in the measuring cup so that it is mounding over the top, and using the back of a knife, push the
excess ingredient off by running the edge of the knife along the border of the cup or spoon.
* When measuring large ingredients such as shredded cheese, rice, coconut, chopped nuts, baking chips
and other bulky dry ingredients, spoon them into the measuring device then pat them lightly to level the
content. Do not pat down.
* When measuring brown sugar or solid fats like shortening, spoon the ingredients into the measuring tool
and pack firmly to eliminate any air pockets. After firmly packed, level with a knife. The brown sugar will
have the shape of the cup after removed from the measuring cup, if packed you correctly.

Liquid Measurement

Methods for measuring liquid ingredients

* Use large transparent plastic or glass measuring cups, with pour spouts, to measure large quantities.
* Use measuring spoons to measure small quantities of liquid ingredients.
* When checking to see if the ingredient is at the desired level, have the measuring cup sitting on a flat,
level surface and make sure it is at your eye level. Do not hold the cup up to eye level because the cup may
not be level when viewing and it may result in an inaccurate reading.
* To make sure sticky liquids such as honey or molasses won't cling to the measuring cup, grease the cup
or spray it with nonstick cooking spray first.
* Or you can remove sticky ingredients by using metal measuring cups or spoons and filling them with
boiling water for a few minutes and then pouring the ingredients in them.

Measuring Tips
* Never measure over the mixing bowl containing the other ingredients. You may accidentally spill the
measuring device or the ingredients the mixture. This could ruin the whole batch. You must measure over
the sink, another bowl, or a sheet of paper.
* Measure the dry ingredients first and then use the measuring cups and spoons for the liquid ingredients.
* Store loose dry ingredients, such as salt, in a lidded container. The ingredient can then be spooned out
and leveled, rather than trying to pour it into a measuring spoon and having it spill over the edges.
* To help you remember easier which ingredients you have measured and added in the mixing bowl, place
all the ingredients on one side of the mixing bowl and once you have measure and add an ingredient, move
its container to the opposite side of the bowl.
* Try to calculate approximately the small measurements of ingredient to save time. Pour the measured
amount of an ingredient into the palm of your hand. Observe the look and feel of the quantity and then try
to pour that same amount into your palm without measuring first. Do not use this method when measuring
ingredients for baking. When baking, it is more critical to measure the ingredients accurately.

Week 3

 Knives and Uses

1) Chef’s Knife

A chef’s knife is a multipurpose and most common kitchen tool that effortlessly dices vegetables and cuts
meats. The Chef’s Knife blade is 6 to 14 inches long and 1 ½ inches broad. They have a pronounced curve
near the tip and have a handle that easily fits in your clasp. Every chef recommends this knife for quick
chopping and slicing food.

2) Serrated Utility Knife

This knife looks similar to a bread knife but a shorter and sharper version. Serrated Utility Knives are
usually 4 to 7 inches long and are used to cut through delicate vegetables and fruits without slashing them.
This knife is also referred to as ‘Sandwich knife’ or ‘Tomato Knife’ and could be used for small slicing
jobs such as fixing sandwiches and cutting bagels as well.

3) Paring Knife

The Paring Knife is typically used for carrying out intricate works such as peeling food, deveining shrimps,
and creating food carving and garnishes such as juliennes. Paring Knife is simple, straightforward and sharp
bladed that is short in size, typically between 2 ½ inches and 4 inches and the edge looks similar to that of
a chef’s knife.
4) Boning Knife

The Boning Knife is designed to separate bones from meat seamlessly. They come in two varieties – ‘Firm’
and ‘Flexible’. However, both the versions are thin, somewhat flexible and curved blades, sized between 5
to 7 inches in length. The firmer knife is used to debone beefs while the flexible blade suits better to cut
chickens. There’s a ‘Fillet Knife’ too that’s preferred for delicate fishes.

5) Cleaver

A Cleaver Knife is what we call the Villain’s Knife in movie language. You can easily spot it in multiple
horror movies. They have thick rectangular blades that narrow down to sharp edges. While Cleaver is must
in restaurants which cleave large quantity of meats and bone, it essentially is not required in home kitchens.

6) Bread Knife

It is a longer and larger version of Serrated Utility Knife. They are only used to cut clean through bread
loaves without crumbling them. They have offset handles that keep your knuckles away from the bread.

7) Carving Knife

It is a longer and thinner version of a Chef’s Knife and has a lengthy and sharp edge that is used to thinly
slice thicker meats or large food items such as roasts.

8) Butcher Knife

This Knife has a wide belly and clip points that lets us to segment, slice and trim large fruits such as
watermelons, papaya, pineapple and pumpkin.

9) Fluting Knife

It is a slightly shorter but sharp-angled version of Paring Knife, sized between 2 to 4 inches and is used for
peeling veggies delicately, and for carving and decorating food.

10) Mincing Knife

The Mincing Knife looks strange and slightly evil, though it has no such intentions. It does not have one
handle like normal knives, but has two instead, to hold from the top and finely mincemeat, veggies and
herbs, by rocking it to and fro like a pendulum.

11) Trimming Knife

Trimming Knives are only 3 inches long yet perform a number of small tasks such as removing meat from
bone from small areas and create garnishes.

12) Salmon Knives

Salmon Knives are very elegant and slender looking knives that have thin, sharp and flexible blades,
particularly used to peel off the pale skin from fresh salmon. It is also used for making delicate fillets and
for sushi slicing. They may be sold as Fillet Knives.
13) Peeling Knife

Resembles a Paring Knife, the peeling knife has a downward curved blade, “tourne” which is used to
remove spots and blotches from food, and make specific cuts on root vegetables.

14) Grapefruit Knife

It is long knife with dull blades which is used to separate the fruit portion from the peel and pith of a
grapefruit. It also has fancier, double blade versions for peeling and for removing inner membranes.

15) Decorating Knife

It is designed to make decorative patterns on fruits and vegetables and the most common ones have simple
zig-zag blades.

16) Cheese Knives

Well, they are designed to slice cheese, as the name implies. They come with perforated holes which keeps
the cheese from sticking to the knives. The sharper ones are used for hard cheese.

17) Butter Knives

Now this is not exactly a knife but it does look like one. It is blunt and is usually found with forks and
spoons. It is used to spread, well, butter, jams and other spreads on food and breads.

o Different Types and Parts of Knives Used in the Laboratory

The Different Parts of a Kitchen Knife

We should start by making sure you know what the parts of a knife are, and the importance of each part.

Point

The sharp end of the blade that tapers to a point, hence the name. The point can be a Trail Point, Clip Point,
Drop Point, Spear Point, Hawksbill Point, or Tanto Point, depending on whether it is above, even with, or
below the blades spine. The point is important because it may be needed to start a hole, score something,
or hold something in place, or maybe even stab something. If the point is dropped, the top part leading to
the point is called the swedge, and if sharpened, is called a false edge.
Edge

The edge is the actual working part of a knife. Edges can be ground to different profiles, depending on
what the knife is intended to be used for. An edge can be Chisel, Hollow-Ground, V, or Flat-Ground,
Convex, Compound, or Serrated. Some edges can even have multiple bevels, such as half Hollow-Ground
and half Serrated. The edge can be critical, depending on what the knife is used for. Hollow-Ground will
give you a very fine, super-sharp edge, but it will be somewhat delicate, and will not stand up to heavy
chopping, and batoning (batoning is hammering the blade through something with another object, such as
a large stick, or polymer hammer…very hard on edges, and spines…). Hollow-Grinds are found on many
fine chefs’ knives, slicing and boning knives, fillet knives and pocket knives. A ‘V’, or Flat Ground edge
will be tough, and is great for chopping and batoning. It will hold an acceptable edge for most tasks, but
will not take a super-fine edge for very clean slicing. You’ll see Flat Grinds on Meat Cleavers, Axes and
Machetes. Chisel points are used mostly on tools. Convex, and Compound grinds are a compromise
between hollow-grinds and Flat grinds.

Tip

The tip is used for delicate cutting.

Heel

The lower part of the blade, close to the bolster.

Spine

The back of the blade, or, if it is a double-edged knife, the middle. The spine is the thickest part of the blade,
and provides strength to the edge. As a rule, the thicker the spine, the stronger the blade. Spine thickness is
also important because it effects the balance of the knife. Blade-heavy knives are great for chopping, but
are somewhat unwieldy for delicate slicing. Handle-heavy knives are weak for chopping, but are great for
delicate and intricate slicing. Sometimes a spine may have texturing along the last inch or so, near the
handle, called “jimping”, which facilitates using the thumb on the back of the blade for extra control when
making intricate and very delicate cuts.

Bolster

This is a crosspiece that protects the fingers from opposing blades sliding down your blade on a parry,
during a knife-fight, or, in the case of kitchen knives, keeps your hand from sliding down onto the blade
if your hand gets slippery.

Scales (handle)

The handle of the knife. Scales can be made from many materials, such as micarta, abalone, turquoise,
various kinds of wood, plastic, rubber, leather, and polymers. The design of a handle can affect the ease
with which a knife can be used for a specific purpose. A handle can be straight, or have finger grooves.

Handle Fasteners

These are what hold the scales to the tang. They can be rivets, or screws. Rivets are commonly used because
they are cheap and low-maintenance. The down-side is that if they ever loosen up, or you want to change
the scales, they are difficult to remove. Screws make it easy to remove the scales for complete cleaning, or
replacement, but you must take care to check them and tighten them regularly, because they can loosen up
during use. You can eliminate this problem by removing them, coating them with Lock-Tite, then putting
them back. I have never had a screw work loose after putting Lock-Tite, or a similar product on it.

Tang

The tang is the unsharpened metal at the end of the blade that the handle attaches to. The tang can be a full-
tang, meaning the metal extends all the way to the end of the scales, or a partial tang, meaning the metal
only extends part of the way into the scales. Full tang knives allow much more force to be applied to the
blade, and are the preferred style for most types of knives. The exception to the rule is folding knives, which
by design, are impossible to make with a full-tang.

Butt

The back end of the knife.

o Vegetables and Fruit Cuts

BRUNOISE (FINE DICE)

This particular technique will allow you to fine diced vegetables and fruit. Normally, the food is cross cut
and then sliced across the sticks in order to create fine cubes. Foods that are commonly brunoised include
turnips, onions and carrots.

CHIFFONADE (SHREDDING)

The chiffonade technique is usually used on leafy vegetables and herbs. Some examples include, spinach,
lettuce, basil herbs and cabbage. This is accomplished by first cutting the food into long strips, and then
cross cutting them in the preferred thickness.

JULIENNE (MATCH STICK CUTS)

The Julienne technique allows you to cut foods into long, thin match stick like pieces. This is a cutting style
that is normally used for zucchini, carrots, celery and capsicum, but it can be used on virtually any type of
vegetable.

MACEDOINE (LARGE DICE)

This particular technique is used to cut vegetables and fruit into large cubes, which is ideal for preparing
vegetables that will be used in soups. Cooks also cut melons and other types of large fruit using this
technique. When using this technique, it is important to have a flat surface to cut on. Slicing is a technique
in which you cut food into thin slices that are relatively broad in comparison to the slice depth. You can use
this technique on meats, fruit and vegetables for use in any number of vegetables. Mincing creates a food
with an even smaller consistence that you would be able to using the brunoise technique. To use this
technique effectively, you will need to hold your knife handle with one hand and use your other hand to
keep the blade's tip in contact with the cutting surface — while bringing your blade down into the food.
ROLL-CUTTING

This is a common technique that is used to cut long fruit and vegetables, such as zucchini and carrots. Using
this technique will allow you to make more attractive pieces, while exposing more of the food's surface.

PARALLEL CUTTING

This is a technique that is used to cut broad, thin slices of vegetables and meat. You accomplish thisby
laying your food flat on a cutting surface and angling your knife blade parallel to the cutting surface, in
order to cut through the food.

CRUSHING

This is a technique that is used to crush foods like garlic and ginger, and it is best accomplished by using a
flat surface like a walnut cutting board and using a large blade to press downward on the food.

Each of these techniques are designed to produce foods with different sizes and consistencies in order to
improve taste and cooking consistency.

o Vegetable and Fruit Carving

Asparagus, broccoli, potatoes, cabbages, beetroot, carrots, cucumber, eggplant, leeks, lettuce, mushroom,
okra, onion, pepper, pumpkins, spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower, corn, shallots.

 Basic Cuts

Squaring Off Your Items

1. The Julienne Cut

2. The Brunoise Dice

3. The Small Dice

4. The Batonnet We start with squaring off our item, slicing it to the thickness desired, and then going
from there. The batonnet is no different, but what the purpose of knowing these cuts are they are standard
sizes that you’ll see in most professional recipes as well as recipes posted on The Culinary Cook. Let’s
continue. The Batonnet is no different, and we are aiming for a larger stick-cut. The batonnet is used when
serving a larger portion of an item such as a vegetable side, to gain height in your dish, or to provide
imposing linear appeal to an otherwise linear-absent dish. Dimensions: 6mm X 6mm X 6cm (1/4 in X 1/4
in X 2 in)

5. The Medium Dice