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Handbook

Sticks: bâtonnet and pont-neuf

Sticks 6 mm and 1 cm thick — for fries, steamed vegetables and crudités: sizes and even cutting.

Bâtonnet is a stick ≈6 × 6 mm and 5–6 cm long, twice as thick as allumette. Pont-neuf is the classic thick-cut fry, ≈1 × 1 cm and 6–7 cm long; some schools cut it thicker still, up to 1.5–2 cm. Bâtonnet cut crosswise gives a small ≈6 mm dice.

Sticks at one scale: julienne, allumette, bâtonnet, pont-neufjulienne1–2 × 1–2 × 40–50 mmallumette≈3 × 3 × 50–60 mmbâtonnet≈6 × 6 × 50–60 mmpont-neuf≈1 × 1 × 6–7 cm1 cm
Bâtonnet and pont-neuf next to the thinner sticks, at one scale.
What and what for
  • Potatoes: bâtonnet makes regular fries, pont-neuf thick ones that are fried twice — first until tender at a lower temperature, then until crisp.
  • Carrots, celery, cucumber, kohlrabi, bell peppers — crudités for dips, steamed vegetables, roasting.
  • Recipes asking for sticks or batons usually mean something between bâtonnet and pont-neuf: the thicker the sticks, the longer they cook.
Step by step
  • Cut the vegetable into pieces of the right length: 5–6 cm for bâtonnet, 6–7 cm for pont-neuf.
  • Square it into a block: trim the rounded sides so the piece lies flat and steady.
  • Cut the block into planks 6 mm (bâtonnet) or 1 cm (pont-neuf) thick.
  • Lay a plank down and cut it lengthwise into sticks of the same width, so the cross-section is square.
Raw potato is hard and slippery: cut on a flat base, hold the block with a claw and do not press down on the knife — let the blade glide. A dull knife slips on potatoes more than on anything else.