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Handbook

Julienne and allumette: thin sticks

Fine 1–2 mm sticks and slightly thicker matchsticks: sizes, which vegetables, and how to cut them evenly.

Julienne is a long thin stick: in the French school ≈1–2 × 1–2 mm and 4–5 cm long, while American textbooks allow up to 3 mm. Allumette (matchstick) is a little thicker, ≈3 × 3 mm and 5–6 cm long; the name is most often used for potatoes. Recipes saying cut into strips usually mean something in between.

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
Sticks at one scale: julienne, allumette, bâtonnet, pont-neuf.
What and what for
  • Carrots, celery root, parsnips, beets, zucchini (the outer layer with skin), bell peppers, leeks, ginger.
  • Salads and coleslaw, Asian stir-fries (the sticks cook in 1–2 minutes), garnishes, fillings for rolls.
  • Beets and carrots for borscht are cut thicker, closer to allumette: they braise longer and should not fall apart.
  • Julienne cut crosswise gives brunoise — a fine 1–3 mm dice.
Step by step
How dice are made: block, planks, sticks, cubes1block2planks3sticks4cubes
The first three frames are the julienne itself: block → planks → sticks.
  • Cut the vegetable into pieces 4–5 cm long (5–6 cm for allumette).
  • Trim one rounded side and lay the piece on it so it no longer rolls; square it into a block.
  • Cut the block into 1–2 mm planks (3 mm for allumette). A mandoline with a hand guard helps here.
  • Stack 3–4 planks, slightly fanned like playing cards, and cut lengthwise into sticks of the same thickness.
The mandoline causes more kitchen cuts than anything else: use the hand guard or a cut-resistant glove and do not slice the last 2 cm — finish those with a knife.