How to Julienne a carrot

 

As you know by now, I don’t really make a lot of desserts. For some reason I don’t have a big sweet tooth, unless it’s already made for me! So I thought I’d share with you how I julienne carrots, in preparation for your big Christmas lunch or dinner. 10 minutes is all it take to chop a couple of carrots for beautifully presented sides. I understand we’re all crazy busy at the moment but if you feel a little adventurous, I’ve put together a step by step description and photos to show you how easy julienning is 😉

Julienne is a French term for cutting vegetables and fruits. Usually the size and shape resemble match sticks. If you were to work in a restaurant, the chef would expect the piece of fruit or vegetable to not exceed 3mm x 3mm x 5mm but as we’re home cooks, a little bigger or longer isn’t a major concern. If your fruit or vegetables are cut any bigger than half a centimetre, you’d call them batons.

Julienning is used quite a lot in Asian cuisine for quick cooking and well presented dishes. This form of cutting can be used in salads, stir fries, soups, fried rice, for pickling, noodle dishes, fish en papillote and are perfect for spring and rice paper rolls.

Julienning any fruit or vegetables can be take some time but when you see your dish plated up, you will think it was well worth the extra time taken. When I was taught this cut at school, I always took a little longer than everyone else, as I wanted my vegetables to be perfect!

Mandolines, julienne peelers or spiralisers are fantastic to use as they save time and you can do quite a lot of fruit and vegetables in one go. When I worked at the Tennis at the start of the year, a mandoline was a god send! They are good to have in your cupboard but sometimes the reward comes from doing something by yourself.

Do yourself a favour and give julienning a go. It’s not that hard and you may not use it too often but when you do, you’ll be amazed with the sense of accomplishment.

There are 3 very important things you need to do before starting:

♥ Please ensure your knife is super sharp – a blunt knife is a chef’s worst nightmare.

♥ Place a damp cloth or tea towel under your chopping board, to stop the board from slipping.

♥ Oh, and please keep your fingers and thumb out of the way of your super sharp knife! And please be careful not to cut yourself.

TIPS

Julienning can be used on most vegetables and fruits. Try zucchini, potatoes, pears, apples, sweet potato (fries – yumm!) or even mango. What do you like to julienne? Send me through some photos in the comments below, would love to see your handy work 🙂

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PREP: 8-10 minutes (2-3 carrots)

INGREDIENTS:
As many carrots as you need

METHOD:

Peel the carrots and chop the ends off.

Cut the carrots in half.

Slice lengthways off one side of the carrot.

It’s easier to slice if the carrot sits flat on the chopping board and doesn’t roll away.

Cut the carrots into thin slices lengthways.

Stack a couple of carrot slices together and slice again lengthways. Repeat the above process with remaining carrots.

You now have julienned carrots or matchsticks. Congratulations! You did it! Hope I made julienning carrots a little easier for you.

I just love meeting new people and finding inspirational recipes from all around the world. Lucy at Bake Play Smile hosts an amazing foodie party Fabulous Foodie Fridays, every week, why not come join us too.