How to Julienne and Cube Vegetables

A recipe that invites you to prepare the vegetables may ask you to chop them or cut them into cubes. Don’t let the French accent intimidate you: Julienne vegetable is as simple as it is attractive, and if you can julienne vegetable, dicing is a breeze.

Julienning the Vegetables
For one vegetable julienne, first trim the vegetables, such as radishes or carrots, so they are flat on all sides. Cut them lengthwise into 1/8-inch thick pieces. Stack the pieces and cut them into strips of the same width. The figure shows an illustration of this technique.

Cubed (or diced) vegetables
Think potatoes. Trim all sides so they are flat all over. Cut lengthwise, and cut 1/2 inch thick pieces (or whatever thickness you want). Gather all or some of the flat pieces and cut them vertically into even strips. Cut it crosswise into equal cubes.
Cubed is the same as dicing, except that your pieces are smaller: 1/8 to 1/4 inch, usually.