How To Julienne An Onion

Learn how to properly julienne an onion.

[JacobBurton]

In France it may be called an émincé, but even in the highest end kitchens of America it will be refereed to as a julienne onion. Call it whatever you like, but it is what it is. This video wasn't created to start a debate over semantics, it was created to teach a basic technique to people who are new to cooking. I'm honored that someone of your experience level would take the time to watch my simple video on how to julienne...er, "émincé " an onion.

Thanks for the comment.

[xedniew]

Worked perfectly! 13 years later, your video is still helping amateur chefs!

[stupidguy]

Clear and straight-to-the-point. Thanks for the video

[pauldb]

I just have to say that is one sharp knife! Thanks for the vid Jacob.

[kirstypie]

I have to cut like 50 onions like this tomorrow at work, this is an incredible help🙏🏻

[JacobBurton]

I haven't done any videos on madonlines yet but I should.
I found you point of view very interesting. I remember taking an entry level communications class in college that focused on colloquial and regional speech and found it absolutely fascinating. Truth be told, in a professional kitchen, julienne usually just means strips and dice means cubes. If it's important that a food be a precise measurement then we will usually specify (1/8th dice, 2" julienne, etc).

[wmmarsh]

Wow Jacob if I had realized you could stir up such controversy I would have subscribed so much sooner. Thank you for what you do.

[austinclark]

I just gave this a try on a shallot as well. It seemed to kind of work. I was able to create essentially fine juliennes of shallot.

[silencespectrereaper]

Thank you! This technique always had me a little confounded, but this clear it up perfectly.

[JacobBurton]

We do have a video on proper guide hand technique if you're interested. You can find it at the beginning of our Knife Skills Playlist.

[KageManTV]

Thank you and that speed in the end omg!

[parahumanoid]

Anyhow, my whole point was about words and terms, not the actual skill, which I greatly admire in your case. Thanks for the great videos and keep 'em coming. Btw, do you have any stuff on mandoline cutters? The good, the bad, blade positioning and shape, usage of provided safety guards vs. good old kevlar gloves, step-based and step-free thickness adjustment, etc? I'm sure many would appreciate the technical recommendations to consider. Thanks.

[jacobgranad]

I have an interview in 2 days and i have to do this as part of it.. watching this video for help

[latranquilagr]

So glad I've found your channel ☺

[scottev]

Great job at explaining proper knife techniques. Give me some time and I'll have this move down...thanks!

[brendanmurtagh]

Thanks man this made my life a lot easier

[michaelwest]

Damn you're fast.. and that's a beautiful knife

[jessica]

I lost a finger just watching this. Haha. This seems like something with a steep learning curve, where this is no room for...curve. Very cool technique.

[parahumanoid]

I remember watching a demo of a cutter I would be pretty happy with because it had step-free blade height adjustment and a few other bells and whistles that I liked. But the problem I saw with it was that it had blade positioning 90 degrees across the direction of motion, which would mean that soft produce with strong skin would get squished, so they had to zigzag those tomatoes across that blade to get any sort of result. Imagine that speed! A 30+ degree blade would have done it, but alas!

[parahumanoid]

As I said, an onion is a product that cannot be cut into uniform straight bars. The purpose of julienning is to deliver even pieces that cook evenly. The result of this won't cook evenly because it cannot be cut evenly. I'm saying this is a case where they're stretching a term. Some will start a holy war arguing that a strand that is over 2.5" long or doesn't have 90 degree cutoff at the tips is not a "true" julienne, yet they'll accept this as a julienne while it's not even by any stretch.