Excuse my French...

Julienne...chiffonade.. brunoise... parmentier... ridiculously fancy names for ridiculously small cuts of veggies or fruit. I imagine every person who's studied culinary arts and got his money's worth had to undergo this tedious task of slicing and dicing things into perfect (and I mean PERFECT) shapes of exact equal size. This is what our first kitchen "workshop" consisted of, and we are told that this will not be the last time we'll be subjected to this French foolishness. I understand that having equally sized pieces ensures a balanced cooking process, but who wants to eat an al dente piece of potato the size of a baby's finger nail?

What I do find interesting is the history of where the names of these cuts come from. Antoine Parmentier, for example, is credited with introducing the potato to France. He came to know the tasty tuber while being held captive in Prussia during the 7 Year War. Later he defended it as a nutritional alternative and managed to get the laws lifted that prohibited its cultivation in France. Until then the potato had been considered inedible in the greater part of Europe. After the French Revolution the cultivation of potato hugely alleviated the famine that prevailed. And for all his effort Parmentier was awarded by naming a 1cm cube of potato after him...

I for one am more partial to robust, rustic chopping, something you can actually bite into! But still, I'm eager to learn and perfect all the French rules and margins, even if only to know better how to break them... oh rébellion!

Enough history and folly for one day.  Next week: mayonaisse :)