Cutting, doneness and timing

What size do you cut vegetables, how do you know a dish is ready, how do you get several dishes ready at once?

What size do you cut vegetables?

Vegetables are cut to one of the five sizes below, depending on the dish. Pieces of the same size cook in the same time. That is why all the pieces in one dish are cut to the same size.

Name	Size	French name
Fine cut	3 mm	Brunoise (cubes), julienne (sticks)
Fine dice	0.5 cm cube
Dice	1 cm cube
Bite-size	2 cm
Large bite-size	8 wedges from a medium tomato, long pieces cut in half

How do you know a dish is ready?

You know a dish is ready from its color, smell, sound and texture, not from the clock. The time for the same dish changes with the stove and the pot. That is why you check the sensory signs.

Ingredient	Sign
Onion	The sizzle drops from a high pitch to a muffled sound, and the smell turns from sharp to sweet
Tomato paste	The color turns from bright red to brick, and the smell turns from sour to sweet
Butter	The foam settles, a nutty smell comes up and brown specks form on the bottom
Frying oil	Small bubbles form around the handle of a wooden spoon
Dough	When stretched, it lets light through without tearing
Meat	Measure the internal temperature with a probe thermometer

How do you get several dishes ready at once?

Several dishes are ready at the same time if you plan backward from the serving time.

Write down the serving time.
Write down the time for each dish, including resting.
Subtract each time from the serving time and write down the start times.
Leave only reheating, sauces and plating for the last 15 minutes.

Before you start, cut and weigh all the ingredients and line them up in order (mise en place). That way no cutting is left during cooking.