How to Julienne Carrots - Carving A Journey

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Are you looking at a recipe that requires you to julienne carrots but don’t know how? If so, you probably stumbled on this article after looking up different methods online! In this article, I will teach you how to julienne carrots using two methods using tools found in most home kitchens. These tools are a knife and a julienne peeler. I hope this helps you cook at home!

What Does the Term ‘Julienne’ Mean?

The term ‘julienne,’ otherwise known as the ‘French cut,’ refers to a cutting technique for slicing vegetables, fruits, and meats into strips that resemble matchsticks.

Why Julienne Carrots?

While julienning vegetables can be time-consuming, it can help your vegetables cook more quickly and evenly. Further, it allows the vegetables to soak up flavors well and in a shorter amount of time. Finally, when presenting raw vegetables (for example in a salad) it can help them appear easier to eat and more appetizing.

A beautiful pile of carrots on a cream tray sitting on the window sill.

How to Julienne Carrots:

In this section, I explain two methods for julienning carrots with items found in most home kitchens. Learn how to julienne carrots with a knife and a julienne peeler below! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or email me at [email protected]!

Recommendation: Before we learn how to julienne carrots I would like to discuss carrot waste! Rather than throwing away your carrot peels, tops, and greens, I recommend keeping them to make vegetable broth or stock. You can either freeze your waste to make stock at a later date or you can make stock the same day! Homemade stock from vegetable waste can save you money at the grocery store. Not only that, you can avoid those added preservatives when making it from scratch at home!

How to Julienne Carrots With a Knife

First, wash and peel your carrots. Using a regular vegetable peeler, remove the carrot skins.
Next, trim off the top and bottom of your carrots.
Then, lay your carrots on the cutting board. Using your knife, cut the carrots across the carrots creating two or three parts. Each chunk should measure approximately 2-3 inches long, though the size and number of chunks depends on the size of each carrot.

The first step of how to learn how to julienne carrots: A carrot is cut into three chunks on a cutting board.

Following that, slice each chunk lengthwise into multiple thin planks.

The second step of how to learn how to julienne carrots: a chunk of the carrot has been cut into thin planks.

Finally, lay the planks on their wide, flat site and cut lengthwise into thin matchsticks. Repeat until you cut all the carrots.

The final step: The planks are cut into matchstick pieces. You can see all three steps lined up on the cutting board. — In this photo you can see all three steps for julienning a carrot on the cutting board (the cutting board is stilling on my beautifully shabby and old window sill)

Note: To cut carrots more quickly, but without the same even, perfect precision, you can use the bias cut to cut the carrots instead. To use the bias cut, angle your knife and cut off the root end. Continue slicing at an angle to create oval-shaped pieces. Then, slice the pieces into matchsticks. This is a quicker and easier method but the matchstick pieces won’t look exactly the same in length and size.

How to Julienne Carrots With a Julienne Peeler

First, wash and peel your large carrots. Using a regular vegetable peeler, remove the carrot skins.
Next, trim off the top and bottom of your carrots before placing them long side down on a flat surface.
Then, holding the thick end, drag the peeler down the length of the carrot. This process produces slender, perfect matchsticks. Repeat until the carrot gets too small to julienne.

Further Tools for Julienning Carrots:

Rather than using tools you already have in your kitchen (such as a knife and julienne peeler), you can also use specialty tools for slicing and julienning vegetables. I list a few below!

Recommendation: When using a grater or mandoline, I recommend using cut-resistant gloves. Having cut myself on a mandoline (trust me it is not fun), I always use gloves for an extra layer of protection! You can find them on Amazon as well as in cooking stores!

A side shot of a pile of this orange root vegetable sitting on an oval tray on a window sill.

I Hope You Enjoyed Learning How to Julienne Carrots!!

In the end, I hope you enjoyed learning how to julienne carrots! If so, let me know in the comment section!

If you would like to read more about cooking, you can find further recipes on this blog. I listed some of my favorite Carving A Journey recipes below! For reference, many recipes are influenced by my family’s blended Korean and Southern heritage. I also listed a few how-to articles to help you out in the kitchen!

Further Carving A Journey Recipes:

Further Carving A Journey How-To Articles:

If you have any questions or comments, you can also email me at [email protected]. And, finally, I would love to hear from you through our social media as well! You can follow me at @carvingajourney on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I also started a vlog YouTube channel with my husband! Or, if you would like more articles like these, you can subscribe to the blog by joining the mailing list. Let me know how you use your julienned carrots! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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