The best tips for chopping and dicing

In general, you really want to avoid serrated knives for small dices, opting for a smooth, thin blade and a knife that is strong enough to cut through some tougher veggies, but not so large that you can’t get what you need into tiny 1/8-inch cubes.

Small Dice (Fancy name: Macedoine)

“I find that a small dice, roughly 1/4-inch cubes, are one of those knife cuts we use for many things. The size of it fits well on a spoon, and lets you get multiple things into one bite. It works for soups, salads, and raw dishes," says Ted Hopson, head chef of L.A.'s The Bellwether. For this, you start off by cutting 1/4-inch planks, then turn those on their side, and cut them into 1/4-inch strips. Gather those strips up, turn them again, and cut them into a small dice.

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Super-Small Dice (Fancy name: Brunoise)

This cut will allow you to cut things into 1/8-inch cubes. To do this, use the exact same method mentioned previously, just make it smaller. “I usually use this when working with strong-flavored items, like onions. People don't love huge bites of onions—so we cut them smaller, then you get the flavor but it blends nicer into whatever you're cooking,” Hopson says. “When working with raw dishes, like tartare and crudo, this works great to add lots of flavors in small bites. This knife cut is probably too small for hearty vegetables, like celery root, but perfect for shallots.”

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Now go dominate your prep-work like the master chef you are (just please, don't cut yourself!).

Dicing an Onion

Start by slicing off the smallest possible amount from the stem of the onion to create a flat surface, but keep the root intact. Then, with the stem end on the counter, cut the onion in half.

Place the flat cut side of the onion down on the counter with the root end away from your knife. Slice into the onion from stem end toward the root, but don’t cut all the way through the onion. Stop before you get to the root, which will hold the onion together while you dice it.

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Next, make more slices down the onion from root to stem, but again, don’t slice all the way through the stem and leave the root intact. Finally, make a third set of slices across the onion, and the onion will fall into perfect dice (we say "perfect" lightly).

Chopping Herbs

According to Chef Daniel Holzman, co-founder of The Meatball Shop and founder of Project Foodie, chopping herbs tends to crush them, releasing all of their subtle flavors before they get to your dish. To keep this from happening, he says it’s important to use a very sharp knife and always slice rather than rough-chop the herbs.

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“I start by chiffonading them, which is a fancy French word for cutting them into thin strips. Start by bunching, stacking, or rolling a small pile of leaves, then slice them thinly in one direction. After that, rotate the stack 90 degrees and slice the strips into tiny squares. This gives you an even chop at whatever size you’d like with a minimal number of cuts. It saves time and keeps your herbs fresh and flavorful.”