Chiffonade, pronounced “she-foh-NOD” is a technique which involves slicing leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, or Swiss chard into long, thin, uniform strips. It’s also used for slicing flat-leaved herbs such as basil.

To begin with, leaves must be stacked and then rolled tightly. It doesn’t matter if they are all facing the same way or not, they just need to be flat.

Once, they are all rolled up, a sharp knife is used to cut thin slices perpendicular to the roll of leaves. It does however, require a relatively larger surface area for the knife to consistently cut the strips or ribbons.

That is why this technique is not suitable for cutting irregularly shaped or small herb leaves such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, or cilantro.

In addition, you can also use the chiffonade technique on thinner foods such as crêpes or traditional French omolettes to produce long thin strips.

For example, a stack of mint leaves can be rolled up and sliced into little ribbons to make a mint chiffonade. The resulting strips can then be fluffed for a more visually appealing garnish, or they can be used to sprinkle over soups and salads to add additional flavor.

This technique does require using a sharp knife in close proximity to your fingers. If you’re new to working with sharp knives, make sure you fold your non-knife hand fingertips under to create a guide for the knife.