Dicing
Dicing means to cut a food into cubes where all 6 sides are of equal length. Nobody's expecting you to measure anything and although there are 'official' sizes of various dices, just getting within the ballpark is good enough.
There are also sticks that you can cut either in preparation for dicing or to use as-is.
For most of you,remembering the terms is probably unnecessary, however there are some more 'professional' cookbooks that will use them. Plus, learning how to dice proficiently will help you in creating more visually appealing and evenly-cooked dishes.
The cuts themselves and their 'official' sizes (in inches)
- Julienne - 1/8 x 1/8 x 2
- Bâtonnet - 1/4 x 1/4 x2
- Brunoise - 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8
- Fine brunoise 1/16 x 1/16 x 1/16
- Small dice - 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4
- Medium dice - 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2
- Large dice - 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/4