How To Cut Carrots Like The Ones From Your Childhood Lunchbox

When you close your eyes and imagine a child's lunchbox, what do you picture inside of it? Beyond a handwritten note from mom — we all know that's there — you might think of a baloney sandwich with the crusts cut off, a crisp apple, or one of those cosmic brownies from Little Debbie. Or what about a plastic bag filled with little rectangles of carrots?

Even some of the pickiest kids can't resist a good carrot. Of all the vegetables, they're probably the most child-friendly: brightly colored, sweet as candy, and eminently dippable in all kinds of sauces. You can even turn them into a tasty juice — though you'll need quite a few carrots to get a full glass. It's the kind of snack that's as satisfying to adults as it is to kids — you might even take some to snack on at the office. But if you're still chasing memories of little square-edged carrot batons, there's a really easy way to cut them so that they're perfect for your own lunchbox. (You'll have to write the note yourself, though.)

The fancy-pants name for a lunchbox-style carrot is a baton, which is just French for "stick". It may not be one of the most creative ways to use carrots, but it's a classic for a reason. A baton cut starts the way every other cut does, with a whole carrot, washed and peeled. Trim off the top part of the carrot (which, despite the name of that prop comic from the '90s, is green, not orange), then cut the carrot into a few pieces of roughly equal length — each piece should be about the length of your thumb.

From there, you can turn the pieces lengthwise and cut them as thick or as thin as you like. For the all-important square cut (or else you might as well just get baby carrots), just slice off the round ends of each baton. That's how you take full-sized carrots and turn them into neat little carrot sticks, perfect for placing in a resealable bag for a date with destiny in the form of ranch dressing.