Chiqueter

Chiqueter (also rendered in English as 'chiquetting') is the classical French method of finishing the raw, crimped edge of a filled pastry by pressing the blunt back edge of a small knife blade at a 45-degree angle into the pastry at 1 cm intervals, all the way around the circumference. The knife tip pushes inward and slightly upward, creating a scalloped or herringbone notch pattern. The technique achieves two ends simultaneously: it decorates the edge with a professional, uniform border, and it mechanically keys together the upper and lower pastry layers at the joint, strengthening the seal against the outward pressure of filling during baking. Chiqueter is most commonly seen on pithiviers, galette des rois, and tourtes (double-crust pies), where a clean seal is structurally critical. It is performed on chilled, rested dough — warm fat smears rather than cuts cleanly. The term is sometimes confused with chiqueter's cousin, chiquetage, which refers more broadly to any decorative incising of raw dough. In Escoffier and Carême's classical lexicon, a properly chiqueté edge was a mark of disciplined pâtissier work.

“Before sliding the galette des rois into the oven, the pastry chef chiqueté the entire border in swift, confident strokes, leaving a perfectly even scalloped edge.”

• TechniqueBlind Baking
• DishGalette des Rois
• TechniqueSealing Pastry

1. 1.Le Guide Culinaire — Auguste Escoffier
2. 2.The Professional Pastry Chef — Bo Friberg
3. 3.Larousse Gastronomique

Confidence: high