This summer, we made some great malted milk ice cream and mixed in some crushed Robin Eggs that we'd bought on sale after Easter. I'd love to make the same ice cream again, but the problem is: it's not Easter and I can't find Robin Eggs anywhere.  Are there other candy that I could use? I don't think regular milk balls would work as well since they don't have the same malted milk to chocolate ratio, and I'm more interested in the malted milk part than the chocolate part. The candy coating adds a nice crunch and color as well, but that's more of a bonus than requirement.   I know there are some online stores that sell them year round, but they tend to be pretty expensive. 
The French have names for a lot of cuts,  not just 'dice' and 'mince'.  (and I don't mean 'large dice').  And that list is incomplete -- it's missing chiffonade ... I have no idea how many others.  Julienne is a cut where you have items looking like small sticks -- a few inches long (about 10 cm) , and about 1/8" (3mm) square.  It's also called 'matchstick cut' in English, if you don't want to use the loanword.  It's generally done with vegetables:   Peel the item if needed Cut it down to length Slice one side to flatten it Place the flat side down, and slice into planks about 1/8" across. Stack up some of the planks, and slice them every 1/8" to make sticks.   ... and there are mandolines (food slicers) that can do this style of cut by just pushing the food through the blades.  As for purpose -- it's just one of many cuts that you can use to try to make sure that things are cut evenly.  (especially when you might have more than one person doing food prep).  It's useful for trying to make sure that items cook (or pickle) quickly.  It can also help make sure that harder vegetables (eg. carrots) are easier to eat (both to chew and to pick up with a fork).  It can be used to otherwise change texture in a dish.  It can also be decorative if you cut up things of a contracting color (or colors) and sprinkle them on top -- bell peppers, carrots, apple, etc.) 