What to Buy As an alternative of a Meals Chopper

I actually like slicing up greens. There’s one factor therapeutic about grabbing my knife and dicing an onion or slicing delicate scallion slivers. Nevertheless I get it—not all people digs it. And as soon as I used to be a prep put together dinner and wanted to cut literal buckets of bell peppers and onions, I admit it wasn’t exactly a day on the spa. Sometimes you merely want to press a button and out pops a splendidly diced or sliced vegetable.

Many a product has been peddled to do this job for you, with a contemporary TikTok growth shilling handbook meals choppers that resemble the type hawked in infomercials throughout the late aughts (did anyone actually buy and love a Slap Chop?).

Nevertheless, sorry to smash it for you—most handbook meals choppers haven’t improved with time. They generally tend to interrupt merely and the blades wedge into produce reasonably than cleanly slicing via it. Plus, as a substitute of slicing neat cubes, oftentimes you get rectangles.

As an alternative of throwing your money away on a doodad that’ll wrestle to dice a tomato, listed beneath are six completely different meals choppers that actually work correctly and that maybe, merely maybe, will make meals prep additional fulfilling.

The Biggest Meals Choppers

A Meals Processor for Dicing, Slicing, and Chopping

As soon as I used to be a prep put together dinner, the simplest elements of my day was slicing cucumbers for pickles. I’d lug out a ginormous Robotic Coupe meals processor, slot throughout the slicing attachment, and get cracking: It whizzed out gallons of fully decrease rounds of cuke in a jiffy.

Meals processors are the closest issue you’re going to get to a handbook chopper moreover, hey, they do the entire arduous provide the outcomes you need. They will pulse, grind, blitz, slice, and chop, and all it’s good to do is press a tab or a button. Our favorite meals processors are from Cuisinart and Magimix and every sailed via our assessments, merely pulverizing almonds and shredding carrots. Moreover they kneaded a supple and stretchy pizza dough—what handbook chopper can do that?

We’ve moreover reviewed mini meals processors, which can be good in case you want to shortly pulse an onion into shards or whip up a dab of basil pesto. Whole, an outstanding meals processor (be it mini or full-sized) is a robust machine that’ll closing for for much longer (and do a better job) than that plastic handbook chopper.

A Mandoline for Paper-Skinny Slicing (and for Slicing Unbelievable French Fries)

Wanna create fancy, elegant dishes that emulate these of your favorite froufrou restaurant? Get a mandoline. This contraption allows you to slice near see-through objects of produce: feathers of fennel, wisps of onion, and paper-thin objects of potato. Mandolins are moreover good for making wonderful matchstick or crinkle-cut fries. You’ll impress your friends. You’ll impress your self.

Since sliding your hand in direction of a blade could appear to be a foul thought, seize an inexpensive pair of cut-resistant gloves or do that safety mandoline that retains your hand faraway from one thing sharp.

A Garlic Press for Mincing Cloves

Sooner than you roll your eyes, hear me out! In case you like this tiny potent allium as rather a lot as I do, a garlic press makes it easy in order so as to add clove after clove to any recipe. Merely pop the garlic in, give the handles a squeeze, and out pops some pungent bits of allium. It’s like these Play-Doh extruders of yore, nevertheless you can actually eat the outcomes. I make the most of our winner from OXO daily—it’s obtained grippy, delicate silicone handles and squeezes out bits of garlic with minimal effort.

A Sharp Chef’s Knife—and a Paring Knife for Tiny Duties

An excellent, sharp chef’s knife will make you a veritable meals prep grasp—onions, potatoes, and carrots will tremble in your wake. We’ve extensively reviewed all kinds of blades, nevertheless one Vital Eats staff favorite is the Misono UX10. This knife arrives sharp and stays sharp even after slicing months’ worth of produce. (I do know because of I’ve carried out it.) Who needs a uninteresting, crosshatched handbook chopper when you can private a knife akin to this? The reply isn’t any individual.

In case you don’t want to spend that rather a lot on a chef’s knife, don’t worry, we obtained you. This knife from Mercer has prolonged been our budget-friendly select for years. It’s sturdy, sharp, and correctly balanced.

A paring knife is one different useful blade to have on the ready. Its petite sort makes it good for coring strawberries, supreming citrus, and plenty of completely different tiny prep duties. And one amongst our favorites from Victorinox is barely $14.

FAQs

What’s a handbook chopper?

A handbook meals chopper usually encompasses a crisscrossed set of blades. In case you push down on the plastic excessive, the blades drive into a piece of meals and “chop” it into objects.

What is the best machine for chopping greens?

We may be biased, nevertheless you can’t go mistaken with a sharp chef’s knife and a meals processor. Whereas the earlier supplies you closing precision and administration, a meals processor pulverizes produce on the contact of a button.

Why We’re the Consultants

• Grace Kelly is an editor at Vital Eats, the place she’s been reviewing kitchen gear for over two years.
• She was beforehand a prep put together dinner and part of her job included breaking down literal buckets of produce.
• She’s examined all kinds of sharp points, along with petty knives, and swears by her Cuisinart meals processor.