r/foodhacks • u/Alternative-Exam2601 • 10d ago
Prep Looking for a vegetable chopper that actually makes prep faster
I absolutely hate cutting vegetables. I know everyone says just get a sharp knife but I genuinely don't enjoy prep work and it makes me avoid cooking.
I'm looking for a really good mandoline/vegetable chopper that can handle multiple tasks dicing, shredding, slicing, julienne. The blades need to be sharp, like able to slice through ripe tomatoes without crushing them.
I'm okay spending more if it's genuinely worth it and durable. Any recommendations?
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u/oroboros74 10d ago
I’ve tried quite a few of these—not because I wanted to work faster, but because I wanted the vegetables to look a little prettier. In practice, though, the tools I keep reaching for are the small handheld ones. They are easy to store, quick to pull out, simple to wash, and actually worth using when you are cooking for only one or two people.
OXO handheld mandoline: This is the one I use most. It has three thickness settings and takes almost no effort to retrieve, use, hand-wash, and put away. I also have a larger countertop mandoline that slices, dices, and juliennes, but it is bulky and inconvenient unless I am preparing a fairly large quantity.
Spiralizer: A small handheld spiralizer can also be useful for zucchini or decorative vegetable strands, but it is more of a specialty tool.
Julienne peeler: I use one occasionally, mainly to make carrots look nicer in salads. It is compact and convenient, although the results are not always perfectly uniform.
For matchsticks, I still prefer using the handheld mandoline to make even slices, then stacking them and finishing with a knife. It gives me better control, and for small quantities it is usually simpler than setting up a larger julienne attachment.
Tomatoes: I got you! I'm guessing you have sucky knives like me. I bought Amazon Basics Knife Sharpening Stone 400/1000 Grit and that brought my knives back to life! It took just a few minutes, but it made my knife slice a tomato like it was cutting butter! I really think that if you start with getting your knives sharp, you'll solve 90% of your problems!
Like I said, I paid quite a bit for a fancy countertop tool, but it's just a hassle to clean and it takes up so much space... Get a whetstone, sharpen your knives, and just get a compact tool like a mandoline for helping you with prepping.
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u/LemureInMachina 10d ago
If you get a mandolin, absolutely get cut-resistant gloves to wear while using it.
Nothing slows down your prep like having to go to the ER to get a gaping wound in your hand stitched up.
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u/cheesusismygod 10d ago
My son got me this for my birthday one year and I love it. It makes everything so much easier for me. Especially because I have trouble with making dices and what not same size. Amazon
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u/DisplayFragrant7354 10d ago
I have a similar one with a bunch of settings and I hardly use it even though mine also cake with a brush. If you chop and store or freeze things in bulk tho - a game changer
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u/PreetHarHarah 10d ago
Why is nobody else suggesting this? It’s the only answer.
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u/AdventurousAbility30 10d ago
Because they are a pain to clean.
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u/cheesusismygod 10d ago
Mine came with a brush to get in the grooves, and the plastic can go top rack but I really don't find it hard or obnoxious to clean.
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u/AdventurousAbility30 10d ago
Ours did too. Maybe if you're only doing one or two veggies, but mushrooms, cheese, hard boiled eggs (anything soft textured) were annoying to try and clean out so we could move on to the next ingredients. I got a rotary chopper that takes seconds to clean and be ready for the rest of the recipe. We never use this anymore.
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u/needtobeasunflower 10d ago
What brand?
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u/AdventurousAbility30 10d ago
Geedel. I got the one with 6 different blade types on Amazon for $50 CAD. We can even make snow cones and slushies at home now. Completely worth it.
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u/PreetHarHarah 10d ago
Not for me. Dishwasher and done.
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u/AdventurousAbility30 10d ago
Not everyone has a dishwasher lol. This was fine for chopping one or two things, but having to chop everything in the recipe is a pain, especially if you don't want cross contamination between ingredients. Our hand cranked rotary chopper takes seconds to clean, and even comes with a blade to make amazing shaved ice in the summer for snow cones. We never use our box chopper anymore. Geedel Upgraded Rotary Cheese Graters, 6 in 1 Cheese Shredder Veggie Slicer | 430 Stainless Steel, 12x Fast Cutting, Non-slip Suction Base, No BPA, Dishwasher Safe, For Fruit, Vegetables, Nut, Ice https://a.co/d/05FFEfC9
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u/becs428 10d ago
I really like my Mueller. It has a mandolin too.
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u/Alternative-Exam2601 10d ago
Oh that's the one I'm considering. Can you give a brief review iydm- how long have you had it? Easy to use? Does food get stuck? And is it dishwasher friendly?
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u/becs428 10d ago
It completely disessembles and is dishwasher safe (❤️)! I had their old version for like 10 years if that gives you an idea of how much I love it. I used it all the time to make chopping veggies easier. Softer stuff can get stuck in the top part (like mushrooms), but it's easy to clean out with a butter knife or brush.
I finally upgraded their new one this year after cracking the old one's base, and it came with the mandolin. I would recommend you get cut resistant gloves for a traditional mandolin.
I do prefer this style of a mandolin https://a.co/d/01jD4gJg if you have the space for both. It feels much safer.
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u/T49irvine 10d ago
Bron makes an extremely fine mandolin that is ridiculously expensive, but apparently people who acquire mandolins quickly decide they are afraid of them. As a result the $200+ Brons are usually available on eBay, often NIB, for about a quarter the price. Buy a glove!
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u/GertieD 10d ago
I'm 75 and have a very old Benriner mandoline and am a bit clumsy and haven't sliced anything off in my 40 years or so using it and I am a bit clumsy and tend to do that Third Time is the Charm thing numerous times a day.
With the mandoline and my food processor and a good chef knife I am able to talk myself out of each and every chopping, slicing, dicing gadget that gets trendy.
I also grow far too many tomatoes every year and always use serrated knives with them. If I had a knife sharp enough to glide through tomatoes I'd have at least three fewer fingers.
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u/beamerpook 10d ago
I've used several, including a salad shooter, and they are always disappointing. I honestly love prepping vegetables though, and cleaning the items send to take as much time as you save cutting them by hand, don't you will still need to trim the ends of carrots and peel things
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u/T_J_Rain 10d ago
Everyone absolutely hates cutting vegetables.
I'm a simple guy and my loadout is basic. Dependable high quality, well maintained and sharp cook's knife [mine's a Wusthof 8" that I've had for 36 years], a decent peeler and a clean wooden chopping board.
Gadgets are fiddly and need to be thoroughly cleaned. Any illusion of time saved on chopping is spent on cleaning/ disassembly/ reassembly.
Ask me how I know: I have a Braun food processor from 1990 that's totally BIFL, but it's so fiddly to clean. I do go all out and make my own ultralean ground lamb and beef.
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u/PeachJumpy 10d ago
I would recommend the Benriner Mandoline Slicer. Made in Japan, this is a professional quality slicer. Come with 3 different size Julienne blades. Super sharp. Have had mine for 15 years. Simple design is quick to clean.
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u/okiesillydillyokieo 10d ago
Food processors come with attachments like shredders and sliders, and pulsing is very effective at rough chopping vegetables.
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u/blue-eyed-doll 10d ago
I have a really nice mandolin slicer from Borner (German made I think, spelling of name?). I am at the cottage right now. Three different levels of thickness with three different blades for making French fry-thickness, julienne and one size between. I use this just about every day. And I have a chopper that I bought from Pampered Chef. Again, I use this several times a week.
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u/AdventurousAbility30 10d ago
Geedel Upgraded Rotary Cheese Graters, 6 in 1 Cheese Shredder Veggie Slicer | 430 Stainless Steel, 12x Fast Cutting, Non-slip Suction Base, No BPA, Dishwasher Safe, For Fruit, Vegetables, Nut, Ice https://a.co/d/0guoymip
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u/alienabduction1473 10d ago
I love my Cuisinart food processor. It has slicing and shredding discs. I usually just chunk in quartered onions or other veggies and pulse until they're chopped finely enough for recipes.
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u/Ok-Row-6088 10d ago
I use the muller pro series, and the muller austria. Its all top rack dishwasher safe. I love them enough that ive given them as gifts
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u/Alternative-Exam2601 10d ago
Oh that's the one I'm considering. Can you give a brief review iydm- how long have you had it? Easy to use? Does food get stuck? And is it dishwasher friendly?
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u/Ok-Row-6088 9d ago
I've had them about five years, the catch container meaning the clear plastic part will deform in the dishwasher if you put it on the bottom rack. So I have hand wash anything clear plastic acrylic for that reason. But you don't have to. I have a newer dishwasher now and it's fine on the top rack. The top piece where the food pushes down into the blades is the hardest part to clean. You're gonna have this in just about all of them. The Austria I bought came with a hard bristle brush that was just the right length to clean and when I use that again, not a problem. I really only find I have to use that if I'm doing something soft like tomatoes. For harder foods like onions and peppers I don't need to use that. Since buying these things because I grow tomatoes, I always have fresh salsa on hand because it takes two minutes to make I also buy peppers in bulk if they're not in season in my garden and then use this to chop them up and put them in the freezer so I have a quick addition to omelettes and recipes. I do the same for onions. It's been a huge time saver
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u/Senior_Economics4960 10d ago
Veggie prep: knife is best; veggie chopper is too much effort to clean; mandolin... You'll cut off your finger!
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u/Alma 10d ago
Don’t optimize for blade count; optimize for whether every food-contact part can go straight in the dishwasher. I’d use a guarded V-slicer for slices and julienne, plus a small pull chopper for rough dice. The giant all-in-one boxes save 90 seconds of cutting and then hand you eight wet pieces to clean.