Vegetable choppers

Why use a vegetable chopper rather than a knife?

For consistency, above all. A brunoise by knife takes technique and time, and the slightest difference in size shows when cooking: the small pieces burn while the big ones stay raw. A vegetable chopper gives an even cut in a few seconds, which changes the result as much as the time spent.

There is a physical benefit too. Slicing 1 kg of onions for a soup or a ratatouille is hard on your hand and your eyes. A closed bowl solves both problems at once.

Which vegetables can you put through a chopper?

Most of them, as long as you respect their original texture.

• No trouble: onion, shallot, garlic, pepper, courgette, mushroom, firm tomato
• A little more effort: carrot, celeriac, raw beetroot, turnip
• Avoid: very fibrous vegetables such as whole leeks, or very watery ones such as peeled cucumber, which release their water and turn to purée

The simple rule: cut into 2 to 3 cm pieces before putting them in the bowl. A whole vegetable jams the blades and gives an uneven result. Our guide explains how to chop vegetables quickly and effortlessly.

Which vegetable chopper for which vegetable?

An onion is not chopped like a raw carrot. Soft, watery vegetables chop quickly but turn to purée just as quickly, hard vegetables need strength or a motor, and herbs are ruined by a few seconds too many. The table matches each vegetable family with the tool that does the job and the right technique.

Two practical details: raw potato darkens quickly once chopped, so prepare it at the last minute or cover it with cold water; beetroot stains, and a glass bowl cleans better than plastic. For hard vegetables in volume, see our glass bowl electric choppers.

Which type of vegetable chopper should you choose?

Most of the collection is manual, with a few electric models. Among the manual ones, several mechanisms sit side by side, and they don't give the same result.

The pull-string chopper is the simplest for everyday use. Multi-function vegetable cutters cover the most tasks with a single tool, thanks to their interchangeable stainless steel blades. To compare models for your vegetables, see our guide to the best vegetable chopper.

How do you get an even chop rather than a purée?

It is the most common question, and the answer comes down to three steps.

1. Work in short bursts, never continuously. A few turns, check, start again.
2. Fill the bowl only two-thirds full. Packed too tightly, the vegetables spin around without meeting the blades, then suddenly turn to purée.
3. Cut into pieces of even size before you start. Uneven pieces at the start give an uneven cut at the end.

For onions in particular, a closed bowl also prevents tears: the volatile compounds stay inside. Our article explains how to chop onions without crying.

How do you look after a vegetable chopper?

The bowls of pull-string choppers and the drums of 3-in-1 rotary choppers come apart for quick cleaning. Multi-function vegetable cutters are washed by hand, in water at 60 °C maximum, and the 520 and 900 ml hand-crank choppers are also hand wash only. Rinse straight after use, before the fibres dry on the blades.

For thin, even slices, a mandoline slicer goes further than a chopper, and for chips or spiralized vegetables, see our chip cutters and spiralizers.

Onion chopper: which model for chopping without tears?

Chopping an onion with a knife takes technique and brings on the tears. An onion chopper solves both: it cuts evenly in a few movements, and its closed bowl holds back some of the fumes that sting your eyes. The right model depends mainly on how many onions you prepare at once.

• Pull-string: two or three pulls are enough for an onion. Compact and non-electric, it suits one person or a couple chopping one or two onions per meal.
• Hand-crank or push: each turn spins the blades, so you can stop at the right moment, from a coarse chop for a sauce to a fine mince for stuffing. With a large bowl, it keeps up with a family that cooks vegetables several times a week.
• Electric: the fastest for several onions in a row or for batch cooking. Use short pulses, because a few seconds too long turns onion into purée.

As for capacity, a 400 to 600 ml bowl is enough for one person or a couple, and 1 to 1.5 litres for a family. Choose stainless steel blades, which slice rather than crush, and an appliance that comes completely apart: onion smell gets trapped in a bowl that is hard to open.

To cry less, put the onion in the fridge for 15 minutes before chopping. After use, take the bowl apart and wash it straight away; a rinse with a little lemon juice or bicarbonate of soda neutralises stubborn odours.

A chopper bought for onions also chops garlic, shallots, herbs and firm vegetables such as carrot. Just avoid very hard or frozen foods, which strain the blades.

Frequently asked questions about vegetable choppers

Which vegetable chopper is the easiest to use?

The pull-string chopper: no assembly, no plugging in, you pull the cord a few times and control the texture. For one or two garlic cloves, the twist chopper is even simpler, as you just turn the lid of the box.

Which garlic chopper should you choose?

For chopped garlic, a PP twist chopper, whose box doubles as a container to keep garlic in the fridge, or the rotary chopper for garlic and ginger. For crushed garlic, the zinc alloy and stainless steel garlic press. All dedicated models are in the garlic presses and choppers collection.

Manual or electric vegetable chopper: which should you choose?

As soon as carrots and celery come up often, or quantities regularly exceed 500 g, a motor saves you the effort. The 250 W 5-in-1 electric chopper grates and slices carrots, cabbage, potatoes and cheese, without blending. The rest of the range is in our electric choppers. Below those quantities, a manual model does the same job, never breaks down and fits in a drawer.

Can you chop meat and vegetables with the same chopper?

Yes, for small portions: the red manual chopper with a clear bowl chops vegetables, onions, garlic and meat for stuffing or meatballs. For raw meat in quantity, a grinder with mincing plates is still the better choice: our meat grinders are made for that.