Are those As-Seen-On-TV onion choppers worth getting?

May 29, 2012 7:49 AM

Virtually every dish my Mum cooks calls for diced onions. Is there an easy-to-clean chopping device I could gift her that could speed up her work?
posted by Dragonness to Food & Drink (30 answers total)

I have something similar to this; mine (can't find) has a little bit larger capacity. I've had the "slap chop" type ones and the grater type ones .... I'll take the powered unit any day.
posted by tilde at 7:52 AM on May 29, 2012

Nothing can replace a sharp, high quality knife for this, and that's a gift that any cook should appreciate.

If she dices she probably also chops and slices, and mandolines are excellent for that. You could consider one of those as well.
posted by Stagger Lee at 7:52 AM on May 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Perhaps the mandoline? Not 100% easy to clean, but very effective.
posted by Mercaptan at 7:52 AM on May 29, 2012

I have this Oxo chopper. Easy to use, easy to wash. Takes about five seconds to dice an onion.
posted by raisingsand at 7:53 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I had the older version of this from Zyliss in addition to a couple of five dollar knock off versions (they were worse).

I liked the rotation on the blade, but one issue was the fact that I had to cut up the onions a lot to use it, then smash it up to use it (you have to cut with my electric one linked, but then you don't have the smashing bit). When it would get stuck, it was annoying. And the "cover" that kept food from getting up in the zig zag blade didn't do that, after a while.

What's her goal/your goal? Just speeding up the work? Work that's easier on her hands (so I'd vote electric)? Uniform but quicker (Zyliss one was better than knock offs)?

I see raisingsand linked the Oxo version. I've not tried it; my experience with Oxo-improved gadgets has been mixed.
posted by tilde at 7:57 AM on May 29, 2012

I've got the Chef'n VeggiChop Vegetable Chopper and I love it. Easy to clean, easy to use. And cheap!
posted by elsietheeel at 8:01 AM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

If your mum doesn't want another kitchen gadget cluttering up the place, an alternative could be a cooking class that focuses on knife skills. I'm sure the experience varies, but I've done a couple drink mixing-focused ones and they were relaxed and fun. In Boston, the BCAE does a knife skills class. I'm sure similar classes are offered elsewhere.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:01 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: What's her goal/your goal? Just speeding up the work? Work that's easier on her hands (so I'd vote electric)? Uniform but quicker (Zyliss one was better than knock offs)?

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have the older Zyliss one you're referring to, and my Mum thinks it's too much hassle to wash - plus when I demoed it for her the onion got stuck in the blades, so that didn't look too good.

I'd just like for the device to help speed up the work for her, as it's such a daily chore for her. She generally doesn't believe in dedicated devices, mostly because of the extra cleaning involved.
posted by Dragonness at 8:04 AM on May 29, 2012

I'd just like for the device to help speed up the work for her, as it's such a daily chore for her.

Does she actually want an appliance to speed things up? Or is this your youthful lack of patience and geekish love of gadgetry speaking? Personally, I find the hand chopping, cutting, dicing, etc. part of the fun of cooking and absolutely wouldn't want another gadget taking up space around here. And any gadget is going to require a lot more time cleaning than does a knife and cutting board.

She generally doesn't believe in dedicated devices, mostly because of the extra cleaning involved.

For the most part, she's correct.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:08 AM on May 29, 2012 [13 favorites]

I have a Nicer Dicer and really use it a lot for prep. It's important to use it properly - with the blade rinsed, the heel of the hand on the end of the dicer and the other hand pressing down the cup. Otherwise you can smoosh the onion and think the machine's at fault. Used properly, it's brilliant.
posted by essexjan at 8:09 AM on May 29, 2012

Also, the quick way to dice onions with a knife is to peel the onion, cut off the top, and place the onion face down on the cutting board.

Then, make vertical cuts down from the butt of the onion, like longitude lines on a globe, but leave the butt attached. When you're done, it should look like you're on your way to a bloomin' onion (though the onion won't be open, like a flower--it will still be a globe).

Then, cut the latitude lines on the onion--when the cuts fall, the onion will be perfectly diced.

Essentially, like this, though I don't cut the onion in half first. It's really, really quick and easy and doesn't require any special tools.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:10 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I also have a device like raisingsand and tilde mentioned and we love it. We just disassemble it and pop the whole thing in the dishwasher once it's been used.

For any cooked dish: Your mom could also take a whole bunch of onions, dice, portion and freeze them.
posted by royalsong at 8:11 AM on May 29, 2012

I had the Zyliss before I had to learn the wonders of washing sippy cups and valves in the dishwasher, and I thought it was fiddly then.

Now, with my old-lady wrists and high counters, I'd take a super sharp knife or my chopper (the B/D electric) any day.

If I have one or two things to rough chop, I use the knife. If I'm doing up a dish that requires a lot more of a fine chop, I'll rough it and then put it in the mini processor. Once things are processed, I hot-soap rinse the blade and cup and toss it in the dish drainer. Maybe a few more seconds to do than nicely washing and hand drying my good blade (I've got a schmancy vegetable knife my mother gave me).

And sometimes it's just nice standing there, zenning out over a nice knife board of beans onions ...
posted by tilde at 8:14 AM on May 29, 2012

My experience of these devices is that they're great until the blade begins to get dull. At that point, since there's no way to sharpen the blade, it becomes an expensive, time-wasting hunk of garbage. Considering how often I sharpen my knives, it doesn't take long at all for the blade to become frustratingly dull in my experience. Get her a knife sharpening kit instead if she doesn't already have one.
posted by KathrynT at 8:26 AM on May 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

you say you want "an easy-to-clean chopping device" but then you say "She generally doesn't believe in dedicated devices, mostly because of the extra cleaning involved"

Onions are easy to chop if you have the right tools ... and they are sharp.

Your easy to clean chopping device is called a knife. Victorinox make a nice light thin and short chefs knife (20 cm) with a stamped blade which I find a joy to chop onions with (easier than my more heavy and better quality thicker forged chefs knife). Line chefs use them, and they chop lots of onions.

Keeping it sharp makes a big difference ... a diamond steel will make this easy and quick.
posted by jannw at 8:28 AM on May 29, 2012

Get her a good quality knife that fits her hand and then consider treating her to a good knife skills class.
posted by mmascolino at 8:30 AM on May 29, 2012

Anyone who actually cooks and chops onions daily WILL NOT use one of these devices. I can chop an onion, from unpeeled to a fine dice in well under a minute, and I'm not even that good- just used to it. Less than fine minutes sounds miserable.

The only tool I would recommend for helping someone with chopping onions daily is a good knife or a good knife sharpener.
posted by rockindata at 8:32 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

If she's cooking with the onions (as opposed to using them raw in, say, a salsa or dip), a nice gift would be to hang out with her one afternoon chopping a huge amount of onions and putting them in small ziploc bags in the freezer. I am always thrilled to find a baggie of leftover chopped onions in the freezer when I'm cooking, and there's no quality difference once they're cooked.
posted by apparently at 8:40 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I confess that I have chopped very few onions since discovering that you can them pre-diced and frozen at the supermarket. Setting aside eco-political issues relating to using frozen vegetables versus fresh local/sustainable produce, they are just fine for dishes where onion is a flavor but not the featured flavor.

On preview, I like apparently's idea.
posted by usonian at 8:44 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have excellent knife skills and I cook every day. But I *hate* chopping onions. It's tedious and painful (and yes I know all of the tricks to keep onion tears away).

Having a chopping device makes my life a lot easier. If you get a small, non-electric one, it's not that big of a deal to clean or store (and I can sharpen the blades on mine, although I've had it for 18 months and it's still as sharp as the day I bought it). I think once she uses it a couple times she'll really come to appreciate it.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:02 AM on May 29, 2012

Best answer: My mom cooks a lot of Persian food using traditional-type utensils. Anything not commonly found in Iran in the mid-1960's is just not going to fly with her. All Iranian dishes start the same way: "chop one medium onion." Given those restrictions we went through this same thing with my mom. What turned out to be the working solution that wasn't a hassle and didn't get stuck in a drawer was really good knives. She loves them and they make her life much easier. We even have gotten her into some different styles and sizes and she's willing, able, and excited about putting them to use.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:47 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a regular cook, I detest those things and it would gather dust on my shelf. Relatives have them and I generally want to throw them through the window. The dice they make is uneven, the cleaning is fussy, and on the whole I'd rather use my knife and a cutting board and be able to better customize and control the size dice and the amount.
posted by Miko at 9:56 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is there an easy-to-clean chopping device I could gift her that could speed up her work?

Using a really nice knife may not speed things up, but I find using one is a joy, time flies, and I more or less enjoy dicing onions each and every time.
posted by mazola at 11:05 AM on May 29, 2012

Perhaps an easy to use knife sharpener would go a long way?
posted by jenkinsEar at 11:05 AM on May 29, 2012

Response by poster: So many helpful perspectives, thank you! I'm marking one best answer out of several deserving ones just because this is exactly my Mum's mindset.

She has never had quality knives, so this is a great idea. I'm not sure she'd be up for a knife skills class at 72 - she has her habits by now.

I, on the other hand, will very much be looking into the other options for myself, because I do love a good chopping gadget!
posted by Dragonness at 1:42 PM on May 29, 2012

She has never had quality knives

Ding ding ding! I had one friend whose knives were terrible enough I nearly cut myself (dull, sliding, doom! small, sliding, serrated, doom!). I got him a good knife, not sure if they use it.
posted by tilde at 1:54 PM on May 29, 2012

And if she's not thrilled with an easy-sharpener or learning to use a whetsone properly, find knife sharpeners in your area and take her knives every so often. My local fabric store has someone come in once a quarter. A few times with that and they should be able to tell you based on her use how often sharpening is required for her use patterns.
posted by tilde at 1:55 PM on May 29, 2012

Best answer: I would highly recommend this cheap but great knife -- it always gets fabulous reviews on Amazon and was recommended by Cook's Illustrated as well. Throw in this Accusharp knife sharpener (also highly recommended) and you're golden.
posted by peacheater at 2:50 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

The as-seen-on-TV stuff is garbage. The blades are dull, immediately get duller and can't be sharpened. And impossible to clean.

So, a strong second on the Victorinox chef's knife. The best edge maintainer is a butcher's steel
, used religiously after washing the knife and before putting it away.

Leave the root on the onion. Hold it with the root to your left (for right-handers) and cut 1/4" slices from tip to root, leaving them attached.

Then, rotate the onion 1/4 turn and repeat the slicing.

Then cut the onion across. The dice make themselves.
posted by KRS at 3:51 PM on May 29, 2012

Response by poster: I ended up getting the Swiss-made Victorinox chef's knife. It's such a joy to use and my mother loves it. Thank you!
posted by Dragonness at 3:41 PM on June 28, 2012 [2 favorites]