As I was preparing dinner for myself last night, irritated by busy work such as mincing jalapeños and dicing cucumbers, I thought to myself how necessary it is for me to have a sous chef. And then, as if Vince himself had appeared to me in a fog, telling me how much I’m gonna love his nuts, I thought, Slap Chop! I need one of those things for lazy, lazy people who can’t be bothered with the intense manual labor of cutting up peppers! Yes, I know I’ve mocked the commercials before, and no I’m not going to buy a Snuggie (yet), but when asking myself, “Can’t this be done faster?” I realized the answer is “Yes! Oh gods, yes, through the glory of the slap chop!” I’d feel like a major d-bag owning one, though.
Does anyone have one? Don’t be ashamed! We’re all friends here.
My mom’s got one–a Pampered Chef version, if I recall. It works pretty good, but you still have to do the cleaning and peeling by hand so if you’re only chopping one or two small things it doesn’t really seem worth the trouble.
No. I’m lazy too, and I hate doing dishes. So it’s better for me to dirty a knife and a cutting board – both easy to clean, and which I’ll be using anyway – than to wash a device with fiddley bits. I have a Smart Chopper (hand-cranked food processor ‘As Seen On TV’) that works very, very well, and a smaller food processor attachment for my ‘stick’ thingy. I rarely use those, since it’s generally easier to just use a knife.
I am a (recovering) infomercial-product junkie. But in my defense, I never order from the commercials or web sites, but wait until the products is at the store or buy “knock off” versions. (Never order from the TV or web site, or you’ll be hit with “just pay handling” fees that are usually higher than the product itself.)
I have had a Slap Chop and the Pampered Chef version. Neither were anything to write home about. I gave my Pampered Chef chopper away when I moved (aka the great kitchen de-cluttering of 2007) and the Slap Chop ended up being donated during a subsequent de-cluttering spree.
YMMV but I found it to be more trouble than it was worth. It was just too fiddly for my preference (and I have terrible knife skills and am always looking for a better chopping/dicing method). I went back to using my food processor and mini-chopper (bought 10 years ago at Wal-Mart for less than 10 dollars) which is more reliable, less work and just as easy to clean as the Slap Chop.
I tried one of those stupid things and it basically doesn’t work except for tiny quantities. You may as well buy a Hanker-cizer 1000, or just flush your money down the toilet. If you really want something that will do the job, buy a small-sized electric food processor.
My husband has a Cuisinart version; he pretty much just uses it to chop something small for his lunch preparation. He got a couple of ceramic-bladed Kyocera knives for Christmas, so I suspect the coolness factor of those might keep him away from the chopper.
This is the hand-cranked food processor my dad got me when I moved into my first apartment. (It didn’t come with the attachments the linked one does.) I generally scoff at ASoTV things, but this actually works. They’re not for real ‘food processing’, but excellent for chopping. There are three things to wash: The blades, the bowl, and the lid. Mostly, I don’t even think to use it.
I had something like a Slap Chop when I lived at home. (Heck, I may still have it somewhere!) It was crap. It’s much easier to use a knife; and as I said, a knife is easier to wash.
That’s a pretty amazing little watch if it does food too!
I think I know what you mean though, I have two of them! They are wonderful for making pico de gallo quickly, but for me they are a pain to dig out of the (cluttered again) kitchen cabinets so I forget all about them! This would also make a suitable substitute for a Slap Chop and can do larger quantities. Mine just comes apart and goes into the dishwasher, so cleaning is not that bad.
Get a new knife. A nice sharp one with a comfortable grip and a nice weight. You’ll love using it and it’s definitely more utile and easier to clean than any choppy thingy from the tv.
I have a friend who bought 2 Slap Chops, ( each with another for free, special offer, just pay shipping and handling, we can’t do this all day! ), as gifts at Christmas. Advertised at $19.99 each. Total charge on his credit card came to 140. I know there was a US - Can conversion but, damn, that’s gotta be some kind of creative math. Think hard about this thing you’re considering, that way lies madness!
I hope your friend got his money back. That whole thing should have cost $38 USD.
The hand crank gizmo looks good enough for me (the price is certainly good enough) and one of the reviews says it’s easy to clean, but it certainly can’t be easier to clean than a knife. I’m trying to maximize my laziness here. Chopping vs washing the blades, the bowl and the lid. Hmm, I think that may be a fair trade off.
