Onion and green pepper dicer

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Herr Kutz

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2009
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Has anyone (paging resident master chef) purchased a vegetable/fruit chopper that is able to dice decently well. I'm looking for one that is able to at least dice onions and green peppers. Any suggestions?
 
herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,498
1,115
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Lots of threads about good knives. You are looking for some kind of gadget? Kaido is the gadget person.
 
Scarpozzi

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,391
1,780
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Herr Kutz said:
What about this one (https://www.amazon.com/Chopper-Vegetable-Müeller-Vegetable-Fruit-Cheese-Onion-Chopper-Dicer-Kitchen/dp/B01HC7BNJA/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_79_bs_tr_t_1/131-7437530-1661442?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9JJ5HBYAR3QYHFQ0JTXF)? Reviews are numerous and are quite high.
Click to expand...
I don't like gadgets because I always end up with lost parts and they're actually more difficult to wash than you'd believe. (yeah...dishwasher safe, but they drop between the racks and take up a ton of dishwasher space...use them for multiple meals a day and you get stuck not washing them or washing by hand)

I recommend getting a good cutting board and quality chef's knife. Even with gadgets, you'll probably use a knife to peel the outer layer off an onion or remove the seeds and stems from your peppers.

I learned how to cut an onion...I basically slice the top and bottom off of it....then score the edges to peel the top layer off. Then I slice it in half top to bottom and lay it cut side down, flat on the board. I'll then cut across the grain of the layers to make flat semi-circles and hold the onion together as I do....then I'll start cutting it perpendicular to the first slices. When I get to the last few cuts, I'll flip the quarter of the onion I have left to avoid allowing the onion to slip. Do a few of them and you can chop an onion in under a minute without crying....quicker than you can get a gadget out and set it up.

For the peppers...I'm a little slower. I slice it down the sides and then cut out the core.....complete quartering it, then slice down the inside to remove the lighter colored meat and seeds. I usually give the 4 quarters I have left a rinse to remove the seeds...then lay them waxy side down on the board because the knife can slice from the inside out easier. I just use the knife tip and slide it across the board to cut into strips and flip the stack of slices the other way if I want to chop. Once again....takes only a little time. The worst thing about cutting peppers is that after I rinse green/red bell peppers and slice them, pepper juice will slightly discolor my cutting boards (plastic) and my laminate counter tops (white)....so I typically bleach them down afterwards to make them white again.

I do this about once a week for spaghetti with little time to work...doesn't take long to get efficient at it. I make a lot of nachos at home too and break out onions and peppers without breaking a sweat. Just practice and a good quality knife. Look on youtube for videos.
 
mindless1

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,613
1,678
126
You have severe arthritis? I don't find chopping a few things to be much to bother about, and I've sliced a shedload of peppers every year for... long, long time.

Are you afraid of cutting your fingers off? I just don't get it. Fiddling with some kind of dicer, getting it out, loading it, using it, cleaning it?

Become one with a knife. Maybe you need a different knife.
 
Last edited:
R

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Buy a better knife that you are comfortable with. Or basically, what the guy above me said.
 
M

Mandres

Senior member
Jun 8, 2011
944
58
91
Scarpozzi said:
I don't like gadgets because I always end up with lost parts and they're actually more difficult to wash than you'd believe. (yeah...dishwasher safe, but they drop between the racks and take up a ton of dishwasher space...use them for multiple meals a day and you get stuck not washing them or washing by hand)

I recommend getting a good cutting board and quality chef's knife. Even with gadgets, you'll probably use a knife to peel the outer layer off an onion or remove the seeds and stems from your peppers.

I learned how to cut an onion...I basically slice the top and bottom off of it....then score the edges to peel the top layer off. Then I slice it in half top to bottom and lay it cut side down, flat on the board. I'll then cut across the grain of the layers to make flat semi-circles and hold the onion together as I do....then I'll start cutting it perpendicular to the first slices. When I get to the last few cuts, I'll flip the quarter of the onion I have left to avoid allowing the onion to slip. Do a few of them and you can chop an onion in under a minute without crying....quicker than you can get a gadget out and set it up.

For the peppers...I'm a little slower. I slice it down the sides and then cut out the core.....complete quartering it, then slice down the inside to remove the lighter colored meat and seeds. I usually give the 4 quarters I have left a rinse to remove the seeds...then lay them waxy side down on the board because the knife can slice from the inside out easier. I just use the knife tip and slide it across the board to cut into strips and flip the stack of slices the other way if I want to chop. Once again....takes only a little time. The worst thing about cutting peppers is that after I rinse green/red bell peppers and slice them, pepper juice will slightly discolor my cutting boards (plastic) and my laminate counter tops (white)....so I typically bleach them down afterwards to make them white again.

I do this about once a week for spaghetti with little time to work...doesn't take long to get efficient at it. I make a lot of nachos at home too and break out onions and peppers without breaking a sweat. Just practice and a good quality knife. Look on youtube for videos.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice! I used to hate chopping vegetables until I finally youtube'd the correct way to do it. Now it's fast and painless. I haven't broken out the food processor in years since it's such a pain to setup and take down.
 
M

Mandres

Senior member
Jun 8, 2011
944
58
91
When those cheap, thin blades get dull do you throw the whole gadget away? Nothing beats a sharp chefs knife for chopping, except a food processor if you're doing huge quantities
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
49,985
6,299
136
Herr Kutz said:
Has anyone (paging resident master chef) purchased a vegetable/fruit chopper that is able to dice decently well. I'm looking for one that is able to at least dice onions and green peppers. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't see this thread til just now :D
herm0016 said:
Lots of threads about good knives. You are looking for some kind of gadget? Kaido is the gadget person.
Click to expand...

I don't like junk gadgets, but I do like good gadgets if they are solid & serve a purpose. Previously, I used my wife's old Pampered Chef food chopper:

https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Cook's+Tools/Fruit+&+Vegetable+Tools/Food+Chopper/2585

Although it was a little bit messy & was more for smaller quantities. I just picked up this bad boy on an Amazon flash sale:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HC7BNJA

I've been doing a lot of Egg Bites in my Instant Pot lately & wanted to do larger quantities of cubed veggies quickly for fillings. If you have a food processor, you can also dice automatically using one of those. Here's a nicer model:

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FP-13DGM-Elemental-Processor-Gunmetal/dp/B01I46VPNC/

They also make Kitchenaid attachments for dicing:

https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KSM2FPA-Processor-Attachment-Commercial/dp/B00LEBP5IG/

Although for the same price as a higher-end food processor, you can just buy the standalone food processor instead. I have a food processor, but then I have to lug it out (it's heavy), get the right blade, use it, and then it has a bunch of parts to clean, so the Müeller manual veggie chopper above looked like a good in-betweener for when I just wanted to do a small batch of stuff quickly.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
49,985
6,299
136
JEDIYoda said:
I have been looking for something likr that, I use a tremendous amount of onions in my cooking!!
Click to expand...

For a cheapo plastic device, it works pretty well! I find it useful for things like omelet fillings, chili, etc.
 
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