Manual Food Choppers

The press-n-chop food chopper is a handy tool to have in the kitchen. You can chop food as coarse or as small as you like and best of all, it works by the power of your hand, so if the electricity goes out in the middle of chopping vegetables, herbs, onions, nuts or a hardboiled egg and pickle, you can still finish chopping. The press-n-chop is small, so it is perfect for individual meals or for those occasions when you need only a few food items chopped. It is safer to use than a knife because the blades are enclosed and it does not make a big mess.

Chopping With the Manual Press-N-Chop

Most food choppers come with a food splash guard, and this simply installs onto the unit in the area around the chopping blades. Now install the chopping chamber onto the chopper. Turn the chopping chamber counterclockwise where it fits onto the bottom of the main unit. Now you are almost ready to start chopping your food. But first you need to check the size of the food to make sure that it fits inside the chopping chamber. You don’t want it sticking outside the chopper or under the rim. One thing to note, is if you are chopping nuts or chocolate, place these inside the base cap. The base cup will keep the food in a handy container. This container fits onto the bottom of your press-n-chopper.

Place your food onto the cutting board and set the cutting chamber of the press-n-chop over the food. When using the manual food chopper, you need to remember one word of caution. Always place the food chopper onto a cutting board and not your countertop. The blades from the chopper can or could scratch the top of your counter and that would not be good.

Hold the food chopper in your less dominant hand. If you are left-handed, hold the manual food chopper in your right hand. Hold the unit below about in the middle of the chopper unit, below the plunger handle.

Push down on the plunger with the palm of your free hand to chop the food. Repeat this chopping motion until you have your food chopped to the desired size. Press down on the handle once for a coarse chop, or press the handle down several times for a finely incorporated chop.

Cleaning the Manual Press-n-Chop

Remove the base cup if you have that at the bottom. The base cup simply pulls away. Unscrew the chopping chamber. Turn the chamber clockwise to unlock it and pull down to remove. Pull off the food splash guard carefully. This sits right by the blades, and the blades are very sharp. Remove it with the press-n-chop facing away from you. Turn the main unit lock clockwise. This will open the main unit like a butterfly to expose the blades. Some manual food choppers do not have this option, so you need to be extra careful when cleaning the area where the blades are housed.

Wash all parts in warm soapy water and then allow air-drying before you use the device again. Do not put the press-n-chop into the dishwasher, because the heat can melt it.