10 Best Manual Food Choppers 2024 in the US

Health-conscious people would like to prepare salads themselves, so that the vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals. But it could be time-consuming. There are electric food processors, but those are intended for preparing large quantities of food for an event, or a large family. You have the traditional box graters, where each side can be used to cut vegetables in a variety of sizes. But that can be tiring. Lately, there are a number of manual food choppers, that are surprisingly easy to use—and they prepare food for a single meal with just a little effort. You'll also be amazed at the number of options that they offer—dicing, cutting, chopping, and slicing. Here is a guide to some of the best manual food choppers on the market. 

Instead of using the traditional box grater, there are manual choppers with interchangeable blades. But there are several designs on how you move the blades through the food (or the food through the blades). We can classify the manual food choppers by the way they cut the food:

• Pulling action: Briefton offers a chopper with blades that allow it to perform several functions. It has a chopping blade, a slicing blade, and a dicing blade. It's chopper works on a pulling action: you insert the vegetables, put in the special blades, and close the container. You then pull a string, which rotates the blades inside the container. The more times you pull, the finer the vegetables are diced. Zyliss, Kuhn-Rikon, Cool-Shop, My Healthy Way, and Chef'n have food choppers that work on the same design.

• Rotating action: Here, the blades are rotated by spinning a handle. The Ultra Chef Express Manual Food Processor works on this principle, as does the Progressive Prepworks food chopper.

• Push-down action: Here, you push a series of blades down onto the food. The Acodine food chopper can work on onions and garlic, in such a way that you don't have to suffer from teary eyes, or from accidentally cutting yourself. The Surpahs Multi Vegetable Chopper/Cutter/Slicer/Dicer also allows you to place a vegetable inside, and push down a series of blades onto it. There are four sets of blades, which allows you to cut vegetables to different sizes. The vegetable is diced or cut in a single action. The Prepworks Onion Chopper and the Briefton's QuickPush Food Chopper also work on this principle.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Great for coleslaw: If you're interested in making coleslaw, all of these devices effortlessly cut cabbage and carrots finely. All you have to do is add mayonnaise.

• Cut the pieces to size before chopping: It's not wise to overtax the press-down choppers, especially if they're being used to cut something relatively hard, like a potato. Cut the vegetables down a little before chopping or dicing. Otherwise, the fixture holding the blades might crack.

• Other functions: The Prepworks Food Prep Machine has other functions as well: It features a salad spinner and egg separator as well. It also has an attachment that allows you blend food as well.

• Keep the unit flat on the table: When using the pull-string devices to dice or cut, make sure that the bottom of the device stays flat on the table. This way, you ensure that the blades run through the vegetables to be cut, every time you pull the string.

• Container size: It's good to note the container size—it will give you an indication of how much you can chop in one session. The Surpahs Chopper has a 1.5 liter capacity. The Ultra Chef Express can contain about 1.0 liter, but you should empty it out, so that it chops the vegetables optimally. The Briefton's QuickPush Food Chopper has measuring marks on the side of it's container, in both English and metric units.

Brieftons—are makers of home and kitchen products that aid in cooking and food preparation. They have a number of innovative cutting products: a spiralizer, which cuts food in a spiral shape, a chopper/blender/slicer/grater combo device, a potato chip maker, a salad spinner, and a mandoline slicer. Their products feature replaceable blades, which allow one device to serve for several functions.

Chef'n—was founded by David Holcomb, a chef who is also a kitchen gadget inventor. He started by making a garlic grinder and storage device. He launched the company name Chef'n in 1985, making spatulas, peelers, crab crackers, and other kitchen utensils. Their VeggiChop combines a dicer together with a storage device. They are located in Seattle, Washington.

Kuhn Rikon—was founded in 1899 as a manufacturer of cookware. Their products are designed to make healthy cooking quicker and more easy. They make energy-efficient cookware, cutlery, cutting tools and serving utensils, and bakeware. Their headquarters is in Rikon, Switzerland. They make a "Swiss Pull Chop"--you place a vegetable inside, and attach the blade. Pulling a string rotates a blade, and cuts the vegetable. Repeating the action makes it cut even finer: chopping, mincing, puree.

Surpahs—are makers of kitchen and bathroom scales, and kitchenware products. They make water bottles, bath mats, bamboo products, and kitchen products. Surpahs makes a multifunction over-the-sink drying rack that is heat-resistant and dishwasher safe. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware.