who owns a "mezzaluna" or "ulu" blade/board combo?

[NMDemDist2]

do you love it? or is it just in the way?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I s'pose a few will disagree with me on this, but it seems to be

just a space waster. What does it do? It chops stuff. You rock the blade in the nicely matched bowl and stuff like garlic or parsley get chopped.

I kinda view it as a way to make up for a lack of good knife skills. A good 8" or 10" French knife and a cutting board will do all that and do it more efficiently. And the knife/board combo will do a whole lot more, too.

If you (the generic "you", not the AZDD6 "you") really don't want to learn to chop with a knife buy one of those little mini food processors for twenny or thirddy bux. They're faster than the mezzaluna, just as easy (hard?) to clean, and can do more than chop some garlic. I actually have one, and have given them as gifts. They're quite versatile for small quantities of almost anything you need to chop.

But in the end, I can't think of hardly any meal I ever make where my knife and cutting board don't get used. To me ..... its just a lot easier.

[NMDemDist2]

2. i just thought one would be nice the other day when I was chopping

walnuts for brownies

i did it on my cutting board, but they tried to escape (and often succeeded LOL)

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Dat liddle Queezzee-Nart (Cuisinart) would have been perfect for that

The nuts woulda jumped outta the mezzaluna, too. No one likes their nuts chopped and they *always* try to escape.

[NMDemDist2]

4. ROFL i have an itty bitty processor kinda like this.....

but I wanted them coarsely chopped

[Lugnut]

5. Here's a suggestion

You could put the nuts between two sheets of waxed paper and smash them with a rolling pin or tenderizing hammer.

I love my little processor but I get a combo of sawdust and bigger chunks of nuts when I use it.

BTW...I don't have a mezzaluna. I just use my chef's knife and a cutting board. :)

[Stinky The Clown]

7. I add the nuts to the processor a little at a time and I pulse

rather than run it constantly. The slower feed rate tends to get the nuts chopped right off and the pulsing keeps things moving, allowing the material to come out with relatively uniform sizing.

[Eloriel]

10. I just break them up with my fingers -- much quicker and easier

for course than fooling with ANY equipment unless you need gobs.

We have an ulu but no matching bowl. My DH bought it a number of years ago and uses it the most, but I find it useful for fresh herbs like cilantro, parsely -- perhaps because I don't have good knife skills. :evilgrin:

[NMDemDist2]

11. i used my knives for the walnuts, but the gardening group has me

going on fresh herbs now....

hard to think of you being skill deficient in any area El LOL :D

[Dora]

6. kind of

I have a chopping tool that's like a mezzaluna, except it has two curved cutting edges. I use it to chop nuts in an old unfinished wood bowl that holds bananas on our counter.

Chopping nuts is the only thing I use that tool for, and I'm glad it was a gift (an inexpensive one from Ace Hardware) because I wouldn't have spent the money on it.

My mom has a nut chopper that looks like a biscuit cutter with teeth. I've never seen one in any retail stores, and I think this may be part of the Cutco set she bought in high school. She also uses a wooden bowl (not a board) for chopping.

[Phentex]

8. I like the small hand chopper..

I have the one from Pampered chef, but I've seen them everywhere. Everything stays in the little container and the clean-up is easy.

[Hans Delbrook]

9. I would love my mezzaluna EXCEPT

I have the double one and it's so hard to clean. Herbs, especially, get caught between the two blades.

[chefgirl]

12. Yep, have one

Nope, its not in the way, because I keep it in the bin with the million other one use gadgets that have been given to me over the years. I just have the blade, not the combo set, though.

They work well, and I do like the concept, but generally, I just reach for my knife. Less stuff to drag out, less to wash, etc...

-chef-

[NMDemDist2]

13. that's what I figured

and since practice practice practice seems to work, my knife skills are getting pretty good

[chefgirl]

14. HA! I hear that!

And the better your knife skills get, the less often you'll want to use gadgets.

-chef-

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Egg-Zakly!

[politicat]

16. I have one, I use it all the time, and I love it.

I also have some muscle damage in my right hand (not advanced, fortunately) and several torn, stretched or otherwise damaged ligaments and tendons in my left hand. "Proper Knife Skills" as Husb2Sparkly puts it, are beyond me. I know how to use a knife properly, but my hands get exhausted. If I didn't have my mezzaluna, I would never use fresh herbs, chop anything fine, or really do much more than open pre-pack food. Ick. (Keyboarding, you say? I have an adaptative keyboard called a MacInTouch that uses gestures and far less pressure than a standard keyboard, and when I can't use that, I have a laptop keyboard that requires very little pressure.)

That said, I find that with the mezzaluna, I rarely use my food processor except for large job lots of tomatoes and onions for pico de gallo, for making bread crumbs and other big jobs. The mezzaluna serves Mr. Pcat and I just fine for meals for two and is easier to clean than the little or big food processors that have been given me. Run the blade under hot water, wipe dry; run the board under warm water, wipe dry and rub with a bit of lemon. Oil once a week. And it burns a few calories. :)

For people cooking for an army, it's probably not the best idea. But I'm not, and sure as hell not planning on ever doing so. The only warning I have is that yes, the blade is sharp. I got mine from Berea College.

Pcat

[NMDemDist2]

17. there is only DH and I, but I still cook for an army LOL

thanks for your input, I may have to rethink them

[Stinky The Clown]

19. I hadn't ever considered it an aid for those with disabilities .......

.... but what you say makes perfect sense. Good on ya! I learned something.

[cally]

18. I have two

I bought one at 18 when I first visited Alaska. I don't have the fancy bowl. It's the first cooking utensil I bought. I use it frequently for herbs and garlic. Sometimes for other things.

I got my second when my eldest went to Alaska. :-)

Just buy the ulu and not the bowl. It will fit in your knife drawer and come in handy.