Best Vegetable Chopper and Grater in Egypt: Safe Finger Protection Guide

Which tool do you actually need?

• 4-sided grater: Carrots for salads and stuffed vegetables, Rumi cheese for pasta, grated onions for kofta, and grated tomatoes for sauce. This is the essential tool in any Egyptian kitchen.
• Mandoline: Uniform slices quickly: potatoes for crisps and bakes, cucumbers and onions for salads, eggplants for moussaka.
• Manual pull-string chopper: Chopping onions, garlic, parsley, and Egyptian salad without a knife or electricity.
• Spiralizer: Ribbons of zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers for salads. Nice to have, not essential.

If you are starting with one thing, get the 4-sided grater. If you chop a lot of vegetables every day, a mandoline or chopper will save you time.

Blade names you will encounter

• Slicer: For potatoes, cucumbers, and onions, and better if the thickness is adjustable.
• Julienne: Thin strips for carrots and cucumbers in salads.
• Dicer: A grid you press vegetables through, useful for onions, potatoes, and salad.
• Wavy: Just for looks, not necessary.
• Coarse and fine grating: For carrots, cheese, garlic, and nutmeg.

A finger guard is not optional

A mandoline blade is sharper than most kitchen knives, and injuries usually happen on the last piece when the vegetable gets small and your fingers get close to the blade.

• Use the finger guard from the first slice, not when the piece gets small.
• If the slicer does not have a guard, buy cut-resistant gloves.
• Do not rush: a steady motion along the entire blade without hard pressing.
• Secure the slicer on a cutting board or a damp towel, and do not use it in mid-air.
• Leave the last tiny piece of vegetable and use it in soup.
• Keep children away, and do not leave blades exposed on the counter or in the sink.

The blade and body

The blade must be stainless steel so it does not rust from vegetable and lemon juice. The body can be plastic or stainless steel, and a fully stainless steel grater lasts longer and will not break if dropped. There are also cutters with ceramic blades: sharp and do not rust, but they can chip if dropped on the floor.

• In a box grater: Make sure the sides are well-attached and there are no sharp edges on the sides.
• A silicone or rubber base under the grater prevents it from slipping.
• Cutters with multiple blades must come with a storage case for the blades.

The pull-string chopper: How many pulls?

The Tefal 500 ml chopper sales page says: about 5 pulls for coarse chopping, 10 for medium, and 15 for fine. Cut the onions into quarters first, and start with fewer pulls, because too many will release the onion juice. It is suitable for Egyptian salad, daqqa, and green sauce, while for molokhia or large quantities of meat, an electric chopper is better.

Cleaning without getting hurt

• Wash the grater right after use, before cheese or carrots dry in the holes.
• Use a dish brush, not a sponge: sponges get torn and your fingers get close to the edge.
• Wash in the opposite direction of the blade, not towards it.
• Removable blades: wash them one by one, dry them, and put them right back in the storage case.
• Read the manual before submerging the chopper lid with the string in water.

Check before you buy

• The "12-in-1" number includes the peeler, container, and guard, so read the blade list itself.
• The finger guard appears in the photos and contents list.
• Model number and capacity for the Tefal chopper (500 or 900 ml), and count the pieces as soon as the order arrives.
• Check the seller, because some products have names and photos similar to well-known brands.