Food bowl choppers can come in really handy in the kitchen. They keep your food contained so you don't get little bits everywhere while chopping, and they remove the risk of you accidentally slicing a finger. When you first get your food bowl chopper, though, you will need to spend a little time experimenting and learning to use it most effectively. Here are some tips to help you out in this regard.

Only combine items with similar textures.

People usually only chop one thing at a time in their food chopper. For instance, if you needed to chop both carrots and onions, you could chop the carrots, empty the chopper, and then chop the onions. However, you can save time by chopping several foods at once. The secret here is that the foods you combine need to have similar textures. You won't get good results, for instance, if you try to chop a crunchy onion at the same time as some cheddar cheese. You will get good results, though, chopping a pepper and an onion together. The textures don't have to be identical, but they should be more alike than different.

Oil the blades before chopping anything sticky.

If you are going to chop anything that has the potential to get sticky or gloppy, make sure you oil the blades first. This will do two things. First, it will help ensure they actually go through the food and chop it, rather than squishing into it. Second, it will help keep the blades from getting gunky so that they are easier to clean when you're done. If you have a pastry brush, you can just dip it in some vegetable oil and brush that onto the blade. Alternatively, moisten a paper towel with oil and wipe that on the blade.

Pulse a little at a time.

Don't just turn your food chopper on and let it rumble. In order to get the right texture and make sure your items end up evenly chopped, you need to pulse it. Press down on that button, and then let up. Shake things around a bit, and pulse again. The texture of the food will change with each pulse, and you can stop the chopper whenever you achieve the correct texture.

With the tips above, using a food bowl chopper will be easy and effective. Remember to combine like-textured items, oil the blade, and pulse the chopper slowly.

To learn more, contact a resource like Mainca USA Inc.